I read an interesting news release a few weeks ago from Maven
Networks on the
Streaming Media website,
about the formation of a new Online TV Advertising organization
that’s
dedicated to researching technology to enhance the user experience for
Internet video ads.
The new organization features such heavy hitters as
Microsoft, Maven, Fox News Digital, TV Guide and DoubleClick. While
some may find online video ads an annoyance, you need to look beyond
the typical 15-second commercial spot and think about the big financial
picture.
After all, online video sites have to monetize their content
in order to create a financially viable business, and thus stay in
business. So advertising is as necessary to online video as
it is to
television programming.
But what I am pleased to hear is that
one of
the goals of this new organization is “creating engaging and
appealing
user experiences”.
Losing The Instant Gratification
Like anyone, I find that online video ads can be a barrier to
the
instant gratification that I have come to expect from my online
experience.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really mind
sites funding their
online presence with advertising but I don’t like being
forced to watch
advertising that focuses on something in which I have no interest.
However with the power of online video and the tools available
to
developers, there is no reason to have the same impersonal 30-second
commercial that we suffer through during primetime TV.
Adobe Media Player
For example, I
sat through an Adobe presentation at the IBC2007 show in Amsterdam and
saw some interesting technology that they’re enabling through
their new
Adobe Media Player. There is a beta version available online at http://labs.adobe.com.
These new tools allow you to embed a sprite in the corner of
the video.
On the surface, it may not sound like much, but it does allow
me to
immediately watch the content I selected without waiting for the
advertiser to get their screen time.
With this technology, the ad ran
as a small image in a corner of the video allowing me to view the
desired content immediately.
But the real power of this technology was that the ad sprite
actually pertained to the video content that I was viewing.
Personalising Video Adverts
For
example, if I was watching the weather forecast for an upcoming trip I
have to Florida, the ad sprite could be promoting sunscreen or some
other relevant product I might need for my trip.
And, not only could
the product relate to the video content, it’s also a
click-able link
that opens a shopping cart and allows you to drop in the product ready
for an immediate online transaction.
Now that is making advertising a personal and engaging
experience which is what online video is all about!
Originally written by Mark Fears of the RipCode Blog. RipCode offers on-demand video transcoding solutions to ease the process of re-purposing video into multiple viewing formats.
