The rate at which the online advertising and digital marketing landscape has evolved over the past 6 years since Google acquired YouTube is mind boggling, even for those of us involved in the video industry. A recent post by MediaNews sums it up nicely, but here is a one sentence summary on the trends that have evolved. We have gone from user generated content (UGC) to aggregation to professional content to technology, distribution, content differentiation, and real-time bidding (RTB). The one constant is change (thanks Heraclitus) and with change comes the opportunity for new business models.
The trends mentioned above are a good indication of where we have been and where we are at present but should not be looked at individually. Instead they should be seen holistically as a view of the overall eco-system that is still being developed and the services that are merging and evolving. What we have seen at Preview Networks for example, is that a combination of content differentiation, distribution and RTB initiatives can effectively determine audience reach, quality and relevance which can be different dependent on the brand, advertiser or campaign. The one constant is the quality of content which is ultimately the differentiator. A case example is the premium content we receive from major movie studios such as 20th Century Fox and their latest campaign push for the Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter movie.
If you apply the earned, owned and paid media strategy discussed in past posts to this example, we enabled the distribution of the movie trailer, graphics and text to established publishers in our editorial network, earning them PR pick up and mentions, enabling the sharing of this content through our video player on websites and apps on mobile, tablet and TV platforms. This is where the earned media strategy comes in and extends the message, on top of whatever owned strategy the studio already implements. Applying a paid media strategy on top of the earned and owned amplifies the audience reach even more increasing views, clicks, or impressions depending on the content or campaign goals. So while the video evolution can sometimes be very confusing, the possibilities for brands and advertisers are essentially limitless depending on budget and strategy.
This is a very exciting time for us and our customers. As the online advertising industry continues to evolve, we have built on our deep relationships with major brands and distributors to provide additional services, as the research shows video works for entertainment marketers (Source: Videology Report). The continued extension of services available is an opportunity for any major brand or advertiser with online video to market. Even though the 2012 forecasted spend is unlikely to reach actual spend by the end of the year, all signs still indicate online video is a powerful marketing tool that is increasingly being implemented on multiple platforms. The important thing to remember here is the fluidity of the brand message on all platforms. For more information on this topic, check out some of our past posts describing these behavioural trends on smartphone, tablet, and TV by consumers.
About Preview Networks
Preview Networks is a content marketing platform for brands and content aggregation and syndication platform for publishers. We provide the tools for brands to centrally distribute and manage marketing and PR content across media destinations, devices, and commerce platforms; allowing media partners to automate content acquisition delivering audience and advertising revenue growth.