Online video with other media

Written by Simon Kendrick, commercial research consultant, ITV - Sharon Braude, group account director, Media Contacts - Daniel Daynes, account manager, Media Contacts

TV and online video

Online video acts as a strong complement to traditional broadcast TV. It can be used to increase both reach and frequency, and the highly immersive environment offers multiple benefits. Faster and more reliable broadband has helped fuel massive growth in video consumption, both in long form and short form. As online video consumption becomes more common, we are seeing an increase in diversity among those viewing.

Broadcaster research from September 2008 highlighted that online video is no longer the sole preserve of tech-savvy students – 65% of the online audience aged 55 or older have watched a video clip, while 31% have watched a full length TV programme. As discussed in chapter one, the distinction between clips and full length content is an important one to make, as each offers a different proposition.

Long form content

People watching TV shows online do so because they are taking control of the schedule. People catch up on content they missed – either because they were away from their TV or watching something else. This suits some content better than others. Sport and reality entertainment are about the live experience; while the frequency and habitual nature of soaps are also best suited to TV. However, entertainment and drama flourish, particularly shows that have a strong word-of-mouth following or ones that are aimed at an active segment difficult to pin down to a TV schedule. Ultimately, catch-up is about improving reach.

Short form content

Short form content, such as clips of outtakes or interviews, is about increasing engagement. Those who watch additional content online are likely to be the biggest fans of a TV show and heavily invest in the plot and characters. Short clips, with instant gratification, can be enjoyed multiple times and are very social, with people sharing links and commenting on them. This level of social recommendation adds further interest for the viewer.

Effectiveness of online video

Online video is a different platform to broadcast television, and thus the effects of advertising change. TV benefits from the power of event broadcasting – shared experiences among masses of people at the same point in time, creating water cooler moments. Online viewing is just as social, but it is asynchronous. With closer proximity to the screen and people actively choosing to interact with certain content, levels of attention are generally high. This extends to video advertising, with its shorter and less cluttered ad breaks that give viewers the opportunity to interact with them.

Preliminary lab tests carried out by broadcasters indicate that adverts around short form clips perform stronger than long form content in traditional advertising metrics such as awareness, affinity and purchase propensity. Furthermore, advertising around identical long form content performed stronger when broadcast online than when broadcast on TV. This doesn’t mean that online video is better than broadcast TV. It simply means it is different. It also highlights their complementary nature.

Integrated approach

This encourages an integrated approach to planning advertising campaigns. Timing bespoke online video creative of a shorter length to coincide with the main TV campaign can reinforce or build upon the main messages, with the interactive element providing an outlet for further information. Integrated sponsorships – owning the association across all touch points among the widest possible audience – are increasingly prevalent. Furthermore, some advertisers upload their adverts onto YouTube. This turns viewers into agents – giving them the opportunity to share, comment, remix and repurpose the original advert and amplify the message through social connections.

Print and radio

Like any element of the marketing mix, it is best to plan your online video advertising alongside all other elements right from the beginning to make sure your messages and creative compliment each other. This still applies to print and radio.

Other forms of internet advertising

Video search

If an advertiser has video content, they can host it on Google Video, YouTube, or a number of other video hosting providers. If the video is a relevant result for the search query, searchers can play the video directly from the search results page (for Google Video and YouTube) or can view a thumbnail of the video and click to the player for other hosting providers. You can easily upload videos to Google Video or to YouTube. Google have beta tested their paid-for video search in 2009, which could prove to be very useful for those advertisers who want to promote their own content.

Behavioural video advertising

This refers to the combination of behavioural targeting with video advertising. The same behavioural targeting practices that are used for online display advertising also apply to video. Behavioural advertising identifies users’ interests, patterns and behaviours allowing advertisers to build their audience and message according to relevancy. It is an advertising methodology by which users are served video advertising based upon their recent behaviour online. Advertising therefore becomes far more relevant to the consumer.

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