Archive for January, 2009
What I learned in Vegas
I spoke at the Digital Hollywood Conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on the “All Video-All the Time” panel. The panel covered a wide range of topics from value of content, video ad formats, business models to distribution platforms.
Here are the highlights of the conclusions we arrived at:
- Niche and mid tail content will further develop and advertisers will recognize that this content attracts desirable audiences
- Pre roll ad units will continue to be the most prevalent although new formats like overlays, branded players, and interactive rich media ads will gain traction
- Online video advertising will continue to grow and 2009 revenue numbers will be better than expected
- Advertisers will demand more accountability through performance metrics
- Contextual advertising is key to delivering ROI and performance. Seeing increase in behavioral targeting requirements in advertiser RFPs
- Cross platform delivery of ads in mobile, download and IPTV will gain traction in 2009
- There is still scarcity in premium inventory. Brands will insist on premium inventory especially in the current market
I had the opportunity to challenge my fellow panelists on a few points. I was not as bullish as others about the growth of the paid subscription content model. The general population won’t pay for content, only a small subset for very specialized content. Second, I think most video traffic growth will result from distribution and syndication, for example on widgets. Lastly, I believe CPMs on guaranteed inventory from the top portals will drop more significantly than CPMs from premium networks as advertisers will make more buys from networks to cut costs and as they realize that they can work with technology providers like YuMe to reach specific audiences rather than purchasing specific content.
– Gregory Chang
Video Markets Evolution
In Panache Lands MTV Networks; Ad Insertion Space Evolves, Will Richmond writes about the evolving ad operations and ad management space. One thing we’ve been saying fairly consistently on these pages is that the video monetization market is nascent. If you take the public pitches of the various video companies and then plot their timelines, you’ll often see drastic changes and alterations in the pitch and sometimes the business model itself. One thing won’t change though. Content distributors need money, and given the economic climate in the States, they are looking for any way to make more. The other thing that happens is to look to cut costs. Historically, ad operations and ad management are fairly large cost centers. Providing video monetization solutions that allow the basic content and ad needs to be met is only going half way, we feel. We need to offer cost efficiencies across the board, from ad operations, to syndication to billing and finance.
2009 will be an interesting year. I’ll remember to look back at the end of the year to see who fell down, who treaded water, and who surged ahead. But to surge, we’ve got to find ways to address both the revenue and cost sides of the equation.
Jayant Kadambi
2009 Predictions
I don’t do predictions, there are plenty of talking heads on TV forecasting doom, and to date the stock market and general corporate data seem to strongly support the generally gloomy scenarios. I do however, keep getting asked about how our business is holding up and I keep saying it seems to be holding up pretty well. We have been very proactive in touting to customers that it is very important in a down market to spend marketing dollars wisely, and what better way to spend it than with a metrics-driven video company like YuMe. By all measures, engagement, clicks, conversions, view-through, almost across the board, contextually placed advertisements on premium video return metrics that are higher than those placed elsewhere. And so it’s not surprising (touch wood) that video advertising continues to rise, both in terms of total dollars spent and in terms of views and impressions.
Jayant Kadambi
