Jan 19

Branding Techniques for Digital Campaigns

By Heather Timmerman News we can use No Comments »

When it comes to delivering a successful online campaign in the digital age, it appears that some old school rules of thumb may also apply for advertising. This insight comes in part one of a five-series blog post from comScore which says including traditional branding elements in digital executions improve offline sales.  As marketers increase their online brand ads in 2012 (Source: eMarketer), this insight is good to keep in mind for future campaigns.

According to years of research and one recent analysis by comScore and dunnhumbyUSA, usage of the following five branding elements in digital campaigns showed a positive lift in offline sales, when compared to those campaigns that did not include these elements:

1. Brand Differentiating Messaging
2. New Product/Feature Information
3. Convenience Demonstrations
4. Competitive Comparisons
5. Superiority Claims

The article is quick to point out the challenge digital faces, which is lack of real estate to include all of the above branding elements in a tiny online display ad. It’s easy enough when you have a large landscape to work with (as in print) or a captive audience (as in TV), but digital advertising often happens in the flash of an eye, with ads competing amongst many moving parts and pieces on a web page.

This is good news for video advertising which has the interactive element noted by this study, as well as others, to overcome the digital branding challenge. Not to mention the size of most video players which addresses the real estate issue, and the opportunity to captivate the audience. According to Turner Broadcasting and Magna Global, this is easier than you think given the fact that research shows people are willing watch ads online if it means access to programming. Willingness is one thing, whether or not the message sinks in, comes down to quality content and basic branding principles.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is a platform for brands and content aggregation and syndication platform for publishers. We provide the tools for brands to centrally distribute and manage marketing and PR content across media destinations, devices, and commerce platforms; allowing media partners to automate content acquisition delivering audience and advertising revenue growth.

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Jun 16

Product Videos Improve Consumer Decision Accuracy

By Ervin Draganovic News we can use Comments Off

With every passing day consumers are being stimulated to purchase products by e-commerce sites with greater information richness, improved user friendliness, and larger coverage. Even though the internet has only been around for the past 15 years or so, it has changed consumer activity considerably.

However, whether e-commerce sites empower consumers to make better decisions when purchasing a product should be questioned. While many have written that improved decision capability comes with the increase of information, most consumers are feeling overloaded with sheer volume of information at the point of purchase. The irony is that the total amount of available information has passed the point of what consumers are able to process. E-commerce sites that offer too much information confuse rather than clarify consumers. This may be very surprising, but the fact is that consumers just use a small amount of the available information when making decisions (Caildini, 2001).

Besides, e-commerce merchants have to remember that consumers are “cognitive misers” who try to decrease any amount of cognitive effort when making decisions and as a result of that are willing to settle for an imperfect solution in return for a deduction in search costs (Häubl & Trifts, 2002).

Due to these facts, building text-heavy e-commerce sites, including long bullet point product specification pages, is not improving consumer decision accuracy. Instead, e-commerce merchants should focus on building product videos that:

  • focus on the most essential features in the product,
  • give a good product demonstration,
  • highlight purchase information (price, delivery, and payment security),
  • have a short duration,
  • are well integrated
  • and are SEO optimized.

By allowing consumers to watch product videos, the cognitive effort will decrease as easier access to the important information is granted. Along with the decrease in cognitive effort, consumers’ decision accuracy will get improved as more information can be accessed and processed in less time.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview distribution network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, , IMDB, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online media. We work with more than 300 companies including Sony, Fox, Disney, Warner, Universal, and Paramount. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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Jun 10

Leveraging the ROI of Video

By Heather Timmerman News we can use Comments Off

The video space is hot right now and there are massive amounts of data telling companies why they should invest in video when it comes to interactive marketing plans. Video increases conversion rates, encourages sharing, and creates a more engaging experience for the consumer, etc. However, there are very few articles that break down the return on investment as succinctly as video-commerce.org has done in their 3 part blog series on the ROI of Video Commerce Platforms.

Cleverly titled “How to make $645K from Video Commerce Tech in 24 Months by Launching 2 Videos a Month” the third blog post walks the average e-commerce marketing manager through an estimating scenario based on 4 baseline numbers, assuming their average website sells goods or services online and plans to implement or publish video.

These video publishing options include: Video SEO, Interactive Social Video, Video in Email, Site Video Optimisation, Mobile Video (on-site), and Mobile Video (in-store). Using sample data from the company Liveclicker, an ROI scenario of the above methods, including production improvement from video analytics produces the following results:

  • Video SEO revenue of $88,854
  • Interactive/Facebook video revenue of $64,270
  • Video in Email revenue of $280,000
  • Site Video Optimization revenue of $119,884
  • Mobile Video Revenue of $12,691
  • Production Improvement from Video Analytics of $80,184

Total 24 month revenue of $645,883 attributed to investment in video commerce technology.

Not all video methods mentioned in the example may be appropriate for every company, but the possibilities are tangible. If you have the patience and perseverance to read all the way through the post and apply it using relevant data, it is an incredible way to see a projection of return on investment when it comes to video.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview distribution network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our content is available on MSN,, , IMDB, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 2,300 other online media. We work with more than 300 companies including Sony, Fox, Disney, Warner, Universal, and Paramount. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

 

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Mar 22

SEO 101 for Cinema Sites

By Victor Potrel News we can use, Technology Comments Off

If you were to open a restaurant, the first thing you would think would be: “how are people going to find out about me?” And if you have the chance to be on the Champs Elysées (to take a French example), then you are sure to be seen.

Now replace this restaurant with your website and the Champs Elysées with the first page of Google.* You get my point, right?  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website or blog is the key if you want people to find out about it.

There are a lot of things that can be done to help your SEO. An important one is the keywords you use on your website. The words you use in your pages, titles and especially website URL. Now, that’s a nice thing to know, but which keywords are the most effective for me?  Well, Google of course, provides a free tool to help you.

Google insight for search allows you to test keywords against others. You can filter by countries, regions, years and categories.  Once you entered your keywords, you can check their trend for people searching them. You can also compare them and have information on regional searches and associated key words.

Let’s take an example and stay in the French theme. A quick search for “bande annonce”(filmtrailer) against “bandes annonces” (filmtrailers) demonstrates the importance of checking your keywords – “bande annonce” has risen steeply since 2009 against a decreasing “bandes annonces”.  The volume of search for the two keywords is 51 for “bande annonce” against 6 for “bandes annonces”.  That is, the first one is searched 8,5 times more! What this means for you is that using the keyword “bande annonce” will increase your search engine position and help people find out about you.

Another interesting insight is the progression of searches for “bande annonce”.  Looking at this trend, we can see that the volume of search more than doubles in 2 years.  This is something to take into account for the needs of your audience when it comes to viewing trailers online.

Would you like more from Victor?  Check out his Twitter page: http://twitter.com/victor_ld

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview distribution network. We serve websites, ,  apps and . Our is available on MSN, , IMDB, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 1,500 other online media. We work with more than 300 companies including Sony, Fox, Disney, Warner, Universal, and Paramount. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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Dec 06

Movie Survey Results

By Heather Timmerman Because We Love Film, Digital Media Trends, News we can use Comments Off

Since we’re in the business of distributing promotional video content which includes movie trailers, we thought it was a good idea to survey our network of loyal Filmtrailer viewers to identify the needs in the consumer market.  Not only does this give us a better understanding of our business and the consumer but it helps our customers as well.

We published the survey across nine European markets in their local languages on the country specific Filmtrailer websites.  Filmtrailer.com is a display site and/or showcase of all the movie trailers we have in our network in each local market.  No advertising has been done to this site.  The traffic generated is organic in nature, but given the fact that 2,603 viewers responded to our survey in less than a month we think that’s a pretty ok number.

The majority of viewers liked all genre of movies, but Germany and the Netherlands seemed to like action movies more.  67% of movie viewers find out about new movies online first which is an important statistic to note considering the amount of money spent on TV advertising.  69% of viewers watch the trailer online immediately when they hear about it and 77% watch trailers online the most, compared to 24% on TV and 30% in theaters.

So the theme here is online.  Not only do movie viewers hear about a new movie online first, but they go online to watch it once they find out about it from other sources.  The most popular destination to view trailers online seem to be cinema sites at 74%.  Entertainment sites like MTV and IMDB follow at 22% respectively.

What can all this data tell us?  Most importantly that 44% of consumers decide to go to a movie after watching the movie trailer online and 35% would like to find local showtimes and buy movie tickets right after they watch the trailer.  That’s an immediate commitment TV can’t compete with.  Just imagine the possibilities of a fully integrated movie promotional campaign.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview distribution network. We serve websites, ,  apps and internet TV. Our content is available on MSN, , , IMDB, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 1,500 other online media. We work with more than 300 companies including Sony, Fox, Disney, Warner, Universal, and Paramount. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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Nov 15

The Power of Video

By Heather Timmerman Digital Media Trends, General, News we can use Comments Off

Each week I am reading something new about video trends. The numbers are increasing online and the platforms in which video is viewed is expanding rapidly.  Video advertising campaigns were included in 75% of all media plans a few months ago and as budgets begin to be planned for the new year chances are that number has already increased.

There is no doubt that video is huge, but in a recent white paper from Invodo, the power of video is broken down into numbers you can use.  Such as, “product videos can improve conversion rates by up to 30%”, which according to Invodo has been documented by several sources.

Offering video on your website is the first step.  Now that you have this precious asset, placing it in the appropriate spot on your site is just as important. Research indicates “above the fold” (so the user doesn’t have to scroll to see it) is the place you want to be.  Next try to keep the design simple by not offering the consumer too many options to click.

Finally, have a clear call to action or “click to watch video” to boost that video impression rate, ultimately converting click throughs to sales.  Sounds simple and logical I know, but then again, so does everything you read.  Sometimes you just need to watch it to believe it.

Read the Invodo white paper in its entirety here.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview distribution network. We serve websites, ,  apps and internet TV. Our content is available on MSN, MTV, , IMDB, , The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 1,500 other online media. We work with more than 300 companies including Sony, Fox, Disney, Warner, Universal, and Paramount. Learn more on previewnetworks.com

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Sep 06

Online Video More Entertaining than TV

By Heather Timmerman Digital Media Trends, General, News we can use Comments Off

Thanks to recent research done by Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. we have more data confirming online video habits continue to grow.  The numbers have most likely already increased as months in the online world feel like years in the real one, but here are some highlights to take note of:

50% of internet users now watch online video weekly or more

Youth is driving the weekly online views at 85% in the 18-24 age bracket

76% of online video consumers watch professionally produced clips regularly

28% believes online video is more entertaining than TV shows

To sum up; we live in a world where watching video online is common for everyone, but different age brackets have different needs or interests.  Professional clips are watched by people in the 18-34 age bracket while the younger generation drives the overall wave.  It should also be noted, that watching video online had minimal negative impact on watching TV in general.

In a digital age where connecting your laptop to the TV is just as common as popping in a DVD, the market seems to want video whenever, wherever, however they can get it.

About Preview Networks

Preview Networks is Europe’s largest preview distribution network.  We serve websites, social networks, and internet TV.  Our content is available on MSN, MTV, Brightcove, IMDB,, The Times, MySpace, The Guardian, El Pais, El Mundo, Le Monde and more than 1,500 other online .  We work with more than 300 entertainment companies including Sony, Fox, Disney, Warner, Universal, and Paramount.  Learn more onpreviewnetworks.com

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