"Video has the power to move hearts and minds," said Nancy Cruikshank, director of digital at Telegraph Media Group, opening the proceedings at this year's IAB online video advertising seminar, sponsored by The Telegraph.
At the event to mark the launch of the IAB Video Council's latest handbook A Guide to Video Advertising Online, Cruikshank began by explaining that she was just four weeks into her new role at the Telegraph. Given her background as head of video library Videojug however, she is better placed than most to discuss how to make the most out of the growing online video audience.
Engage, excite, entertain and inform
According to ComScore, 29.6 million people in the UK accessed online video in January 2009. Put another way, that's 8 out of 10 internet users, or 10% more than the year before. Clearly this is a large and growing audience. But what does it mean for advertisers?
According to Cruikshank, video advertising can offer personality and emotion for a brand; more engagement than traditional online display ad units; the chance to have a longer conversation with the user; the chance to encourage a direct response; and extended reach. Perhaps most importantly though for Cruikshank it offers "the opportunity to engage, excite, entertain and inform".
While this may be the case, Cruikshank was keen to point out that advertisers should not rest on their laurels. "Web users are no longer passive consumers of advertising,” she argued. “If you want their attention you have to earn it." As a result it is vital that creative is eye-catching, engaging and encourages an action.
Online video is not TV
Picking up on this theme, Sorosh Tavakoli, founder and chief executive of Videoplaza, argued that online video advertising is all about impact. "You can't engage people with text and imagery in the same way that you can with video," argued Tavakoli. "Online video is the most powerful and engaging medium for brand advertising". Tavakoli went on to argue that advertisers should "go for the heart", and always remember that “online video is not TV”.
Ending the seminar, Sharon Braude, group account director at Media Contacts, argued that advertisers should not get too carried away with the creative possibilities of video to the detriment of the planning process. "We are working with creative content," said Braude. "But we have to remember that it's very important where you put it."
For Braude, video advertising should be used to combine the audio visual impact of TV with the reach, targeting and interactivity of online. She went on to argue that the medium also works best as part of an integrated media strategy. "Successful integration of video needs to meet marketing communications objectives of the brand, whilst ensuring the viewer is entertained, informed or educated," argued Braude.
An important turning point
Discussing the event, Jack Wallington, senior programmes manager at the IAB, said: “The launch of the IAB’s Video Handbook today may not be as big an event as the arrival of the BBC iPlayer or Susan Ward blitzing the world on YouTube with her wiggly hips, but it does mark an important turning point in online video’s growth as an advertising channel.
“Today’s event showcased that we’ve moved beyond the hype with major video publishers like the Telegraph already selling out their inventory. As the speakers so clearly put it today, video combines the best of TV and web to deliver the ultimate branding channel. With many examples already available, some advertisers are getting a rude awakening to the fact that their competitors have been using online video for months.”
