by: Lynette Webb (with Dan Calladine)
Online video has blossomed in 2006 but that’s nothing compared to what’s coming.
The driving force behind the rise of online video so far has been user-generated content – whether it be amateur footage or pillaged from TV.
That’s going to continue with the emergence of next generation tools that make it even easier to edit and upload video, for example the new feature in YouTube that lets you record directly into YouTube from a webcam. Mash-ups will move beyond the realms of geeks, with rights owners, on the whole, being more laid back about such works of homage than previously. Through collaborative filtering, RSS, tagging, word of mouth the best of this will bubble up and enter the mainstream to an even greater extent than today.
In parallel, we’ll see much more commercially produced content becoming available online. Online streaming, pay-per-download models for video content are already widespread in the US; in 2007 we’ll see them extended to other leading broadband markets. The first generation of YouTube content deals were around music; the second generation will be around sports. We’ll also see commercial material being produced especially for the online video environment; in essence, representing a new genre of televisual entertainment the same way that MTV and the music video were revolutionary for cable.
POINTS FOR MARKETERS:
**** In 2007 there’ll be many more opportunities for advertising in and around online video, with larger audiences, more legitimate content, and more defined metrics. The shortage of ad inventory which has plagued many online video providers in 2006 will begin to ease.
**** In 2006, "pre-rolls" were popular formats for online video advertising, whereby people were forced to sit through an ad before the content they’d chosen to see was shown. A more interruptive form of advertising in online video is harder to imagine – in essence, from the perspective of consumer experience, this is just as intrusive as a TV spot ad! By end 2007 we therefore think the pre-roll format will be in decline, superceded by more sophisticated product placement and clickable placements and callouts embedded within content. As well, we’ll see a rise in branded video content appearing online – some produced by brands themselves; but much contributed by users.
**** It sounds obvious, but in organisations where online marketing is handled separately from TV, it’s surprising how often basic things can be overlooked. Eg: on creative shoots make sure you get online usage rights for footage not only TV; plan in advance to capture additional material on shoots to suit online environment.
**** Collaborate with new talent. Too often agencies have been accused of ripping off ideas of independent film makers; far better to offer to work with them to produce genuinely original work rather than near copies of existing work. An innovative example of this is the deal that Google brokered between Coke and Eepybird for the Domino Effect video
____________________________________________
This is part of a series of predictions for 2007 developments, prepared jointly with my colleague, Dan Calladine, for Isobar Global. Opinions are ours personally and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Isobar group.
Image CC www.flickr.com/photos/hyperbolation/55393749/ thanks to hyperbolation
Original Post: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/327418261/
