Online Video Advertising…Is Horrible
May 21st, 2009 | By James Lewin | Category: Featured Story, Internet TV, Video 
Dan Rayburn offers a great take on the state of online video advertising in an article at BusinessOfVideo:
The online video industry should be a lot further along then it is right now.
The consumer experience for online video advertising right now is horrible. Nearly all ads are not targeted, content owners are not making money, content owners are cutting up content into too many pieces, and while I said two years ago that “15 Second Pre-Roll Video Ads Will Become The Standard”, clearly that was wishful thinking on my part. In the last week I’ve gotten ads that range from 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 41 seconds and 60 seconds.
What is going on? How do content owners not realize the affect this has on the consumer experience?
Rayburn’s right. The state of Internet video advertising is horrifically bad.
We already know that ad-supported Internet video is the future.
We already know that traditional 30-second commercials don’t work online.
We already know that bad advertising is holding back Internet video.
So why are sites like Hulu still torturing us with long, untargeted ads?
Don’t advertisers know that we’re muting the sound and checking our email or Twittering about how bad their ads are?
Image: JPDaigle
Ad supported Internet video is *part* of the future, but other options are emerging for content owners.
gstrompolos – you’re right, but paid models are even less mature than ad-supported Internet television.
Other than ranting about it, what’s the solution? Wasn’t the original idea that broadcast commercials had to be a certain length because it had to fit nicely into a strict time constraint program? And that program had to fit into the rest of the day’s programming schedule? We’ll internet programming does not need to conform to a schedule like traditional broadcast programming. So what if the ads are different lengths. Let’s start thinking outside the box
To start with, it THAN not THEN in your screed:
“The online video industry should be a lot further along then it is right now.”
We know no such thing as “We already know that ad-supported Internet video is the future.”
I think that its the Sponsorship Model, which is far more directly measurable, and likely to appeal to the narrower focus which is a blessed capability of the internet, which will emerge as the winner for advertising on ‘casts.
Let the beer advertisers advertise somewhere else.
I’m trying to appeal to my MSer focus, of which there are only 400k in the ‘States.
That means that manufacturers of canes, walkers, drugs, treatments and therapies are of far more interest to me and my fellow MSers that beer, gun and car makers,
Thanks for correcting the mistake, but when correcting someone else, remember to check your own post carefully for mistakes.
To start with, it’s “…it’s THAN not THEN…”, or “… it is THAN, not THEN …”, not “…it THAN not THEN…” in your post.
A similar mistake followed.
FAIL: “I think that its the Sponsorship Model…”
correct: “I think that it’s the Sponsorship Model…”
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa…
I have a problem with seeing what I actually wrote instead of what I thought I wrote when editing myself.
I screw up the prose in the process and press submit when I get tired of the subject, instead of letting it just sit there until I’ve had a chance to take enough of a break.
I made a fault with a contraction.
msbpodcast & Phil – that section’s a direct quote, so it was included, typos and all!
I don’t necessarily think the length of the advertisements are a problem if advertisers took the approach of providing extremely useful or entertaining content. I will sit and watch a 45 minute block, if it stimulates me. Strait ad segments will either get ignored or closed all together, so it has to be something to hold my attention. I see great examples all the time on adwido*com
Wayonda.com is a newly launched video yellow pages advertising site that combines geographically targeted ads with engaging original video production. It’s designed to provide businesses and private individuals the opportunity to use short professional videos to better display the quality and value of their products or services. It’s also a customer focused forum where users can geographically search to find services that are near by and enjoy a video experience of what it is they’re searching for. Content is kept current so display results are active, fresh and relevant.
Conceptually, it’s an integration of some of the largest advertising sites with some of the largest video sites. Wayonda.com merges the video advertising experience with target audience search to display national, regional or local items of interest. It also has a pay per view feature which provides a distribution option for professional productions from filmmakers, musicians and others whos content is of commercial interest. Accounts contain plenty of linking opportunities and there is a social networking interface woven in.
Being a new site, Wayonda.com has a rough, edgy appeal to it that evokes an environment of experiment and creativity as well as a new venue for videographers to gain exposure and build new marketing opportunities for their productions. As the video yellow pages advertising concept continues to evolve, sites like Wayonda.com will likely grow to provide a new experience of what advertising means and how customers and businesses interact. For the professional videographer, it opens an entirely new forum of interest for quality productions as advertisers seek out affordable options and creative solutions to reach their customers.