From babies biting fingers to high quality content: Why video sites are setting their sights higher
Marc Eychenne, head of international content for Dailymotion, explains how video sites are moving towards producing higher quality content in a bid to entice advertisers.
Dailymotion
Online video seemed like a dream come true for advertisers – combining the opportunity to create slick pre-roll video adverts with the ability to target them at specific types of content and measure click-throughs. The format meant campaigns could be paid for per view depending on the desired scale, avoiding the exorbitant costs of largely unmeasurable TV advertising.
The problem was that videos posted by users attracted millions of eyeballs, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Serious brands did not want their adverts rolling before videos of babies biting fingers or dogs chasing deer, however popular such content proved to be.
There’s clearly still interest in such videos, and no video site is going to stop people posting them. But videos sites are recognising that the bills are paid by advertisers and are working to make their sites a more attractive place for the more discerning viewer – and therefore for the advertisers who want to reach them.
The key to this has been creating higher value content - content people will watch in big numbers and that advertisers can trust not to muddy their brand.
Various experiments have been done in this, some more successfully than others. Attempts to replicate TV channels online, for example have been unsuccessful (though of course established TV channels have successfully launched online players). Web is not the same as TV and the approach to content for the web should be different.
But video sites have been playing around with ideas for a while and are now reaching a point where they know what works.
Certain content works well on social media. Live content in particular has proved successful. Football matches and music events have drawn many viewers on video sites themselves and on players embedded in fan sites and popular media. Two of Dailymotion’s highest viewing figures in the last year came from the France vs Spain World Cup qualifier and Bloodstock, a heavy metal festival for which we arranged filming and provided an exclusive live stream from the main stage.
Live content is a natural fit for social media. People want to watch sport, music and news live, wherever they are. The ready availability of social media with a few clicks on laptops, tablets and phones plays to this demand. Live content also lends itself to interactivity – for example the upcoming Le Mans race will allow viewers to choose their own camera angles as they watch.
Social media has also opened up avenues for niche live content. Televising sports matches and festivals is expensive and involves big commercial deals. But putting them online costs no more than the filming equipment (organisations like Dailymotion have been known to cover these costs in return for exclusivity). It has become viable to broadcast to smaller audiences. This has brought lower league football matches, more obscure sports and smaller music festivals to fans - wherever they may be.
This opens up a much bigger, defined market of viewers who previously couldn’t access this content. If you want to run a million pre-rolls for football merchandise – it probably doesn’t matter if that million is spread across five small games or one big game. As long as there is sufficient content, attracting sufficient targeted viewers to meet the advertising demand.
Developing new content is different again. Half hour programmes aren't right for the web – unless they already have a following. People have shorter attention online and want to be hooked quickly. They want short snippets they can browse through. They don't have time to get to know characters over many weeks, they want things that make them laugh or give them something to think about, delivered quickly.
Much successful content has come from the new generation of web users, not from traditional content producers who have often tried to crowbar their old model into a new format. Meanwhile people producing cartoons, sketches, interviews and music have often proved successful. Not always on a huge scale, but the combined viewers of the web’s dedicated content producers is enormous.
All this creates great opportunities to reach defined audiences. Video adverts have always been a good way to attract attention. We see 2-3 per cent click throughs on pre-roll adverts, compared to 0.1-0.2 per cent for banners. This is partly because videos can be more attention grabbing, but also because the viewer has to watch if they want to access their content. It’s easy to pop to the toilet during a five minute ad break, but for a 30 second ad before the video you’ve just chosen to watch, it’s worth keeping your attention on the screen.
Grabbing attention is one thing but actually engaging is another. Advertisers themselves can also learn a lot from the new web content producers. Advertisers have a few seconds to grab attention, and must hold it throughout – something funny, sparkly or sexy usually does the trick, as does something interactive. They too have to be faster, more creative and more interesting if they are to get the attention and click throughs, they want. But those who get it right reap big rewards – many great adverts become viral videos themselves.
The web is always changing. Online video sites, once a free-for-all for users to publish anything they liked have become more intelligent and as a result attracted more discerning viewers. They are not replacing TV, but they are providing an alternative, with parallels but where things are done differently. And being online, they provide the flexibility and traceability that advertisers love.