Mobile video blog

HEVC to ease pressure on global networks?

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:30:25 +0000

As online video thrives, The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has agreed on a new video coding standard designed to ease pressure on global networks. It’s been suggested that video accounts for more than half of bandwidth use, and the United Nations' agency for information and communication technology is confident that the new codec, High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) will need only half the bit rate of its predecessor,( ITU-T H.264 / MPEG-4) Advanced Video Coding (AVC). AVC video currently accounts for over four-fifths of all web video.

By switching from AVC to HEVC, the data rate needed for transmitting high quality video will be reduced by 50% compared to the current state-of-the-art AVC standard. The ITU added that HEVC will “unleash a new phase of innovation in video production spanning the whole ICT spectrum,” from mobile devices through to UltraHD TV services when they arrive. It adds that HEVC-based systems will provide a “flexible, reliable and robust solution, future-proofed to support the next decade of video.”

As explained by the secretary general of the ITU, Dr Hamadoun I Touré, “ITU-T H.264 underpinned rapid progression and expansion of the video ecosystem, with many adopting it to replace their own proprietary compression codecs. The industry continues to look to ITU and its partners as the global benchmark for video compression, and I have no doubt that this new standard will be as effective as its predecessor in enabling the next wave of innovation in this fast-paced industry.”

Applebee’s allures visitors with a mobile video campaign

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 19:16:33 +0000

Applebee’s, a casual dining chain, launched a new line of low-calorie meals with the help of mobile video ads. These ads are running inside the Hulu Plus iPhone application and are part of a bigger multichannel campaign.

The ads are running as 15 second commercial breaks between content in the app. The videos feature images of the Applebee’s menu items and enable users to click on the learn more-button, which brings up Applebee’s mobile site. From there, consumers can check out the new, under 550 calorie menu items.

Utilizing location-based marketing, the nearest Applebee’s will appear on the left-hand corner of the page, automatically. Users can call the location to place an order, view the local menu or get driving directions. The social media buttons; Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, are all promoted at the bottom of the page. Additionally, consumers can buy digital gift cards at the mobile site that are sent via email or Facebook.

“Trying different messages to collect data through location-based marketing is critical to learning what works,” said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta.

Applebee’s is not new in the mobile space; they did a mobile campaign in 2010 and last year they used table top QR codes in a campaign, which they claim led to a 9.8 percent increase in lunch sales. (see story).

This new, 550 calorie menu campaign, is a great example of a multichannel campaign done well on many levels; The ad directs users to the specific landing page and by utilizing location information, it gives the ad some real context. The goal is to drive foot traffic into the restaurant. Therefore, tailored and personalized content will likely lead to stronger results for Applebee’s.

“Brands utilizing location-based ads are becoming much more important for consumers as they start to rely on clicking to find a location and being directed to the location via Google maps or a mobile navigation system via their phones,” Ms. Troutman said. “Brands that sell a specific product within different retail locations and promote a ‘shop now’ or a coupon or special via mobile advertising should also apply the GPS location-based options as consumers reviewing the ad could utilize the special or coupon in a location they are currently shopping,” she continued.

Internet Video Consumers want free content

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 19:50:07 +0000

Cisco IBSG surveyed over a thousand broadband consumers between ages 13 and 75+ in March 2012, to better understand the consumption of professionally produced online video. As no surprise, the core findings revealed that content remains king.

When asked “What would encourage you to watch/obtain more professionally produced online video?” the two top responses were content-related: “more free video content” and “broader availability/range of video.” These consumers prefer free content over more content, therefore, greater availability of fee-based content would increase consumption for only 23 percent of consumers where as more free content would impact 46 percent. At the same time, consumers are realistic; they know that not all of their preferred content will be available for free.

Some interesting findings of the consumer habits:

•    Online consumers prefer watching TV shows over movies
•    While 42 percent of consumers of the study watch TV shows online daily, only 12 percent watch movies online daily
•    In the last two years, the greatest growth of professionally produced video has been on subscription based sites. 40 percent of consumers expect to increase their consumption, using subscription based sites.
•    By producing original series instead of movies, Netflix, Hulu, and other online content providers are making the right choice to further drive the popularity and stickiness of these services.

In general habits don’t vary much by device, mobile devices being an exception. On mobile devices, short videos and music videos dominate. At a rapidly increasing mobile base, this interest in short videos points to significant opportunities for media companies.

Media companies should increase their focus on mobile consumers; develop “webisodes” targeted at tablets and mobile phones, based on existing TV shows. They should also further engage the consumer by offering behind-the-scenes looks and other extensions of the story, increasing brand awareness.

All players in the video value chain will need to understand the specific drivers of video consumption, including business models and devices. Consumers have adopted the online video services and there is no reversing the course.

Why artists need to look beyond YouTube

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 20:44:43 +0000

YouTube is the best way to find new music for free. Yet while it is great for music lovers, how good is it for artists? Here are some facts: YouTube has quickly transformed into Generation Y’s MTV. Nine of the ten most viewed videos are music videos.

This is also what’s great about YouTube: it has the most unique monthly viewers as well as the most engaged viewers, according to comScore. You can find just about any song within seconds and it is perfect for users to create and share playlists. But how are Hip Hop artists leveraging other online video platforms, or are they at all?

Hip Hop, being one of the most creative forms of music, including many early adaptors to technology, need to understand the power of online video platforms. However, artists from the US to the UK have turned to YouTube as their premier destination.

As an example, Snoop Dogg stays in connection with his fans with his WestFest TV YouTube channel. It is interactive and as for monetization, fans can purchase the songs directly from iTunes. His channel is also connected to Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, Soundcloud and even Viddy, to further engage fans.

With Snoop having over 20,731,439 Facebook “Likes” and 10,083,054 followers on Twitter, is YouTube really the best online video platform option? Google’s YouTube is in the business of making money. The more impressions, the bigger the advertising bucks. Maybe hip hop artists and other musicians alike should work on their digital strategy? Like YouTube, but claiming ownership.

In essence, Hip Hop artists, musicians and music entertainment websites need to have a strategy in place when dealing both with online video platforms and all aspects of digital.

Let’s stay with Snoop Dogg. Last year, he launched a new show on his YouTube channel. It can now be found everywhere online, when it should be powered solely from his website. YouTube should be used to promote and drive traffic to his website. If his team would have a customized video player, they could easily sell to advertisers. By claiming ownership he could have better controlled the experience and his brand, integrated with other content, created new behavior and monetized. This could have resulted in a big increase in revenues. Not to mention social media; additional views can be easily generated using sites like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, which raises the number of impressions to 120-180 million: further increasing revenue potential.

Overall, this would have been a solid more strategic approach which would have allowed Snoop to maximize and monetize his presence utilizing online video platforms.

Take Psy, the South Korean rapper, who became an overnight sensation with “Gangnam Style.” He continues to be No.1 on YouTube’s music chart, but how much is he monetizing? He has a total of 550,964,019 video impressions! Unfortunately for Psy, he is not monetizing on the dance craze that he started. At least not on YouTube.

Psy should also make an investment in a customized video player, web portal and mobile app that would allow fans to create and join in on the “Gangnam Style”. Psy’s team would have complete control of the content and the ability to rate and judge the top spoof videos. Not to mention the advertisers. They would pay top CPM to be associated with the new dance phenomena. Until hip hop artists and other musicians alike recognize the power of online video platforms, they will remain limited in how they are leveraging this new frontier.

This is how it was done in the UK: wireWax and its unique interactive television technology, teamed up with Interscope Records rapper Iggy Azalea and Grammy-nominated Diplo ft FKi to produce a successful interactive music video for Canadian online luxury apparel and accessory retailer SSENSE for the company’s new marketing campaign, making the video into an innovative look book. Fans could pick and choose from a selection of ‘fly’ threads and accessories that the artists are wearing in the video with the ability to purchase – with one click to buy.

What’s very impressive is the adoption rate as result of the music video – 58% click-through rate and US$ 20,000 of converted sales in two weeks for SSENSE!

In Conclusion, YouTube is NOT the end all be all, for branding, promoting, monetizing and connecting with fans. Artists, who can gather over 1million impressions, should seriously consider investing beyond a microphone, Pro tools, HD cameras – they need to raise the bar by investing in an online video player.

The upside is tremendous; augmenting the experience, social network integration, clipping technology and the ability to be viewed across multiplatform. Musicians need to think in terms of CREATE, OWN and MAXIMISE the distribution of content.

YouTube should remain at the core of one’s digital strategy, but should only be used to promote teasers, while the entirety of the show should be made available exclusive on one’s website that features a customized online video player. With that, artists can “drive behavior” and monetize more effectively.

Attention is fast becoming ‘new money’ in new media. Return On Attention equals times (impression + reach + influence). “Attention is the New Money!” claims Mike Johns, Digital Mind State. He just might be right.

Facebook to launch expanding auto play video ads

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:18:05 +0000

According to AdAge, auto play videos may be coming to Facebook’s newsfeed. The social network is rumored to be amping up its video ads by adding in auto play, audience targeting, and video expansion.

These video ads are to hit the desktop version of the social network first, then to be rolled out to mobile. The ads will most likely play 15 seconds, could be targeted to certain users, and may even have an auto-audio function. On the desktop version, the ads are expected to get users' attention by expanding out of the site's news feed into the left and right columns.

Facebook's goal is to take dollars from the advertisers that would normally buy TV ads. The concept of video ads is not new, but the auto play and the expansion are new. Advertisers hadn't really started using the feature until fairly recently.

The social network is now developing mobile ad testing; In June, Facebook started working on a mobile ad product that leverages user’s real-time location information and in August it began testing a feature that drops ads into people’s news feed even though they are not a fan of a brand. The professional networking site, LinkedIn, also launched their online video ads in October, enabling YouTube or other video usage for advertisers to promote their brands. Who is next?

Online video to rob broadcasters in 2013

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 07:16:17 +0000

According to Frost & Sullivan, the boom in online video is expected to rob broadcasters of significant market share in 2013.

This is how it starts; social media is becoming an important discovery channel for new video content and a mobile device a starting point for the viewing experience. Most online consumers have trialed watching TV shows online, but 2013 is set to be the year where consumers turn to online videos in greater numbers.

Senior research manager of the analyst’s ICT ANZ practice, Phil Harpur, said that a growing pool of viewers is already watching online TV across a range of devices. Consumers want to watch what they want, when they want to watch it, and this trend will grow rapidly next year, particularly among younger age groups. A recent survey of 1000 Australians by the group showed 94% of 15 to 17 year olds watched TV shows or movies on a desktop or laptop in the month prior to the study.

Also, YouTube type sites that offer snack size videos, such as Vevo and Machinima will most likely rapidly gain global audiences, especially amongst the 13 to 34 year-old demographic.

As the smartphone penetration rises in 2013, online video and social media will grow as advertising mediums, as their use continues to grow. 2013 will be an even greater year for mobile video.

Video to be the most influential form of mobile ads

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:14:37 +0000

"By the end of 2012 it is estimated that over 100 million smartphone users will consume over 1GB data per month, while the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the world’s population in 2012, so the potential for brands to engage via mobile video is huge.” said Ramy Yared, MD of Adsmobi.

Adsmobi and mobile SQUARED also claim that mobile video will be the biggest driver of ads in the Euro 7 markets in the next four years. And they are most likely right. Another issue to consider is the future of physical media. Since up to 79 per cent of smartphone users across France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain and the UK stream videos on their devices, this might be a sign that physical media is being made redundant?

The current video-viewing user base is 152m strong and set to rise to 274m by 2016. The region's total mobile ad space is expected pass $1bn this year, rising to $4bn by 2016. The UK accounting for 32 per cent of total spend, followed by Germany with 22 per cent and France with 16 per cent.

Finally, we are coming to the era where rich media campaigns will be able to be served to a mass market audience of smartphone users!

How to make consumers watch more videos - Tips for Programmers

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:33:53 +0000

Consumer behavior is changing; the explosion of social networks and consumer-generated media continues to have a significant impact on advertising as consumers’ reliance on word-of-mouth in the decision-making process. A lot of value is put into recommendations - from friends, brands and influencers - as among many, Netflix, has come to realize. As a matter of fact, Netflix has said, that 75% of what their users watch, comes from recommendations.

Content providers need to tap into this. To engage viewers to watch more videos, leads directly to additional ad inventory to sell. Often, viewers arrive at videos through organic search. However, if a site relies on organic search, it is more likely to lose a viewer after the first video. You have to be able to follow up with a suggestion that appeals to them, to make them stick around for more videos.

There are many ways to go about this, however, it is not always simple.

•    Recommendations based on behavior; viewers often want more than one video on a topic, so recommendations can be based on the genre, subject matter, or creator, and videos should be tagged appropriately in a management system.
•    Recommendation engines need to be smart enough to know what language or order a viewer is watching videos in.
•    A good recommendation system may also want to integrate any related live video content to on-demand suggestions.
•    Another option is to include recommendations in the player itself, “Where a more ‘lean-back’ TV-style experience is desired, it may be better to show a few key recommendations directly in the player so viewers can enjoy immersive full-screen playback with only occasional mouse or keyboard interactions to course-correct.” said Ooyala, a video platform provider.
•    Taboola, an online video service, recommends videos for its customers across their sites; the click-through on recommendations can get as high as 35% depending on the placement, the company has said.

Mobile video marketers want metrics and standards

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:57:19 +0000

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has created a mobile video committee, which includes members from Nielsen Company, Turner Broadcasting and Verizon Wireless. The idea is to review current standards and develop best practices for both advertising and measurement. Everyone in the ad world knows that mobile video is red hot, especially considering that mobile advertising has nearly doubled in the first half of 2012 to $1.2 billion!

With huge growth, there come huge opportunities to exploit. The MMA is looking at the best metrics to use, such as click-throughs, time spent or video completion. Brands want to know what mobile is best for, and if swiping on a phone or tablet actually is an indication of engagement.

Marketers do not want to overload consumers with mobile video ads and, therefore, ads need to be relevant, targeted and presented at an ideal frequency, which is another best practice under development by the committee. Established metrics and standards would likely help grow the business for everyone.

Brand advertisers are unsure about many variables and sometimes rely on guessing. Some of the issues that concern them are; how to manage mobile marketing cost effectively and, at the same time, how to leverage the available capabilities alongside their conventional web advertising. To fully leverage the possibilities of mobile video advertising, advertisers must have confidence in the long term promise of mobile, even through experimentation.

Tide engages football fans!

contact.us@thirdpresence.com (Annina Pierson) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:23:17 +0000

No longer are TV and online campaigns enough to make an impression in the highly competitive Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) space. Mobile video is becoming an increasingly important tool as a complement to TV and online campaigns to form a truly multichannel approach. The battle for market share is intense.

Mobile is recognized among marketers and agencies as a new battleground for consumers with mobile video, in particular, considered a superior channel over display because of its ability to deliver sight, sound and motion to drive engagement and ROI. Tide, the leading laundry detergent from Procter & Gamble, is utilizing this by running in-stream mobile video advertisements aimed at football fans this season.

The campaign “Show Us Your Colors” is part of the brand’s partnership with the NFL, Tide being the official partner of all of the 32 NFL teams. The mobile video ads run as commercial breaks on ABC News iPhone app. During the mobile video, a button appears on the screen to encourage consumers to visit Tide’s mobile site and to explore further on social networks such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

After closing the landing page, the app’s video content starts to play automatically. This usage of mobile video is very smart. Mobile video tends to have high engagement rates and can be very effective. The key to effectiveness is to keep content short and to the point. Beyond the length of the video is its quality — video ads should run instantly without any buffering and they should be razor-sharp or in high-definition. Tide is definitely on the right track here, utilizing mobile video, reaching a variety of people and building their brand awareness.