Christopher Bian Looks Behind the Scenes of the Not-So-Big Screen September 21, 2009
Posted by markblei in : Staff posts , trackbackHave you seen the latest “epic fail” video on YouTube? There’s an app for that.
Missed last night’s episode of “Lost”? Check out the Hulu link tweeted by @Lost_on_ABC.
Is it time for President Obama’s latest speech on healthcare reform? The CNN homepage is streaming it live.
Any way you cut it, video content, syndicated or not, is now readily available almost anywhere, or on anything that has an internet connection. The capability of today’s technology is a wide departure from several years ago, when “YouTube” had yet to become daily vernacular and “pre-roll” was all the rage. Now, you couldn’t run from a video stream even if you tried. But what does this mean for the world of media? Does the fact that I can stream a feature-length movie from Netflix onto my Playstation 3 to watch on my HDTV really provide marketers yet another way to hawk their wares? More importantly, “Do I want them to?”
As the methods and vehicles to consume online video become increasingly accessible, viewership of online video will move from access through a computer as it humbly began, to integrated mobile devices, gaming consoles, and even television sets. Consumption is changing; not necessarily how much, but how. I see 3 factors that play into the consumption shift:
1- Internet video usage – Viewership has increased over 12% in the last year, to nearly 134M users, compared to a .9% increase to 284M traditional TV viewers.
2- Timeshifted TV – Approximately 30% of US households own a DVR recorder and hour usage per month has increased 19.5% since the past year.
3- Video on mobile phones – while usage remains relatively low at 15M users this year, this is a 70% increase over 2008, keeping in mind mobile phones do not comprise all mobile devices capable of, or used for video.
Overall internet video usage is up, as is demand for timeshifted TV, which is an inherent characteristic of internet video. Each of these represents a separate trend, which may or may not be correlated, but serve as a guide to the direction in which consumption habits are heading. The widespread penetration of video-enabled mobile devices provides readily available “supply”, as consumers have access to video with relative ease. Nearly two-thirds of Americans ages 13 to 54 have at least one mobile device capable of video. Perhaps the most common video-enabled device, laptops are owned by 57% of Americans. Over one in five have a video-enabled iPod. Perhaps most markedly, 42% of users of all devices claim to use a mobile device to actually watch video.
Granted, there are key differences among the media used by consumers, such as consumption of long form vs. short form video, time spent watching with each medium, etc., but the point is that the evolution of video consumption is certainly not insubstantial, and quite the contrary. As these habits grow and change along with the technology that enables them, eventually, some will become the standard.
So how does one add value to consumer marketing initiatives? Guessing is one option, though probably not preferred or recommended. Consumer desires and pet peeves can be fleeting; what works one moment can change as the industry yet again shifts in another direction. Chalk it up to the quick pace at which our industry evolves! Consumers grow increasingly savvy, empowered by the internet. Gone are the days of passively watching commercials. Today’s consumers are not only engaging on a daily basis with one another, but with brands – something previously unheard of. Media plans are changing to incorporate the expanding marketing repertoire, such as social, viral, mobile, as well as video components. In order to harness the interplay of these efficiently, the approach to take is akin to tuning a musical instrument: pluck a string and listen for feedback; adjust accordingly; rinse, repeat. This does not mean your first foray into emerging media is a blind stab in the dark, nor should it be cause for you to fear utilizing it. This is where research comes into play; ensuring your approach provides you with information that can give you actionable, post-operative insights is crucial to long-term branding success.
Granted, not all parameters of your campaign, such as budget constraints, can allow for costly research. On the other hand, external normative data provides access to a wealth of information at a fraction of the cost. Based on consistently aggregated data, it can not only help guide campaigns in the planning stages toward the best chance of success, but it can be used after the fact to help diagnose issues, or explore any additional questions that may arise.
The following graphs and tables use creative format data from the MarketNorms® database. Using the entertainment industry as an example, video units typically outperform rich media units on awareness, isolated at an exposure of 1; however, rich media may be the better performer when it comes to Purchase Intent. Included below is a calculator that gives a potential cost-effectiveness scenario that not only reinforces this idea, but provides evidence that rich media may also be less expensive to impact each person. This calculator tool populates with MarketNorms® data, allowing for comparisons across various creative attributes, which can be particularly valuable in the planning stages of a campaign. A simple tool such as this can aid in controlling costs in the long run, freeing up resources to focus on the campaign’s value-driven proposition.
Source: Dynamic Logic MarketNorms®
Entertainment Industry ,Rich Media, frequency of 1: Last 3 Years, Q2/2009, N=35, n=46,396
Entertainment Industry, Video, frequency of 1: Full Dataset; N=20, n=29,798
Analysis Adjusted for Frequency
The upside to normative data can also be its downside; it needs to be collected over a length of time, and in a consistent, comparable manner. This takes considerable effort and time, not to mention financial investment. In the end, the best way to market to the consumer is to do it with the best tools available. Research is never the magic 8-ball we hope for. In this case, it’s more like a compass that’s pointing in the direction we should go, but it’s up to us to go out there, traverse the terrain, and gather data along the way, but with a long term goal in mind. Video can be great as a centerpiece or supplement to any campaign; normative research is the tool to help give it the best chance to succeed.
Sources:
1- Nielsen three screen report, Q2/2009
2- http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=112822
3- Dynamic Logic’s MarketNorms® database, Q2/2009
If you’re interested in how Dynamic Logic can help your next campaign perform optimally for you. We invite you to call us at 212-844-3700 or email us at answers (at) dynamic logic (dot) com. Tell them that you read about us here
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