The recent OMMA Video and Mobile conferences were held just at the time the Apple iPhone was being introduced with as much fanfare, some argue, as the Second Coming. The conference organizers, wary of the potential hype that could be associated with their own subjects, didnt call for any iPhone benediction. In fact, given all the hyperbole associated with mobile and video developments, show speakers were reasonably balanced when they attempted to predict the future.

The video sessions were especially strong.  In fact the first seminar, entitled Syndicated Videos: How it will Power the Online Market, was quite useful, with speakers suggesting video syndication might be the best way of getting scale and generating incremental revenue. Nancy Dunn, VP Advertising Strategy, ClipSyndicate, noted that publishers and content providers have a trusted voice that can enrich meaningful verticals. This is the long tail in action again. Eighty percent of all video users have watched an ad; 52% have taken some action such as checking out a website, searching for more information or making a purchase. 

Dunn suggested online video syndication is at a tipping point. Advertisers are interested in the product, as are Web publishers and content providers. And there is now a critical mass of broadband penetration. The business proposition is straightforward. Content providers can extend their brands out to the Internet, reach new audiences for their content, and monetize their content beyond their traditional market.

Dunn works with about 250 content providers, including TimeWarner, Meredith and Fox but thinks the verticals, especially those in business, health and financial spaces have a lot of opportunities. She adds that content providers who are sensitive to content management, metadata, and creating taxonomies have an advantage. 

There is apparently a huge demand for inventory which is usually sold by category. The revenue share is straightforward: content providers30%; web portal20%; ClipSyndicate50%.  Dunns plan is to become a premium video syndication platformand stay away from User Generated Content.  Dunn can be reached at ndunn@clipsyndication.com.

Michael Griffin, Executive Vice President, Eye Wonder, asked rhetorically whats next for video advertising.  He was sure subscriptions models wont work. So will it be pre-roll or some form of instream advertising? What we know for sure, he remarked, is that there is so much video available with so many differing levels of quality.

Griffin answered his own rhetorical question by announcing Instream 2.0, a research project to define optimal length for video advertising and the minimum amount of advertising the consumer will tolerate. The project will measure engagement and develop instream standards.  The research is intended to be granular, examining the formats for instream standardization. For example, how long should the stock ticker be? Thirty second; two minutes? Should the CPMs be the same? Should the ad cover the screen?

The study will try to answer the question: how do we give consumers more control over their video ads? How do we get consumers to interact more with the ad? And what is the best way to get a consumer to opt into a video ad and get deeper into the advertising experience? Griffin acknowledged video advertising is still in the 1.0 stage but he hopes to change that with this research.

OMD, Nissan, Bravo, NBC, and Telemundo are partners in this research to be conducted by Insight Express.  For more information about this research contact instream@eyewonder.com.

The first two sessions, offered by vendors were, in the vernacular, a kind of pre-roll to the conference which was opened by Media Week columnist Steve Smith who nicely described the state we are in as liminal space where old loyalties break down, the consumer is between identities, and the psyche is fragmented. We dont know what we dont want. Everything is up for grabs. We live in an active mode of experimentation.

Janet Kestin, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto and a key figure in the now-famous Dove campaign, Evolution, seemed to provide a coda to Smiths account; the Dove campaign was nothing if not active experimentation at a time when everything, including notions of beauty, seemed to be up for grabs.

Keynoter Herb Scannel, CEO, Next New Networks, spoke of developing new TV; 101 video microsites (or verticals) in five years which be targeted at influential consumers. He said these sites would have branding and consistency; exude an aesthetic of authenticity; encourage conversation and be on demand.  Scannell notes that micro-sites will nibble away at television viewership (see www.channelfrederator.com). There will be a lot of nibbling to do: people still watch television at about 90 times the rate they watch online video but that ratio is steadily changing.

An important subtext of the conference was the migration of television to the web. Major broadcasters have been pouring their prime time programming online. AOL and YAHOO! are using online video channels to create TV channels on the Web. A panel representing Fox, Disney-ABC, YAHOO! and AOL addressed some of these issues. Figuring prominently was the question of monetization. Scott Levine, Director of Product

Marketing, AOL, Video indicated his CPMs ranged from $20-60 with branded content at the high end and User Generated Content at the low end.

A common thread was that creative must catch up with the opportunity; this is not just about repurposing television content. And technology needs to catch up too. Ron Berryman, Senior Vice President, GM Television Stations, Fox Interactive Media, asked whether web content is self-sustaining.

Although television on the Web is relatively new, the advances are likely to come quickly. More than one panelist asked what comes after pre-roll. On the other hand there exists a growing sophistication regarding advertising. Fox is making use of metadata and contextual advertising, even while lamenting that buyers are still in silos. Panelists asked a question heard these days in many quarters: who controls the advertising in a cross-platform world?

The question of ad formats and ad-to-content ratio received a lot of attention.  Randy Kilgore, Chief Revenue Officer, Tremor Media, suggested viral mashups and advertising overlays to get and keep the attention of the consumer. Troy Young, CMO, Video Egg, Inc., suggested innovating around the video experience. Anna Cassaway, VP Marketing, Vibrant Media, which offers in-text video ads, noted that contextual advertising invites a user-initiated response. Vibrants business is scalable; the company has four billion underlined words. This provides viewers with premium content in a safe environment. (www.vibrantmedia.com).

The level of sophistication (and investment) in online video networks is increasing fast. Robert Petty, CEO, Roo Networks, one of the worlds ten most viewed online video networks, currently streaming more than 60 million videos to 180 diverse web properties. Petty noted that his companys focus on technology distinguished it from the competition.

Some general truths, if not a consensus, emerged from the panel: the 15-30 second video pre-roll is an old-school metaphor; precise targeting is more important than scale (ok, scale on television is a waste); publishers should restrict video ads to four minutes an hour; populating video with widgets permits more user control; video advertising should have a strong entertaining quotient; the push is towards premium video content and there is a need to move toward a metric of engagement.

The play of the Video Summit day was the lunchtime Upfronts: the Web TV pitch. Just

like in the real world of television upfront, the top online video companies made their pitch to an audience of media buyers and pretenders about advertising opportunities. Companies in the ring included: Mania TV, Brightcove, Soma Management, Revver, and Blip.TV.    

Drew Massey, CEO ManiaTV, said his company was not a clip service but a producer of Internet television for the 18-34 year olds. Mania offers premium, original content 24/7. Brands are featured on the set. Products, including cars, clothes and phones, are integrated into the live show. There is complete product integration. Mania restricts advertising to four minutes each hour. Massey said the company has 60 blue-chip advertisers. (www.maniatv.com). Be sure to see the wrestling video.

Dina Roman, VP, Brightcove, represented a company that probably needed less of an introduction than the others. Brightcove has carved out a position in the high-end Internet television marketplace through early alliances with CBS, the NYT, Rodale, Reed, Fox, Hachette and others. All these companies have launched on the Brightcove platforms.  

Advertising options are varied: branded content, pre-roll, synchronized banner, overlap, and mid-roll.  Roman sees the steady emergence of niche media and indicated Brightcove is serving 3,000 channels. It is also partnering with Tremor media to serve the Hispanic community (Barrio305TV).

SomaTV produces, distributes, and aggregates, programs that focus on living a full life, covering topics from race walking, to kite-making, to brewing beer at home. E.C. Morgan, CEO, said his company also serves the Teen-Tween category with www.Somabeauty.tv.com and somakids.tv.com. Morgan said his programs get on average a $40 CPM.

According to SVP Brian McCarthy, Revver serves the creative community as a syndicated, video-sharing platform which supports the free and unlimited sharing of media while being sensitive to copyright issues. Revver connects video makers and sharers with sponsors in an open marketplace.

The formula is simple. You upload a video. Revver pairs it with a targeted advertisement. The video is broadcast across the web. Advertising revenue is split 50:50. The metric for post-roll is cost-per-click; and CPM for pre-roll.  They offer branded entertainment and hybrid advertising units.

 Blip.TV, launched three years ago, is the original short form video site: nobody does it shorter is the company mantra. According to CEO Mike Hudack the company focuses on shorts, video blogs and video podcasts.  Blip.TV hosts, distributes, markets and sells advertising across all these channels. While it generates some subscription revenue, most of their income comes from advertisers who underwrite shows. These include Unilever and Dewars.

Throughout the video day speakers would return to the question of metrics. Michelle Eule, VP Research, Dynamic Logic, noted that online video outperformed other online formats in terms of brand awareness and message association by a ratio of 2:1. She acknowledged there is likely a novelty factor with video and asked rhetorically whether rich media might be losing some of its edge. Eule added that there was a dramatic variation in the measure of purchase intent in the most and least effective videos.  Not surprisingly, bad videos hurt purchase intent.

For the most effective videos the creative was linked to the brand, there was an interactive experience, the advertising was entertaining and enjoyable; there existed some synergy with an offline campaign.

For the least effective videos the ads didnt engage or establish a relevancy, were often too esoteric, and the branding wasnt apparent.  Eule reported a UK study where consumer watched 29 video clips. Those videos that developed a viral effect were generally laugh provoking, edgy, gripping and had some sexual overtone. For interested parties look into the Ikea Pig Chase campaign.

Dynamic Logic also discovered that viewers of online videos were the least likely to multi-task and look away from the video ad. Another metrics panel reported that engagement with video advertising was higher and the video more likely to be completed when the ad appeared instream.  Erin Hunter, VP, comScore reported that video users tended to be light television users. Forty six percent of the research group did not subscribe to magazines; 49% didnt subscribe to newspapers.

The metrics panel reported that online viewers are more engaged with online advertising, especially when there was a degree of viewer control in the ad experience. CPM for professional videos was between $10-20, similar to television; for semi-professional videos, $10-15.

The trend seems to be away from click-through-rate in favor of engagement and actions taken. Marketers can use the measure of Gross Rating Points (GRPs by demographic by daypoint but Behavioral Targeting is more desirable.

Heavy.com, Blip.tv. Revision 3, and similar web television companies are the new kids on the block, the Indies, who are producing very vertical programs situated somewhere between big media video and User Generated Media. Mike Hudack of Blip.tv calls his company very, very vertical, one that builds communities of viewers around dating, music, movies, and comic book conventions. According to Jason Marks, VP Programming, Heavy.com, the site is juiced in a controlled way. Heavy does not use pre-rolls; all advertising is customized. The company does use post-rolls with a reader overlay.

No discussion of the video phenomenon is complete without a mention of viral. Brian McCarthy, SVP Revver talked about subtle brand attributes but advised attendees to never hide the message. Equally important is understanding the medium as PDiddy did not when he figured he could go viral simply by buying a channel on YouTube. His blunder certainly went viral.