Read related article: Can Honda Build an Emotional Bond With Documentary Films?
Q&A: David Hallerman a senior analyst, specializing in Web video advertising for eMarketer, offers advice on using Web video as a marketing tool.
Q. Why has Web video become such a common vehicle in various forms of promotions for a range of products?
A. It’s the same reason that surveys over the years have shown advertising on television to be the most effective way to reach consumers. At this point, the audience is expecting to see video, whether its ads with a video for packaged goods where they’re trying to make it more interesting, or video that explains more about a product. Video has become a common denominator that people expect to see.
Q. What do you consider the most effective methods for employing online video for the purpose of selling a product?
A. People watch when it’s entertaining or when they’re looking for more information, as with an auto purchase. They know they’re being sold to, but they need to be approached with a lighter hand. There are a million other places where people can go for information, but good promotion using good video increases the value. Often that value is entertainment, but often it’s information.
Q. What are the major pitfalls that marketers should avoid in Web video campaigns?
A. One pitfall is for the video to come up automatically when a consumer lands on their site. You’ve got to give people the option to watch video. More and more, you see video launch as soon as get to a site. Often it’s the same ad four or five times in clips on http://www.Hulu.com, for example. If you expect the visitors to come back to the site, you have to offer them some variety and make viewing optional. If you only want to get them once, then that variety doesn’t matter as much.
Q. Although video is being consumed online by a broad range of Web surfers, there is a perception that Web video is most effective for reaching a younger demographic. Is there a “sweet spot” in terms of consumers that marketers are more likely to reach online or is the audience for Web video a broad one?
A. Younger people do consume more video online. College or high school students tend to have more time than people working jobs, so they consume more video in terms of quantity. However, people in all demographics are consuming more and more video online. There is that familiarity with what they grew up with in terms of television. Probably there is more of an appeal for a younger demographic. For video to get you, you have to spend that sequential time watching it. There’s more openness to spending the time that video demands among a younger demographic.
Q. What do you see in the future of Web video for promotional usage?
A. There will be an element where marketers will find consumers who appreciate the brand or product and will contribute to the brand by making their own videos. Doritos has done this with Super Bowl ads in the last few years. That will become more common through the emergence of a social aspect with promotional videos. As we’re seeing, the use of the social Internet is expanding with the younger demographic and with other age groups as well. It’s a place to meet the consumer and engage in a dialogue. The problem is that marketers tend to fall back on a ‘look how cool my product is.’ When you’re trying to work with consumers, there has to be less brand ego involved. That’s something that will likely shift over time.
Network
