At the end of each year various analysts, experts, journalists, media and technology junkies alike, take to the wires with their predictions for the new year. The video industry is no different. Video is exploding online and not everyone is yet accustomed to why it is so popular, how to use it, or where to put it. One might say the video industry has even more predictions than most due to its volatile nature. So in the spirit of collaboration and aggregation, I have developed a mashup of various video predictions that we, here at Preview Networks, have found to be relevant in our research and discussions with customers and fellow video junkies.
1. Video Context will become as important as Video Content. This prediction comes from Tom Wilde, CEO of Ramp via VideoNuze.com and is not so much a prediction as it is a rule of thumb for how to use video most effectively. Placing a video into a relevant editorial section to enhance its appeal, or using a media platform in line with the video content, is just as important as creating the engaging content itself. Creating an “a-ha!” moment is the point at which comprehension and emotion come together, which pulls consumers deeper into the sales cycle.
2. Increased Branded-Content Production. According to Alphabird, more marketers will begin producing original-content for brands, and increasingly playing the role of media company. With digital advertising on the rise, these assets become easier for brands to manage and distribute themselves, saving costs on various agencies that are currently being used. We saw this trend happening in 2011 among luxury brands like Burberry and Ralph Lauren as we have blogged about in the past. Accordingly, the focus has become more and more about the media-content as it has been on the design.
3. Cross-Platform and Cross-Device Campaign Planning will become the Norm for Most Brands. This is an increasing consumer trend that will be solidified in 2012, as more brands offer these services, as noted by YuMe’s Jayant Kadambi among others. The increase of smartphone usage enables video mobility, and the popularity of tablets and expansion of device manufacturers, gives consumers more ways to consume video. Connected TV is the final piece of the emerging platform puzzle, and according to AOL’s Ran Harnevo, Cross Platform will be the new King. This trend is about the ability to view video on any platform, at anytime, and providers who are able to offer a comprehensive video solution will be able to take advantage of this growing market share.
4. Reallocation of Traditional Budgets towards Digital Budgets. As AdoTube’s Steven Jones has noted, this is a prediction that many in the advertising and technology community have talked about for years, but 2011 is the first time the effect of advertisers extending TV buys by using digital video online could be felt. Marketers are becoming aware of the complementary nature of combining TV and online video, and as economic concerns increase across the globe, so does the shift in advertising from offline to online, according to an eMarketer recent report.
5. 90% of YouTube’s Channels will Fail. Perhaps a bold statement, but as companies wake up to the fact that they can easily manage and distribute digital assets themselves, it could hold some validity. According to Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision 3, YouTube’s program is a classic venture model where they expect to lose 90% of the investment, but for the ones that will succeed it serves as a pipeline for TV ad money to funnel into the online space. This supports the argument made above and is also a nice teaser for next week’s blog post. Stay tuned for more!
About Preview Networks
Preview Networks is a content marketing 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.
