TangledMESH

Google: Online display ads get "smart and sexy"

Google makes 7 predictions for the future of online display advertising, anticipating a revenue climb from $8.6 billion today to more than $50 billion by 2015.  And, no surprise, video and interactive/social features will drive the growth.

Via Google's Blog:

1. 50 percent of ad campaigns will include video ads bought on a cost-per-view basis (that means that the user will choose whether to watch the ad or not, and the advertiser will only pay if the user watches). That’s up from very little today.
2. Today, advertisers are starting to deliver ads that are tailored to particular audiences. Many are using real-time bidding technology, so that they can bid on the ad space that they think is most valuable. In 2015, 50 percent of these ads will be bought using this real-time technology.
3. With smartphone growth skyrocketing, mobile is going be the number one screen through which users engage with advertisers’ digital brands.
4. Today, the “click” is the most important way that advertisers measure their display ad campaigns, but it’s not always the best measure—especially if an ad campaign is designed to boost things like brand awareness or recall. With new measurement technologies emerging, in five years, there will be five metrics that advertisers commonly regard as more important than the click.
5. Just like most news articles on the web today can be commented on, shared, discussed, subscribed to and recommended, in 2015, 75 percent of ads on the web will be “social” in nature—across dozens of formats, sites and social communities.
6. Rich media formats work. They enable great creativity and interaction between users and advertisers, but today they only represent about 6 percent of total display ad impressions. That will increase to 50 percent, for brand-building ad campaigns.
7. All the investments that are making display advertising smarter and sexier will help publishers increase their revenues. Display advertising is going to grow to a $50 billion industry in five years.

Check out this video from the Google IAB MIXX Keynote address, as Bary Salzman, Google’s Managing Director for Media, and Neal Mohan, VP Product Management, elaborate on how "smart and sexy" the future will be for online advertisers, publishers and consumers.

OTTCon East: Timing and Trends

OTTCon East was buzzing with energy and excitement last week. The show was brimming with OTT innovators and vendors, as well as telcos, content producers and broadcasters—all searching for answers to some of the industry’s biggest questions.

So what were they saying? Here’s a look at some of the top points of discussion:

Timing (Connected TV). There was a lot of debate on when all this OTT content and interactive TV technology would actually become commercially available to the consumer in a seamless home-viewing experience.

Some said it would be 5 to 8 years, while others argued it’s already here. From my point of view, the “here now” crowd is really saying the technology is available now, but the market and the service providers that control it are moving at a slower pace. Question is: How long can incumbent SP’s hold back the flood?

Consumers. Many are betting on the next wave of consumers. It was interesting to hear several speakers talk about “cord cutters” almost as if they needed to reassure themselves that the trend is real. Unfortunately, it’s not (at the moment, see: http://shar.es/miuNY).

Point being, many in the space are making wide, generalized assumptions on both market trends and shifts in consumer behavior (e.g., some making the point that the expectations and content consumption habits of the 18-24 crowd will eventually lead to explosive adoption of pure OTT video services as those consumers move into adulthood).

I’m not saying they’re wrong—just pointing out that many are stating it as fact when it’s actually only prediction.

Google TV. With the recent announcement of the Google/Sony/DISH/Intel (aka Google TV) solution, many were asking if this was a positive or negative development in the OTT space. Will Google dominate the market, or will it accelerate it to the benefit of multiple OTT players?

From the show, however, one thing is clear. The time is now for telcos, content producers and broadcasters to forge the right alliances and go for that long-term win.

So what were they saying? Here’s a look at some of the top points of discussion:

Timing (Connected TV). There was a lot of debate on when all this OTT content and interactive TV technology would actually become commercially available to the consumer in a seamless home-viewing experience.

Some said it would be 5 to 8 years, while others argued it’s already here. From my point of view, the “here now” crowd is really saying the technology is available now, but the market and the service providers that control it are moving at a slower pace. Question is: How long can incumbent SP’s hold back the flood?

Consumers. Many are betting on the next wave of consumers. It was interesting to hear several speakers talk about “cord cutters” almost as if they needed to reassure themselves that the trend is real. Unfortunately, it’s not (at the moment, see: http://shar.es/miuNY).

Point being, many in the space are making wide, generalized assumptions on both market trends and shifts in consumer behavior (e.g., some making the point that the expectations and content consumption habits of the 18-24 crowd will eventually lead to explosive adoption of pure OTT video services as those consumers move into adulthood).

I’m not saying they’re wrong—just pointing out that many are stating it as fact when it’s actually only prediction.

Google TV. With the recent announcement of the Google/Sony/DISH/Intel (aka Google TV) solution, many were asking if this was a positive or negative development in the OTT space. Will Google dominate the market, or will it accelerate it to the benefit of multiple OTT players?

From the show, however, one thing is clear. The time is now for telcos, content producers and broadcasters to forge the right alliances and go for that long-term win.

Digital Media - Content, Advertisers and Technology Trends

Businesses: Don't Miss the Chance to Tell Your Story

Maybe it’s the way user generated content (UGC) has been presented by the media as crazy and wild, scary even. Maybe it’s hard to shake the “old school” mindset that video is supposed to cost a lot and take weeks to produce to be “useful” or of the right “quality” for distribution. Whatever the reason, business owners take heed: social marketing content is happening right in front of your eyes every day, and many of you are missing it.

Savvy business owners and marketing execs are discovering serialized Business Generated Video (BGC) is attainable (see Endavo's Internet TV channel). What used to cost $5k for a 3-4min. finished video is now being produced in-house with a $600 HandyCam and iMovie (Mac) or MovieMaker (PC) editing software. The average person will be amazed at what they can produce. So, assign a marketing resource as your BGC Producer, or outsource the function, and start capturing content immediately.

Producing BGC videos is about telling your company's story. This story gives meaning and substance to your brand. Everything from the CEO’s vision statement to the customer service rep’s one-on-one experience with a customer. It’s all great content and central to what your brand really is. How about the tradeshow you spent $10k attending, did you capture any video at the event? Why not? How about the clients and partners at that show, get any video testimonials with them? Why not? How about your product manager’s last demo? The list goes on.

Okay, so you’re sold… BGC needs to be part of your marketing plan.  Now what? Well, I like to break it down like this: Produce, Deliver, Promote and repeat. In this post I focused on “producing” content. Next week I’ll cover Delivery (hint: Endavo can help) and the follow week Promotion.