Think of the online video ad buying landscape
like TV with 2 Tiers. Tier 1 is premium content sites like Hulu where buyers
can associate their message directly with content. Everything is transparent.
Tier 1 for TV are destination viewing opportunities such as the Super Bowl and
Olympics. These are the programs that are not going to be DVR’d and ad skipped.
The advertiser knows what they are getting and that their ad is being watched.
It sells for a premium due to the lack of supply or opportunities.
The rest of TV and internet video ad buy is
audience. For TV these are TV shows spread across a wide range of cable
channels that are more and more becoming time shifted, recorded and ad skipped.
Non premium internet video ad buys are driven today by ad networks and more
niche web publishers where the advertiser has a clear view into the audience
that they are reach but not what content they are associating their message
with.
What is the USP for this second group? How do
they convince TV dollars to flow to their audience? Leverage the power of the
medium my friends. Ad networks and Tier 2 content producers that offer custom original and branded
entertainment programming, editorial integration, rich media, and interactive
ad units are the ones that have a compelling story to tell their advertisers.
The internet
is a transformative step from TV in that the audience is less passive and more
active when consuming entertainment. Give your advertisers and audience chances
to interact with each other by providing multiple points of engagement such as
social media, additional digital assets like product information, email
registrations, store locators, etc. to continue the conversation.
Repurposing
a TV ad for an interactive medium is a waste. Leveraging the medium in a way
that drives results by continuing the advertising to audience conversation is
the winning strategy for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 internet content providers and
will ultimately be the better mouse trap that attracts traditional advertising
dollars.
