The Online Video Opportunity On A Recession

I got the first glimpse of a slowdown of the economy when a friend that is very active in chambers of commerce at the national level asked me if clients or other business owner with whom I socialize had reduced budgets. This was October 2007. Back then I had not felt recession first hand. Fast forward to January 2007, and the picture changed dramatically. Several friends that owned business were voicing their concerns on the slow down and I received the first request for postponement of projects.

Does that mean you have to stop everything? The answer is no. Large corporations usually increase budgets during these slow downs and that results in increased market share at the end of the down cycle.

In the digital era there is opportunity for everyone. Small and large companies can benefit of new online offerings like online video. According to recent research from comScore, 75% of Internet users watched online video in November 2007. Online video has many different manifestations from user-generated content on YouTube to commercials taken from the television airwaves. The key point when marketing on the Internet is the need for a new approach to video - the development of relevant, engaging content that is authentic and applicable to the topics that the user has been searching for.

As a marketer, you need to build a story around your brand functionality and put it center stage. What sets this apart from a shameless promotion is the relevancy of the content. A good example of this is what some hotels are doing: they create video content that gives viewers an insider tour of a city's hot spots, hosted by the hotels' concierges. According to Bradley Inman, when audiences view video that is interesting and relevant to them, they have a much richer experience. In addition, their engagement with the brand is far more valuable since they care about the story and trust the person telling it.

The opportunity here is the social interaction made possible by the Internet. You have a number of tools: blogs, social networks and widgets that facilitate spreading these videos virally. The saying says that a happy customer will tell 5 people, with the Internet, that same person could share a video he found interesting with his entire address book and friends in a network. Imagine loading several version of the video on widgets and tracking what works better or segmenting them by demographics.

On December 2007, I outlined the transformation taking place in the media and advertising industry. This change was caused by the Internet and the higher adoption of online video with the growth of broadband connections among other things. Technology has increased the output quality of cameras and that in turn allows for broadcast quality productions via small productions that cost a fraction of a traditional TV spot. Under these circumstances marketers have the tools to leverage the power of the Internet and online video to create strong and organic interactions between their brands and consumers.

The 4 Screens Strategy

TV, Web, Mobile and In-Flight

Innovation is the name of the game according to a survey (October 2007) of marketers by Next Level Strategic Marketing Group. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said their upcoming strategies would include innovations, line extensions or new marketing initiatives. Advertising is going through a period of change due to the revolution in media consumption. U.S. consumers are spending more time online and often using DVRs to time-shift their TV viewing, creating a disconnect with marketers who rely exclusively on the same old ad buys they've made for years. The best way to succeed in the New Year is to keep it simple. The plan for 2008: Innovate, review the ad media mix and don't rely only on the tried-and-true.

Luminacion has a turn key opportunity in 2008 to help corporations reach the fast growing second generation bilingual Hispanics via LatinEyes, an English language show that airs nationally on over 60 television stations. This gateway allows us to provide clients with targeted marketing opportunities where marketing communication is delivered using geo, demo or behavioral targeting that leverages our multi-platform distribution. With product placement opportunities and enhanced distribution your brand’s presence improves exponentially and continues from platform to platform. The complete circle of the “The 4 Screens” strategy includes television, web, mobile and in-flight.

The strategy is enhanced with brand sponsored contest that are build around categories like travel, entertainment, cooking, technology, financial, health, automotive, style, culture and arts. A perfect fit for clients that look for organic product integration or that want to sponsor a segment or promotion in the context of the category. For more information, visit www.luminacion.com or email your inquires to info@luminacion.com

Nelly Furtado interview on “LatinEyes”

Association of National Advertisers Reports

Multicultural Markets and Mobile Marketing
The Association of National Advertisers recently surveyed its members and found that 38% of multicultural marketers are using mobile marketing, compared with just 28% of general-market advertisers. Twice as many multicultural marketers also said they plan to start using social networking for the first time in this upcoming year, compared with 19% in the general market.

Online Video Attracts Six Out of Ten Internet Users Weekly

According to a recent Horowitz Associates report, Broadband Content and Services 2007, six out of ten high speed Internet users watch/download online video content at least once a week and 86% do so on a monthly basis, compared to 45% and 71%, respectively, in the 2006 study. News and user-generated, non-professional content are the most often viewed genres, followed by movie previews/trailers, music videos, and previews/segments of TV shows. Weekly viewing of full episodes of television shows doubled from last year, with 16% of high speed Internet users watching TV online on a weekly basis. NBC and ABC are the networks Internet users mention the most frequently for online TV content, with Grey's Anatomy being the most often mentioned TV program viewed online. While consumption of broadband video has grown, the study shows that television is still the preferred platform for traditional TV content: 70% of Internet users who watch TV online say do so because they missed the episode on TV. For more about this study conducted Sept.-Oct 2007 by Horowitz Associates, please visit http://www.horowitzassociates.com/bcspr.html

The top 10 wireless trends for 2008

1. Wireless networks will remain the domain of wireless operator
2. The first Android phones hit the market
3. Camera phones will get even fancier
4. Mobile ads will come to a cell phone screen near you
5. WiMax will become available
6. Openness will continue to dominate the wireless lexicon
7. Nokia will become a major mobile software player
8. Getting lost will get harder
9. More touch screens
10. Silicon Valley will become a wireless industry hot spot

Source: Techland via Fortune
http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/12/31/the-top-10-wireless-trends-for-2008/

The Psychology of Social Sites

If it was a movie pitch the line would be something like: social science and basic human needs meet Web 2.0. In the report, Meeting Business Needs by Meeting Social Needs: Why Size Matters, Communispace deciphers which social needs are met by participating in social networks. Research from Communispace supports the premise that people are looking to fulfill six essential social needs online, and drawing on the Maslow hierarchy of human needs, concludes that businesses that help facilitate those needs are more likely to create deeper emotional bonds than usually exist between companies and customers.

In the report by Julie Schlack, Michael Jennings and Manila Austin "Meeting Business Needs by Meeting Social Needs...” the Communispace researchers, building on the work of social scientists, have identified the specific social needs that are met through participating in social networks. The study addresses "Six Social Needs" and relates them to Online social networks, suggesting that business can take advantage of these observations in creating more affinity with their prospects and customers.
Download the report at Communispace site. http://www.communispace.com/research/abstract/?Type=All%20About%20Communities&Id=38