A blog for students of Professor Kagan's Digital Marketing Strategy course to comment and highlight class topics. From the various channels for marketing on the internet, to SaaS and e-commerce business models, anything related to the class is fair game.
In its earnings call, Procter and Gamble announced that they cut their digital ad budget in the U.S. by $140mn, with cuts driven by concerns for safety. In addition, P&G expressed concerns with safety over brand association, something that has been discussed in the media before, given limited regulation on the YouTube videos ads show up for.
The CEO said that cuts came from "largely ineffective" digital advertising channels. In the quarter, revenue still grew 2% in the U.S., though the long-term effects are still yet to be seen.
I can't imagine that P&G is going to ignore digital advertising. The CEO also expressed the importance of social media in the call as well. I do think this is a negotiating chip and message to digital advertisers that they need to do better in terms of measurement and regulation. The digital advertising universe is still relatively nascent, and I believe this is the CEO's way of holding the beneficiaries' collective feet to the fire, and proving out the thesis sooner rather than later.
According to the WSJ Youtube is looking into breaking the streaming video space. It will compete directly with serivces like Netflix, Amazon prime video and Hulu.
Personally I feel like there is not much difference between these type of service. Most of the series and movies are old, and there is a lack of new material. The only place that I see these streaming services differentiting is on the originl content they produce.
So that raises a question, will Youtube just be another streaming service?
The answer is no. While the other providers license older tv series and movies, youtube will focus on new material. This may definetly give Youtube an edge and grab an important size of the pie in its first motnhs.
We should expect to see this new service by 2016, and I am personally looking forward to it.
With the holidays approaching, retail brands have reached its annual climax in unleashing marketing creativity. Given the growing popularity of online and mobile platform, brands like Sephora and Net-A-Porter have invested heavily on digital this year to forge an omni-channel shopping experience.
Sephora, the subsidiary brand of LVMH, has rolled out its first Flash Boutique in Paris, which served to ramp up its consumer experience through a mobile-connected experience. Consumers will be able to shop from a digital catalogue featuring more than 14,000 items from approximately 150 beauty markets in addition to its usual makeup collections. Should shoppers unable to locate certain products, they could virtually add the merchandise to their digital baskets that enable them to pick up the desired cosmetics from Sephora in the future.
In addition to digitalize its product catalogue, Sephora has opted to experiment its digital perfume testers, allowing shoppers to pick up a Communication tag for the scent so that they could scan it on a nearby screen to smell the fragrance and explore more about the product. Of course, if they are interested in purchasing the fragrance, they could simply add it to their digital basket.
Moreover, the Flash Boutique offers a selfie mirror to allow consumers snap photos whilst trying on new items. Sephora even offers customers the opportunity to win a 1,000 Euro gift card should they disperse their selfies across social media with appointed hashtags.
Net-A-Porter, the British online retailer, made use of Sky’s Adsmart platform to target ads at viewers based on a number of demographic factors so that different consumers will see different versions of its video campaigns. For example, for its most recent “All For You” advertisement, viewers who prefer to watch long and HD videos on YouTube would be shown the long version that delineates the retailer’s stellar service and transparency. On the other hand, should users demonstrate a viewing preference for short and catchy ads, the short 30-second version would appear.
Net-A-Porter has previously implemented multiple mobile initiatives this year. The social media app it launched in April – The Net Set, is now available for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The app enables designers, brands, fashion personalities and consumers to interact with each other real-time, sharing inspirations and their own sense of style in a two-way dialogue. Consumers will also be able to scroll through a feed of trending fashion items from across the world, give friends shopping advice, share images, interact with style icons, and view personalized “love lists”.
According to the 2015 GPShopper Holiday Mobile Shopping survey, 35 percent of consumers plan to create shopping lists and 24 percent intend to check product inventory from their phones. Pinterest has upgraded Product Pins so that they allow retailers to automatically update their merchandise inventory information through their product posts. Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr have planned to implement similar initiatives such as collaborating with fashion bloggers to make social media channels the forefront of fashion enthusiasts’ discussions.
Given the current social media trend, brands should perhaps learn from Sephora and Net-A-Porter, and to synthesize digital and Brick-and-Mortar shopping experience by allowing greater transparency of their product inventory and pricing information, creating target contents for different customer segments, and fostering long-term customer relationships through interacting more with followers.
YouTube is now supporting Virtual Reality(VR) videos. VR videos refer to a type of 360-degree immersive video which make the audience feel that they are actually being in the environment. VR content sounds very high-tech and not easily accessible before, especially for the high price of VR devices such as Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift etc. But as Google is promoting Google Cardboard, a very simple and affordable viewer, where users can place their mobile phones inside and explore VR content on a variety of apps, the popularity of VR video will increase.
This new type of video will become a hot spot for creators and advertisers because of the engaging feature of VR videos. Google says that there are about 1 million Cardboard viewer owners and the New York Times will distribute 1.3 million Google Cardboard sets this weekend. And Youtube is promoting the idea of making VR accessible to everybody. The combination of this online and offline marketing will effectively wave huge interests among the public. And now, there are VR videos like the Hunger Games Experience and TOMS Shoes Giving Trip available on YouTube and the video platform is encouraging people to try this new and exciting VR experience.
Facebook has implemented several new products to help brands increase their advertising performances.
The first product—Carousel Advertisements, allow brands to show multiple images and ultimately a link to some actions. The Carousel Ads are 10 times better at getting people to click through compared to the static sponsored posts.Even the best of mobile banner ads garners only half of Click-Through Rate than that of a typical Carousel Ad.
The Carousel Ads also make users more likely to recall brands’ advertising campaigns. Compared with a 14-point lift from single-image ads, Carousel campaigns led to a 20-point boost in ad recall, as they allow for more of a conversation than a quick flyby.
In addition, Facebook announced earlier this week that it would feature on its mobile app a new video section, which would be populated with content that has been liked and saved by users, recommended by their friends, and posted by pages they follow. This approach would depart from Facebook’s current strategy of permeating users’ news feeds with non-targeted run-of-network videos.Facebook also plans to improve its “Suggested Videos” tab to offer videos according to users’ profile and past viewing preference.
This could allow brands to provide differentiated viewing experience on YouTube and Facebook. Brands could post popular contents on Facebook such as media credits and recent campaigns, while utilizing YouTube to feature videos about product details and tutorials to cater to brand enthusiasts.
Moreover, Facebook rolls out a test of a Shopping feed that aggregates posts and photos about products on sale from brands chosen by users. There will also be a “Search” bar and a “Suggestion” tab, which includes brands that are recommended based on friends’ preferences. In addition, the Shopping feed includes a Canvas function, which subsequently takes users to a full-screen experience within Facebook, allowing them to browse merchandises and peruse product information. The platform will eventually enable e-commerce, from which Facebook decides not to take a percentage of sales.
Besides Facebook, other social media companies have also undertaken initiatives to facilitate interactions between brands and followers. WeChat, the Chinese all-encompassing app, has developed its own commercial “Shop” feature, allowing verified brand accounts to converse with clients to provide customer services, and to display and sell merchandises on the transaction platform developed in collaboration with Alipay. Pinterest will also soon team up with brands to allow people to plaster their immediate to long-term shopping plans on Pinterest boards, based upon which brands could fire different kinds of creative pins to encourage actions. Pinterest is also expanding tech partnerships and developing functionality offered through the ad software program to improve its metrics measurement and to optimize its behavioral targeting.
Google has recently unveiled a new product called Customer Match allowing advertisers to upload lists of emails that will be matched to signed-in Google users on Gmail, search, and Youtube. Companies will be able to upload names of people from their CRM system, and then send targeted advertisements to corresponding users. These tailored advertisements will also follow users on other Google platforms, such as Youtube and Gmail. In addition, the program allows advertisers to find similar audiences that have not yet been captured by the list, which could greatly help companies to expand their client base.
This is not the first time Google dipped its toes into Facebook’s territory with app install ads and email-based advertising. Since earlier this year, Google has leveraged its larger networks in areas like search-to-promote apps as it felt the push from the wider market and the competition from Facebook. In May, Google rolled out new mobile ad products, namely the click-to-buy buttons in search and shoppable ads on YouTube videos.
These two products share the same concept but differ slightly in that the click-to-buy directs shoppers to a Google checkout page, enabling one-click purchase; whereas the click-to-shop ads on Youtube convey users to retailers’ e-commerce sites. Small retailers, who would otherwise shun from e-commerce for lacking funds to build the website, could open their store on Google. Brands relying heavily on videos to provide users with reviews and tutorials could now take viewers directly to their product pages with one click. Companies such as Wayfair and Sephora have tested the ads in beta, and have successfully increased impressions for their demographic of 35-to-64-year-old women. Owing to the traffic boost, these brands intent to create more original video contents in the near future.
As Google now aims at chaperoning users from the start of their search journey till the end of their transactions, competitors have been carrying out similar initiatives. In early 2014, Pinterest unveiled its “Promoted Pins” product that targets only specific customers and allows users to see product information and availability directly through their Pinterest feeds. Facebook have long since been cooperating with advertisers utilizing its “Custom Audience” platform which let businesses plug in CRM email addresses to target customers with relevant ads. Most recently, Facebook is trying out an artificial intelligence-powered Messenger assistant that can answer questions and direct users to relevant businesses.
Facebook has recently released its autoplay feature for videos by which they automatically begin playing in the user’s newsfeed, which is becoming more video heavy.
The tricky thing for marketers is that Facebook counts a view when a video has been autoplaying for just 3 seconds. Youtube, however, counts a view after the video has been playing for as much as 30 seconds. This difference might be based on the different nature of both platforms. While Facebook’s users scroll down their news feed quickly looking at a variety of content, people go to YouTube to specifically watch videos.
But, what does it means for marketers? Firstly, they should be careful about what to include in the first seconds of the video ad. Secondly, while 3 seconds of a video can still have an impact on its audience, marketers should not try to simplify reporting by making comparisons between Facebook and YouTube video views.
Just as we were talking about connecting marketing, social, and branding, BeautyCon launched a new site "to connect social media stars with fans and brands". This is a great idea, and it got me thinking about an interesting mix of industry types. As a marketplace or clearinghouse, BeautyCon's site is in excellent shape, because it has all the desirable properties of a sustainable two-sided market. Scale is important, and self-perpetuating. Once BeautyCon becomes the industry standard, it will be extremely difficult for anyone else to compete with it, and BeautyCon can enjoy a long and profitable run at the top. That's of course true of other business models, whether they relate to fashion or not: retailing, warehousing, publishing, etc. All of these businesses have had longtime dominant players at one point or another.
However, fashion itself - now that has been elusive. Western fashion essentially began in the mid 14-th century, and it has not stopped since. There has not been a singular driving force behind it since the death of Marie Antoinette in 1793. Sure, there is always some person or institution exerting influence over it, but that never lasts, and it is never pervasive.
I wonder if the application of web technologies to the field will enable a kind of grand consolidation for the first time in centuries. Web-enabled de factor monopolies like YouTube do seem to be fairly durable. Yet human taste is famously fickle, and I think that fashion will continue to be the glorious, constant flux that it is.
YouTube Kids launched this week to a decent amount of fanfare, representing a safer, family-friendly alternative for allowing kids to interact with media on the internet.
The service touts features including: a timer (to limit the amount of time kids can spend watching clips); elimination of the search bar, which limits the content available for viewing to a preset menu; and obvious filtering of any content that could be deemed offensive or inappropriate for children. After all, you don't want your kid searching for "Power Rangers" and stumbling upon the awesomely violent unofficial Power Rangers reboot featuring James Van Der Beek.
Google is not the first to release a video service focused on children. Last year Todd Yellin, Netflix's Vice President of Product Innovation, came to talk with Columbia's Media Management Association. When asked about the biggest growth area for Netflix, Mr. Yellin spoke at length about the potential of Netflix Kids (which was already released to the public).
It is clear that the big digital media companies see children as a critical demographic for their business models. I chalk this up to three key themes. In order of increasing importance:
1. Stickiness- where the childrens' eyeballs go, so will the parents' (along with their subscription dollars)
2. Competitive advantage- these companies are chasing sustainable competitive advantage in the form of customer captivity- specifically, habit formation. Kids that grow up with YouTube or Netflix as their primary media vehicle will be much more likely to be heavy consumers as adults.
3. Advertising- this new, kids-only offering allows Google to provide advertisers (toymakers, cereal brands, etc.) highly targeted ad inventory that is guaranteed to be viewed by a captive audience of children. This should therefore command higher CPMs/CPCs with specific advertisers and represent a new revenue stream that Google hasn't been focused on before.
On the downside, parents have a right to be concerned about the frequency and other possible ill affects of all this targeted advertising. "What could possibly happen?", you may ask. Here's an anecdote: I had a manager who shared an iPad with his kid. About a month into letting his son download a game on the iPad, he received a bill from Apple well into the hundreds of dollars for in-game purchases that his kid was making to level up in a game. His kid had no idea of the consequences of clicking the button- he just thought it was part of the game!
Increased advertising to unsophisticated audiences will inevitably cause an increase in similar types of incidents across the board. It's ok to let your kid watch streaming content on kid-friendly providers... you just want to make sure that your credit card isn't connected to that service!
Google is about to release a kid-version youtube app for smartphones
and tablets featuring popular television shows for preschoolers. Interestingly, this App will not be available
at the popular IOS platform, at least initially. You might want to ask, what,
no IOS app? And how do the ads work, if any, for these kids audience? One thing
for sure, there are still a lot of uncertainty around the economics of this App.
Sources has indicated that Google is planning on showing ads
in the App, but one legal concern is that “Google will have had to comply with
the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which is overseen by the Federal
Trade Commission. Among other COPPA rules, websites that cater to children must
notify parents if they collect personal information.” (WSJ.com) If
individual level data cannot be collected, then it is unclear how Google is
going to effectively do their ad distribution job. Another concern might come
from the lack of platform support. The data has shown that on average, IOS
users have higher income than Android users. If there is no IOS platform
support, then is there a strategic portion to the move as well?
A $$ Move
No doubt that an App just for kids will attract a vast
amount of advertisers who are thirst for a channel that they can use effectively
to target the kids “consumers”. Think about it, preschoolers rarely have any
kind of smart phone, thus almost impossible to identify among all the mobile
device users. Given such a kid specific channel, advertisers could finally
identify this segment easily. According to WSJ, “Darcy Bowe, vice president and
media director at Starcom, an advertising agency, said her clients are often
frustrated by lack of digital advertising venues geared for children.” Given
that there aren’t many competing platforms that have such a huge potential for
attracting kids (yes, kids are in general addicted to watching TV programs),
the bargaining power of Google is in much favor.
But could there be a deeper level of reason for such an App,
Given all the potential hassle of getting it approved?
A Strategic Move
Well, one thing we know is that at least in the US, the
annual sales of android devices are dropping compared to IOS. Just last quarter
in 2014, the IOS devices accounted for 47.7 percent of sales compared to 47.6
percent for Android. Although Android is still dominating the overall
smartphone market, Google does need to worry about this change in sales trend. Having
an App like this, if later proven to be popular, will likely to fuel the sales
of Android devices.
One thing they might miss though, are the higher income
families that mostly use IOS devices. If
the advertisers on this App can only target kids from the comparatively lower
income families, then that might be a slight disappointment for potential
advertisers.
A more important aspect might be the long term effect on
people’s consumption habit both for the mobile platform and how they interact
with TV programs. First, if a kid growing up using Android platform, this could
potentially affect their choice of devices when they become teens. Second, kids
nowadays are shifting away from the traditional TV-watching habits that the
last generation might have. One director from Comcast once said that the 7-11PM
prime time is the “God intended” way to watch TV programs. However, it seems
that the majority of teens do not think that way. Watching TV programs on
mobile devices has increasingly become popular not just among teens, but also
among young adults and even mid-ages. An App like this one could further catalyze
the process, resulting in more TV-program consumed from mobile platforms in the
future, therefore eating away TV broadcasters’ share. We will see how that
plays out in the future.
When you first joined YouTube it’s possible you picked a URL that
isn’t quite in line with what you have built your brand into today. Previously
you could have started a new account with a URL that’s more befitting
of your brand, but who wants to go through the effort of starting a
whole new channel, especially after you have acquired a number of
subscribers.
Now there’s an easier way to get a new custom URL
without having to undo all the work you have done to build your
following on YouTube. The company states that starting this week it will be sending out emails and notifications
to qualifying users that will give them the opportunity to claim a new
URL.
ZEFR, a video monetization platform, has acquired Engodo according to a report in TechCrunch. ZEFR has traditionally been a video monetization platform that has focused on YouTube. The company currently provides insights and software solutions so that brands can create more impactful media and better connect with their consumers.
They currently focus on two products: brand management and rights management which includes:
Brand Management Suite:
Brand ID- allows brands to identify conversations about their brand and engage in the conversation
Channel ID- allows brands to create an effective YouTube channel
Performance Marketing- gives brands the tools to reach consumers with targeted advertising.
Rights Management enables studios or labels to:
Protect their assets on YouTube
Maximize the monetization of copyrighted content
Understand how content is being used across YouTube
With the addition of Engodo, ZEFR is looking to expand their capabilities beyond video and YouTube. Engodo is a "social influencer advertising platform" that connects brands or agencies with "influencers" or content publishers who create content across different media networks on behalf of brands.
The acquisition will allow ZEFR to expand their monetization beyond YouTube and provide advertisers with insights across numerous channels. As companies look to create native advertising and directly connect with their consumers, they can now look to ZEFR to assist them in developing effective media advertising across platforms.
One of my favored purveyors of ingredients for liquid libations--Shopper's Vineyard in New Jersey--takes advantage of a variety of web-marketing channels. Their liquor expert, Seth Nadel, not only sends out a bi-weekly email blast informing me about the latest deals (this week is a Bourbon sampler pack), but alerts me ahead of time via his twitter account. Beyond these more passive push technologies, Seth integrates YouTube and facebook into his advertising campaign. His twitter post references a youtube presentation featuring this week's Bourbon special. The video, in turn, provides a call to action to join the facebook fanpage, where users can find a $15 discount on the Bourbon special.
I appreciate an interactive campaign as much as the next bourbon drinker, but find the nested interactions and additional pull requirements to be a bit of a pain--I don't find it incredibly helpful to watch a video on bourbon, nor am I likely to use a fan page to dictate my alcohol purchases. There is a fine line between effective use of social media and an ineffective over-use. This seems to fall on the overuse side of things.
Luckily, Nadel also uses social channels that have more relevance to alcohol connoisseurs. Specifically, Nadel will often post to the message board Ministry of Rum whenever the weekly specials feature a rum product (e.g., here). Such direct interaction with a specific audience seems to be paying dividends, and certainly makes me more likely to stick with Seth's choices.
When you woke up one morning from uneasy dreams, you found yourself changed in your bed into LeBron James. You are America’s best and most beloved athlete. You are so famous the President says he’s you: "I'm LeBron, baby. I can play on this level. I got some game."[1] The press is literally calling this is the Summer Of You. You are 25 years old, and you are on the market. It’s good to be King. You report on the set for your first Hollywood movie in a couple weeks.
But alas, all is not right in the Kingdom. You just got bounced from the playoffs early (again) by an aging, banged-up Celtics squad. With a few passive jumpshots, your crown lost some luster. This is the year you fell off the Michael Jordan trajectory. MVP titles. Olympic gold medals. None of that matters. At the end of the day, it’s all about the rings. MJ had six. Kobe has four. You have none.
LeBron James woke up one morning changed into not the next Michael Jordan, but the next Kevin Garnett. A freakish, high school-straight-to-pros prodigy who let his prime years go to waste for an also-ran team in the Midwest. Kevin Garnett warned LeBron about the dangers of being too loyal last week. KG said he would have left Minnesota for Boston years earlier knowing what he knows now.
But LeBron’s a loyal guy. He has the Akron area code 313 inked to his arm. He throws his annual MVP acceptance ceremonies in his Ohio high school gym. For him to leave Cleveland will always be a chink in his armor. He couldn’t win one with the hand he was dealt. Still, he’s given 6 ringless years of his career to Cleveland and lies even deeper in Jordan’s shadow. The Cavs can’t even get out of the East. And then there’s that $30 million clause in the NIKE contract that kicks in if he plays in New York or LA.
***
LeBron James and Tiger Woods share the same birthday (December 30) and ethnicity. That is all. Nine years and worlds separate them. One was raised by a military strict dad and loving mom, went to Stanford, and often plays in a sweater. The other? A heavily-tattooed manchild from a single mom and the streets of Akron, Ohio. Guess which one turned into sex-addicted Lothario who cheated on his Swedish bikini model wife and two children with umpteen mistresses from Vegas strippers to the teenage girl next door?
Meanwhile, LeBron James has an immaculate public image. He kicked a water-bottle once and didn’t shake hands with the Magic. And I’m being nitpicky here. With TMZ and Twitter now, this is amazing. James is engaged to his high school sweet-heart. His mom Gloria deserves … LeBronian praise.
LeBron doesn’t have the raw intensity of Michael Jordan. This is a good thing. When all is said and done, BronBron won’t win more rings than Michael. But he’ll be much happier and popular. “Talent is liquefied trouble”, as filmmaker Sydney Pollack liked to say. It fueled Jordan to 6 rings, yes, but he also fought his own teammates in practice and became a compulsive gambler. He muddled through a messy divorce and was still bitterly calling out his haters during his Hall of Fame acceptance speech last year. Those six rings are the only fine-line between Jordan’s brilliance and madness.
The NBA was just angrier back then. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird wouldn’t even speak to each other during their storied 1980s rivalry. Nowadays, there’s LeBron biking around with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in Beijing. http://dreamleague.org/img/20061220_lebron-hook.jpg
Like LeBron, Us Generational Y’ers are more global and not as mad as our predecessors. Youtube and Facebook tend to keep us happy. And LeBron James is the perfect specimen for Youtube. There are 112,000 LeBron James videos on Youtube. (And this is the best one.) He drops the Akron Hammer Tomahawk jams mid-game, but he’ll get down for impromptu dance-offs with Shaq pre-game too.
So it’s only appropriate that Generation Y’s Mozart has a lion-dragon tattoo inked to his chest and is Eddie Murphy funny. LeBron shares Gen Y’s sleepy Facebook political activism, too. He’s not especially outspoken about anything, but he did donate money to Obama’s 2008 campaign. He took Jordan’s queue about not being political. He’ll give the most milquetoast soundbytes on current events. LeBron James reps NIKEs, not Darfur.
***
Thank God for the World Cup because besides that SportsCenter will bombard us all summer with “Will Brett come back?” and “Will LeBron stay?” LeBron can look to baseball for some pointers. Alex Rodriguez shows LeBron exactly what not to do. A-Roid took steroids for three years, cheated on his wife with a Toronto stripper, and is just generally a despicable human being. He’s merely a better Jose Canseco, a.k.a a juiced up slugger who dated Madonna. A-Roid chased the money out of town and did win a ring. But he couldn’t win a title by himself. He’ll always be the Ben Affleck to Derek Jeter’s Matt Damon—a punchline:
Then there’s Joe Mauer. It is impossible not to pull for Joe Mauer. He speaks like the guys from the “Fargo” movie, unwinds Sundays by mowing his lawn at his log cabin, and is only the greatest catcher since Johnny Bench. Joe Mauer spurned the Yankees and Red Sox to take a sizable hometown discount and stay with the Twins. It’s been hailed as a sign that small market teams can still keep their superstars. Joe Mauer singlehandedly saved Minneapolis tourism for the next 8 years.
Imagine you are LeBron James. You have four choices. Pick one:
a)LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: LeBron going to the Clippers would be like Megan Fox marrying Donnie Wahlberg. Right house, definitely wrong brother.
b)CHICAGO BULLS: Even President Obama is pitching his city of Chicago.[2] And LeBron has never played with a point guard like Derek Rose. But playing in Jordan’s House is not conducive to leaving Jordan’s shadow.
c)STAY IN CLEVELAND: Home is where the heart is. And the Cavs are still a championship caliber team. To GM Dan Ferry’s credit, he did everything right except for two big man trades that didn’t happen with Los Phoenix Suns. In 2009, Ferry couldn’t pry away Shaq to be the Kyptonite to the Dwight Howard Superman. In 2010, Ferry wouldn’t put up the extra rookie for Amare Stoudamire. Ferry opted for the Wizards’ Antwan Jamison who wilted versus Boston (scoring 9 and 5 points the last two playoff games).
d)NEW YORK: You will always be from Akron, but there is nothing like being King of New York. Ask your best friend Jay-Z. Then have a little chat with your buddy Dwyane Wade about coming too. What can you buy with $30 million a year max contract you can’t buy with $20 million? Besides, you and Mr. Wade would recoup it with interest when you bring NYC four straight NBA titles.
Being Google's "little" brother certainly comes with some pressure.
YouTube, the second-largest search engine on the web behind its parent company Google, is under increasing pressure to step up its advertising campaign. While Google is famous for its innovative search advertising, YouTube has found difficulty in adopting a Google-style standard of search ads.
I think a potential problem is that people are more likely to be searching for a product or a service through Google rather than YouTube, making Google a much more reasonable place to have search ads. The traffic on YouTube is less likely to come from people searching for "cooking supplies" and "baby products," and more likely to come from people seeking out a cat playing piano or a music video that surely won't be played on MTV. (On a related note, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group teamed together with YouTube to create Vevo, a music channel aimed at bringing in advertising tied with music videos.)
Read the full article about YouTube's advertising here:
"The project, which cost $3.5 million to field, directly observed how people spent their day using media, found that while growing rapidly, online video and mobile video still account for a small fraction of the amount of time Americans spend watching all forms of video content, including live TV programming, time-shifted television, DVDs, video games, etc."
I don't think this would change the trend towards spending on online marketing, though. I wonder, sometimes, if marketers' move toward online spending is as much because of the data available in that form as the actual impact it has.
One of my favorite dot-com implosions was Third Voice, which was named one of 1999's hottest companies by Red Herring magazine. It was basically a browser plug-in which allowed users to place comments on any website. With no mechanism through which comments could be vetted, the result was basically "digital graffiti". Salon commented:
The AOL home page boasts a chorus of notes with the common sentiment that "AOL Sux!" And at Netscape's front door you'll find notes like that of "MrDwight," who feels that Third Voice is the perfect forum to tell you that "Jesus is the only Eternal Life Insurance Policy that gives you true Peace on Earth, Righteousness in your thinking, and Joy in your attitude."
What lessons can we learn here? One is that the vast majority of user-generated content is not very compelling, to say to least. This is less of a problem for sites like YouTube, which enjoy massive amounts of traffic and determine what content is worthwhile using measures of popularity. But for sites like Facebook, where posted information is only relevant to a handful of people, the effect may be fatal. The Economist notes:
Unlike other networks, social networks lose value once they go beyond a certain size. “The value of a social network is defined not only by who's on it, but by who's excluded,” says Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley forecaster. Already, social networks such as “aSmallWorld”, an exclusive site for the rich and famous, are proliferating. Such networks recognise that people want to hobnob with a chosen few, not to be spammed by random friend-requests. This suggests that the future of social networking will not be one big social graph but instead myriad small communities on the internet to replicate the millions that exist offline.
I met a friend for coffee today, and she complained that her extended family keeps pestering her with unwanted messages and invitations on Facebook. I'm betting she will quit the site within a year or two. Whether this becomes a real trend depends on how well Facebook can divine and respect the preferences of its users. The Burger King "Whopper Sacrifice" (thanks Kelly) may just mark the beginning of the end.
After ditching YouTube, Viacom has signed a broad licensing deal with Joost. Joost's promise that it would protect Viacom's copyrights was a major factor in VIA's decision to pursue the deal. The same issue was a stumbling block in the company's talks with Google.
Joost was started by the guys behind Skype and is currently in testing phase. You can currently sign up for their beta and tinker around with the program. They're planning to launch in June...
In what I find to be a great expression of the kind of collaboration that Web2.0 represents, YouTube (by Google) has announced that they will share revenue with users.
