Digital TV Ad Market Continues To Bloom

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Television industry executives better pay attention, because the digital video market isn’t really “just a phase.” At least, not anymore.

A new report from video ad tech firm FreeWheel indicates that digital video operations are on the rise, with a 67 percent overall increase on their fall 2014 TV shows’ digital video ad views. That’s a huge bump from the same numbers in 2013, according to Digiday. That’s over 125 million video views measured by the company.

“That big, granular number shows what content is really driving growth,” said Brian Dutt, author of the report and advisory services director for FreeWheel. “A lot of the audiences coming into digital are coming over for the shows they would have watched on their TV or DVR.”

The overall industry has seen a 215 percent growth in video ad views for the fourth quarter of 2013. The charts below break down some of the finer details.

In this chart, you see that traditional television advertising is still popular, but not quite as strong as digital video, as the numbers show a slight difference by about three percent in both categories, including full year and Q4 breakdowns.

When it comes to ad revenue growth, total ad spend came to $68.5 billion, compared to just $6 billion for digital video the year before. Traditional networks are starting to find more of an audience, but, as you can see, AMC still rules the roost, behind such original programming as Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.

Live sports really make a difference with digital video, and sports play a part in that, along with TV shows and feature films. “Long-form” content, as it’s considered, accounts for 52 percent of overall digital ad views – and, as you can see from the chart above, it’s been rising steadily over each quarter.

“There’s obviously still a long way to go for digital video to match the scale of (traditional television), but it can happen in pretty quick bursts,” said Dutt. “The growth in TV Everywhere and live really speaks to that.

“It starts with the Olympics or World Cup or Super Bowl, these big events where if you’re not near your TV and need to engage with the content, you’re going to do whatever you need to do to watch,” he continued. “Then it becomes a way people want to continue engaging with content.”

While tablets and mobile devices are key ingredients to digital viewing success, people still prefer set-top boxes and game consoles, like the PlayStation 4, to get their fix, according to this chart. 70 percent of overall views seem to come from a more stable desktop/laptop set-up, compared to only 15 percent for smartphones.

“A lot of the initial usage has been focused on subscription models, and also the download-to-own models,” explained Dutt. “The ad models have been a little bit slower to get into those environments, in part because of measurability issues… but, at the end of the day, the 50-inch screen in your living room has to be the place where people engage with premium content in an ad-supported environment.

“One day we’re all expecting that (over-the-top) devices will drive the lion’s share of the growth.”

You can learn more details about this report here.

Google’s Jason Spero On Getting Mobile Marketing Right

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Marketing doesn’t come easy – nor should it. Exploring new ideas and finding products that can connect easily with consumers are always a work in progress, as companies attempt to improve upon their practices and, as a result, pick up more business.

But paying attention to the consumer and understanding their path to purchase is a vital ingredient in this success, at least according to Google vice president of performance media Jason Spero. Sometimes the path to what leads to a purchase can be more important than the purchase itself, according to this VentureBeat article.

Spero talked at this week’s VentureBeat Mobile Summit in San Francisco, explaining the logic behind this thinking. “The more you can capture data” for said path, “the more you can have a one-on-one conversation” surrounding the consumer, according to Spero.

Data plays a key part as well, as the more data that’s captured about the consumer’s lingering for a product, “the more you can build attribution models for a multi-touch world,” he explained.

Engaging consumers – and making sure the right teams are doing so – is also important. “It’s going to be about who has the data,” he explained, “who understands the user.”

Knowing intent is above all else, no matter what other data comes into play, though. He believes that “layers of intent” make all the difference.

Spero’s thoughts come at a time when mobile marketers are having a struggle trying to figure out how to attribute sales to specific content and devices, according to this subsequent VentureBeat piece. Joe Megibow, chief digital officer at American Eagle Outfitters, gave his thoughts on this subject at the Mobile Summit conference in Sausalito, California earlier this week.

With multiple devices being used, ads can be seen in a more common way, although marketers could have a tough time figuring out which ones are successful. Word of mouth is also hard to track at times, especially if social media isn’t used.

Megibow explained through an IBM study that, although 50 percent of consumers use mobile devices for purchases, far more actually go through their desktop computers, where they outweigh mobile ones nearly three-to-one.

“If mobile is growing like crazy but it is converting only a third as well as on the desktop, you have a serious problem,” he said. “The data is saying ‘don’t spend any more marketing dollars on mobile,’ but that’s obviously wrong.”

Mollie Spilman, Critero chief revenue officer, had her own thoughts as well, believing that 27 percent of sales now take place on smartphones – and they’ll only get better. “More sales are going to happen on smartphones than tablets or desktops,” she explained.

To learn more on this research, check out this report here.

Reaching For the Stars With YouTube

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Over the past few years, YouTube has been able to create some unlikely superstars who have managed to amass a large audience within a limited period of time. After all, PewDiePie started out small but has become YouTube’s biggest sensation, making millions of dollars a year through posted videos and partnerships with other companies.

A new article from Digiday points out that even the smallest of video creators can gain celebrity status on the channel, with just the right amount of creativity. Although that doesn’t mean they’re rolling in millions, they can create a large, suitable audience in which to expand even further.

Take, for example, The Kloons, a group of YouTube sensations that have gained quite a following. The team has been working nearly five years on creating comedy sketches for the channel, and it appears to be paying off, with over 217,000 subscribers following them, and over 460,000 monthly video views across the two programs they post on a monthly basis. (This is according to research from YouTube analytics platform OpenSlate.)

The article explains that the Kloons are not “rolling money,” or “living the high life,” but they are on the verge of creating full-time work from their dream project.

Co-Kloon Greg Washburn noted, “It was just the right amount of naivety. We had no idea how to do it, which was perfect. I think if we knew how much of a shitshow it was going to be, if we had a snapshot of the next five years, we may have said no.” Instead, the team simply decided “let’s make our own thing.”

With the right amount of equipment (including suitable cameras and other technical gear), the team has managed to evolve its work into something more, although keeping its comic focus in check. As a result, the Kloons channel has gotten more than 23 million lifetime YouTube views, as well as a push through The Ellen Degeneres Show, where episodes of Sisters have aired.

“While all of that is awesome, it also doesn’t matter,” says Kloons co-partner Mitch Lewis. “You go through peaks and valleys. The first time you have a viral video is amazing, but that lasts about 24 hours, and then you’re right back where you were 24 hours ago…we’re very grateful for our recent success, and we’re enjoying it, but it’s important not to get too attached to it.”

The Kloons don’t necessarily want fame and fortune, only stability enough to keep their work going. The team actually works on other stuff in the meantime, as Lewis managed the official YouTube channel for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Washburn shoots video for clients.

The team decided not to join up with partners like Maker Studios and Fullscreen, instead trying to stay independent. “For some people, particularly if you have a massive following, you have to outsource some management aspects of all that, and you’re in a place to negotiate a deal that seems very fair,” said Lewis. “We’re a three-man team. We do have the resources to manage some of that stuff on our own. We’ve found that to be the best solution for us so far.

“We want to sell out; we just want to sell out smart. We want to work with companies where we can sleep all right at night.”

Check out The Kloons’ work on Sisters in the video below, in which a pair of 30 year old men lip-synch a conversation between two 60-year old women – with hilarious results. We certainly wish The Kloons the best of luck.

 

There’s No Auto-Jump On Marketing Automation

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Marketing automation plays a decent part in business these days, and, according to eMarketer, it’s only going to get bigger.

Of course, that’s because there’s plenty of room to grow. A report from Ascend2 held back in December indicates that only 24 percent of marketing professionals on a worldwide basis report using any form of marketing automation to an extent. However, there’s potential in growth in the years ahead, as 35 percent indicated they use it a limited amount, and 34 percent that weren’t currently using it stating that they would in the future.

CallidusCloud had equally small findings, with just under 13 percent of those polled stating they had successfully automated 75 percent or more of their sales and marketing processes. More than half also said that fewer than 50 percent of their processes were automated.

However, it’s a big part of business for future purposes. Ascend2’s poll indicates that 86 percent of respondents believe marketing automation can be successful to achieving certain objectives for their companies. However, only 25 percent believe this could be “very” successful, with room for improvement in the user department.

When it comes to a good marketing automation strategy, 47 percent of those polled believe increasing sales revenues and lead generation are key areas, followed by improving lead nurturing (44 percent), improving customer engagement (37 percent) and improving marketing productivity (33 percent).

However, only 20 percent of respondents stated that improving marketing-sales alignment was a top priority for marketing automation. This is a bit of cause for concern, but there’s always room to learn and, eventually, grow.

But spending is about to increase big-time with technology, as CIO reports that spending will jump by $120 billion over the next decade — a whopping jump from the $1.2 billion for this year. “This is unprecedented growth in any software category I’ve ever come across,” said Ashu Garg, general manager for Foundation Capital. “There’s a fundamental shift, an irreversible trend, of consumers living in a digital world” with a demand for more marketing technology.

That said, some marketers still need to figure out a way to master its tech, mainly in the social media department. Adweek reports that approximately 87 percent of business to business marketers use social media, but less than one in five (17 percent) can actually measure return on investment, or ROI for short. In the business to consumer market, the number is a little higher in both areas, but only by 87 percent for general social media use, and 27 percent being able to calculate ROI.

So, as you can see, there are still improvements to made all around with marketing tech — but the market will grow, and there’s no stopping it.

The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur On Making Content for Facebook, Hulu And YouTube

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by Jessica Klein

The Young Turks online news network is known for its huge YouTube presence — but, as with other creators on the world’s biggest video site, its future isn’t with YouTube alone. The network has started to distribute programming across other major online video hubs, including Hulu and, most recently, Facebook, with its latest series “Final Judgment,” which provides a spin on the biggest news stories from TYT boss Cenk Uygur.

Today, The Young Turks Network still make most of its revenue from YouTube, but according to Uygur, his strategy isn’t necessarily to keep things that way. Uygur spoke to us about making the online news network’s first series for the Facebook audience, and the network’s plans for news domination…

Why did you decide to produce your latest series, “Final Judgment,” for Facebook? What are the advantages of making the show for Facebook over YouTube (and vice versa)?

Facebook has shown an explosive growth in video and is probably number one in online news of any platform so it just made sense to make a news show specifically for that platform. Obviously, Facebook is king of sharing, so we wanted a platform for our brand that was built to share. YouTube, on the other hand, is wonderful for search and many other factors for online video.

“Final Judgment” is built for Facebook, but it airs concurrently on Facebook and YouTube.

Do you see Facebook as the most likely home to The Young Turks’ future video content?

We’re going to see how things develop. Obviously, there are several factors that will help determine this–view counts, scope of audience and community, and engagement, and then eventually revenue and sponsorship become deciding factors.

Read more…

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

GDC 2015: What Lies Ahead

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The Game Developers Conference is holding its 28th conference next week in San Francisco, which last year attracted over 24,000 game developers to the week-long mix of tutorials, workshops, lectures, exhibit hall, game awards, and networking. Any company that has any interest in the games industry will generally find a way to be there in some way, even if it’s only virtually.

The fascinating thing about GDC is that it covers the entire scope of the game industry. “We do make sure we have good diversity of companies and genders and such like within our board members and I think we’ve done a good job of reflecting a lot of the changes — the move from AAA to indie or at least the diversification that we’ve seen so I’m proud that we’re a show where Blizzard and Riot talk about stuff but also some of the smallest indies talk about stuff,” said UBM Tech’s Simon Carless.

There are seven different session tracks at GDC, including Advocacy, Audio, Business/Marketing/Management, Design, Monetization, Production, Programming, and Visual Arts. There’s also eight different summits, which include AI, Community Management, eSports, F2P, Game Narrative, Education, Independent Games, and Martphone & Tablet games. There is far more than any one person or even a team of people can take in, which is why it’s fortunate that GDC records most sessions for later review.

Consoles will, as usual feature heavily at GDC, with plenty of sessions devoted to talking about console games. There’s no doubt that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will be making an effort to sway more developers to working on their platforms. It’s quite likely that there will be some new tools and features unveiled by the manufacturers for their consoles, so keep an eye on the news.

Virtual Reality (VR) will be very much real at GDC, even if there may not be a lot of hard information to be had on tech specs, prices, and release dates. Sony will be offering up more experience with Project Morpheus, and we can expect to see a lot of the Oculus Rift in evidence. There are other VR/AR contenders as well, such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, CastAR, Magic Leap, Samsung’s Gear VR, and even Google’s new collaboration with Mattel on the ViewMaster. There will be plenty of discussions about VR, both formal, and informal, and you’ll see all these companies (and more)

Valve has just released the following statement to the press: “Valve will show a family of new Steam devices at next week’s Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, CA. Products being demonstrated at GDC include Steam Machines with the final Steam Controller, new living room devices, and a previously-unannounced SteamVR hardware system. Developers and publishers interested in experiencing the new SteamVR hardware may request to schedule a GDC demo at http://www.steampowered.com/universe.”

Valve also noted that it has surpassed 125 million active accounts worldwide in its 13 years. Steam now offers 4500 games, with 400 million pieces of user-generated content contributed by members of the Steam Community. It will be interesting to see what response Valve gets as it tries to make the Steam Machine into a competitive new console.

Mobile games, of course, will be in full attendance at GDC. The conference’s center of attention is swinging in that direction, right along with the way the majority of revenue in the industry is trending. Many of the sessions will be devoted to all aspects of mobile games.

 

GDC Strategy
It’s best to have a plan of attack before hitting the show and becoming overwhelmed by the array of choices ahead of you. There’s plenty of walking involved between the various sections of Moscone (North, South, and West), as well as other nearby venues — so you have to factor in transit time between events that you want to attend.

Don’t forget to plan for time to network. Schedule those important meetings well in advance, so you can avoid conflicts with things you really want to attend. Bring plenty of business cards, which are still useful even in this highly technological industry.

The Expo is also a key place to visit, where you can find hundreds of companies showing all maner of products and services aimed at the game industry — as well as very active recruting efforts by a number of companies. The Expo is also a prime source of information about where the industry is headed, and what things will be important in the coming year. After all, if there’s a dozen companies that have spent a lot of money to by booths to tell you about something, it’s probably going to be an important part of business to know about.

No mention of GDC would be complete without referencing the parties and other events that are going on throughout the show. There are cocktail receptions, massive musical events, and invitation-only gatherings for every variety of product, service, and company. There’s far more than anyone can attend, and even all the walking you’ll do won’t be enough to burn off the calories you could consume at these events if you’re not careful. Pace yourself, especially when it comes to the liquor – few things are worse than trying to follow a technical presentation while suffering from a hangover.

What Will Twitter And Google’s Deal Mean For Marketers?

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When two social media giants team up, it provides enough impact for marketers to listen – and they probably won’t want to miss out on this.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo confirmed that the social site has teamed up with Google in a “firehose deal,” which will allow the company’s tweets to be used in Google searches once again. As such, Twitter expects to drive in more traffic for the site.

Tweets disappeared from Google searches back in 2011, lessening the impact of looking up particular information posted on the social media site. Now, with this deal, they’ll be brought back into the spotlight, although Costolo stated that they won’t appear for “several months,” according to TechCrunch.

With the deal, Google will also benefit, as it’ll be able to use real-time content with its searches, along with traditional website searches. This, in turn, can benefit marketers in a number of ways. AdAge recently posted an article that explains five different tips that can be used to integrate these new search and social terms with the deal, and they’re briefly broken down below:

Search and intent-based optimization is now a critical factor. The right optimized content has to be used in search terms, or there’s a possibility that it can’t be seen at all. Brands need to revitalize with its search and social teams, having them work together to optimize tweets and social messages with high-value content.

Treat tweets like ads or landing pages. A tweet can be more than a simple message, as the Google results now allow it to have a large increase in organic reach. “Brands need to treat tweets like ads or landing pages,” the article reads. “Have a meaningful call to action in your tweets or have a link to the brand site with more information. A simple message is not going to get your user to take action.”

Monitor conversations and react. Interaction can be key for driving up a larger consumer base. Should someone leave a negative comment, ignoring it can be a problem. Companies will want to be proactive and engage or offer some form of remediation to fix the problem. In the past, brands may have just considered letting them pass; but with Google now being a factor, resolution becomes a necessity.

Words last forever. With Google and Twitter intertwined, tweets can still show up on Google, even after deletion, so brands will want to be careful with statements made on their sites, as well as security. (A recent breach on Chipotle’s Twitter page shows just how easily someone can go in and hack it with negative perception – consider it a lesson that brands should learn.)

Anticipate the search impact. With new content on a search results page comes a bigger impact on overall search traffic. A paid listing can have an effect with organic traffic, but posting tweets can improve that, along with paid traffic. They should still be monitored, though, with key terms and adjusted bidding for certain corporate outreach.

More information can be found in the report here.

YouTube Kids Focuses On Younger Demographic

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Kids’ consumption of online media is certainly rising, as a report posted by Adweek indicates that children aged anywhere between 2 and 17 can spend a significant amount of time watching online media, along with typical television and other means of entertainment.

So, of course, it would make sense for a company like YouTube to launch a specific application that caters to kids — in this case, YouTube Kids. Available now for Android {link no longer active} and iOS, the app works as a hub for family-friendly content,” as the “first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind,” according to VentureBeat. A video showcasing the new app is featured below.

 

With the app, parents can rest at ease, as YouTube vows to provide programming for videos that are safe for kids to watch, without running into clips that aren’t suitable for them. This includes popular programming from Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow and other outlets. Match and science tutorials are included as well, providing an educational side of the channel, along with entertainment.

The shows are divided into four basic categories: Shows, Music, Learning and Explore, with an easy search engine that tracks down favorites, including Dreamworks shows and Mother Goose Club, among other popular types.

While YouTube is unsure of the app’s popularity, it did say that “the possibilities are endless as a child’s curiosity,” although it’s really up to parents’ judgment in terms of whether it will really take off.

However, if recent online viewing habits indicate anything, the channel has a great shot at success. Nielsen posted some numbers looking at the viewership habits of younger consumers, ranging across three different age groups. The chart can be found in full below, and reveals plenty of big numbers, such as how much kids’ TV viewing has changed by age over the years, and how they turn to a mobile device as a second screen.

In addition, the report breaks down popular web portals amongst age groups, including those of general interest, along with social networking, online games and kids’ entertainment websites.

YouTube should have no trouble slotting itself into this group — provided, again, that parents don’t mind letting their kids check the app out for themselves. However, the company is devoted to filtering the content so that it’s well-suited for younger viewers. “We’re as focused on kids’ safety as you are, so we’ve built the YouTube Kids app to be a family-friendly place to explore,” explained Shimrit Ben-Yair, YouTube Kids product manager — and a mother of two to boot.

Metaps Helps Launch Apps

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Launching a new app or game on the market can always be a risky move, as there’s always a question with outreach — or how well it could do on a global scale. However, Katsuaki Sato is here to help.

A new company called Metaps, founded by Sato, can assist companies with maximizing app downloads and monetization, according to its official blog page. Tech In Asia managed to simplify the terms with its own blog entry.

Said Sato about the service, “We used a scientific, data-based approach in determining which paths to success are available for app developers looking to expand globally.”

So how’s it work? The team utilizes the Google Play top grossing charts of 12 primary app markets, and then checks similarity based on the number of shared titles. In addition, genres that make up the top grossing charts are verified, and then checks in terms of similarities between countries.

Sato explains that the site also uses certain logic when it comes to determining the degree of crossover with the top grossing app charts across two markets. “If no specific apps are shared on the top grossing charts for country A and country B, then the two markets are to be considered similar,” he explained, delving right into the second point. “If all apps are shared, then the two markets are to be considered very similar.”

Sato’s team also put together a chart that breaks down these markets, with dark red markers that show similarities between the apps on the Google Play Top 100 chart, and dark blue posting a dissimilarity. As you can see, both are clearly marked on the chart, making it a little easier to understand.

An additional chart was also put together, highlighting what would happen when the top 10 and top 50 apps were isolated, in order to point out notable differences in terms of tracking a pattern with similar apps.

Sato also noted at the conclusion of the report, “Finally, if you are looking to make a worldwide hit, there is one last point to keep in mind. Non-game apps do not tend to chart high on the Google Play top grossing chart, a trend shared amongst all markets considered here.”

To get more specific market data and learn more about what Metaps has to offer, check out this article here.

Twitch Going Convention-al With The Debut Of TwitchCon

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We’ve seen conventions devoted to video games, comic books, movies and other levels of nerd-dom – so, it only makes sense that streamers on Twitch.tv get their day as well.

The channel, which was acquired by Amazon last year for $970 million, has announced that it will host its first convention, TwitchCon, in San Francisco on September 25-26. The company has stated that the show will “be an interactive convention for broadcasters and viewers alike to meet each other, learn how to take your Twitch game to the next level, and play together.”

“Twitch broadcasts have the most passionate fans, so we want to create an amazing experience where they can come together in person,” said Emmett Shear, CEO for Twitch. “TwitchCon will be an opportunity for the entire community – broadcasters, game developers, viewers and us – to play and learn together.”

TwitchCon is the latest convention show to be devoted to fans and users of a popular media outlet, as Penny Arcade has become famous for hosting similar shows with its yearly PAX events, which are held in Seattle, Boston, Australia and, most recently, San Antonio.

So what does TwitchCon mean for the streaming community and business in general Simple – it’s booming. Twitch continues to have big numbers when it comes to attracting gamers that want to show off their skills in games like League of Legends and World of Warcraft, and with its accessibility on game consoles like Xbox One and PlayStation 4, more casual players are getting into the action as well.

With TwitchCon, attendees can learn a thing or two about what it takes to thrive in the streaming business, between possible seminars that provide education on the matter (yet to be announced, but they’re looking likely) and popular Twitch stars that can provide a tip or two on how to achieve greatness. Companies can learn more about Twitch devotees, and use the opportunity for some information gatehring and perhaps some dealmaking. It’s a great event for marketers interested in everything related to Twitch — and its audience of more than 100 million viewers.

Twitch expects to announce a schedule for the event over the next few months. And for those who can’t attend, not to worry – some sessions are likely to be streamed. After all, it is a TwitchCon.

More information should be available on the official TwitchCon page soon.