Digital video is everywhere your turn, with smartphones and tablets allowing users to view video from just about anywhere. Video distribution channels are exploding, which is challenging existing business models and also opening the doors to new ones.
Speakers at the Digiday Video Upfront conference in Los Angeles talked about what the proliferation of smartphones and tablets means for the digital video space and also discussed the metrics that work best.
Here are some highlights from the event.
Paul Bremer, chief revenue officer, Rhythm NewMedia
Mobile video is too big to ignore. There are 175 million monthly premium in-stream mobile video ad opportunities from Rhythm. There are 100 million smartphones in the U.S.
Lizzie Widhelm, regional vp, national advertising sales, Pandora
The type of conversations we are having with brands is what to do in this world of video in terms of measurement and mobile and tablets and such.
Pat Ascher, gmd, Quigly Simpson
I think that a lot of the stuff I have seen with connected TVs is really exciting. When you can look at it across all devices and get a holistic view of your entire video strategy, that’s when things will get really exciting. From what I am seeing, we are moving there.
Dave Martin, svp of Ignited
We don’t see digital video restricted to the PC at all. Having said that, the real opportunity is in content. We are not thinking about the devices. We look at the content and then look at the platforms and devices for distribution. Programmatic buying will change the way we buy video. You may only be buying 5,000 consumers at a time. The upfront is about reaching a mass of consumers. I am not saying we are moving to a world without upfronts, I just mean that a lot of brands are beginning to understand it is about quality not quantity.
Luke Kallis, vp, West Coast Sales, Vevo
Those who have premium video can carve out their own destiny. From an overall perspective, people are turning to their existing content and attaching brand dollars to that online.
Adam Kasper, evp of digital investments, Havas Digital
Contextual targeting might be a better than audience targeting because it’s a mindset.
Andee Conner Foutch, vp media services, Factory Design Labs
Where you run your content tells a story about your brand.
Erin McPherson, vp, head of originals and video programming, Yahoo
I don’t know if there will be big money in these upfronts. This in not a fad. It is here to stay. In premium there absolutely is scarcity. Everyone is flocking to premium to create scarcity. It is becoming the normal. Other things will differentiate, like the content itself, the reach, the distribution, and so on. Not everything that TV does is wrong. There are some good things that we in new media can borrow from TV.
Vik Kathuria, managing partner at Mediacom Interaction
Hulu announced they’ll only be charging for full completions, which a big step in the next direction for the industry.
Toby Gabriner, president of Adap.TV
We have seen a 23 percent increase in ad spend in 2012. And an 11 percent average increase in CPM from 2011. Publishers are surely happy, with a 14 percent increase in average fill-rate from 2011. Online video continues to build momentum. But the real story is the fusion of TV and video. That is what the data told us this year. Most buy-side respondents (49 percent) said that video and TV should be aligned. Furthermore, 48 percent are currently planning TV/video together. And, 56 percent of buyers view online video as a direct complement to TV.
Brian Morrissey, editor in chief, Digiday
If the :15 second pre-roll works better than the :30, why are you all still shoving the :30 pre-roll down everyone’s throat?
Meridee Alter, svp, director of media communication, RPA
We approach upfront with a little bit of cynicism. We don’t feel like there’s a missed opportunity if you’re not in the upfront market.
Matt Wasserlauf, evp, video platform and services, Specific Media
We need to start acting and thinking like the TV industry.
Ed Haslam, svp of marketing, Yume
Digital over the past few years made CPM a bad word.
Jennifer White, svp of sales at Mevio
We’ve found that 183 million U.S. Internet users watched online video content in December, with an average five hours per viewer. And 24 million U.S. smartphone users are currently watching online videos on their mobile device at least monthly…Original content is the new trend among big brands.
Lauren Mehl Tetuan, svp digital group media director, Deutsch LA
Online video is strongest for long-form stories that you can’t run on TV.
Jennifer Prince, head of media solutions, Google
It’s not always about interactivity. It is also about just getting people to share video.
Andy Weidlin, chief revenue officer, Buzzfeed
If you don’t seed it, your great content doesn’t go viral.
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