I was kindly offered the opportunity to ask some questions of Scott Broomfield CEO of Veeple,an interactive video as a service provider (VaaS). With Veeple, you can add interactive content e.g. clickable ads, to video.
This service is a very powerful monetisation tool for those publishing video. Scott provided some interesting metrics and insight into the online video and advertising sector some of which are listed below.
- YouTube, Yahoo!, Fox Interactive Media, MSN/Windows Live and Nickelodeon Kids and family Network are the top five online brands ranked by video stream.
- There was 8,885,058 total streams in the US in September 2008. These streams included views from 125,061 unique viewers in the month. 197.2 minutes is the average time per viewer in a month.
- Video advertisements are seen to be emerging as one of the most effective online advertising mediums. Experts say click through rates in video ads are between 20 and 40 times higher than the click through rates of other forms of display advertisements. -Durgesh Gupta - Televisionpoint.com, Mumbai
- It is now easier than ever to create videos now for novices and publishers alike
- 20.95% of internet video streams being monetized
- Video Publishers generating an effective monetization rate of $4.05 per thousand streams (CPM)
- Online Video Advertising Spend To Grow >55% Next Year
My questions to Scott focus on a few on key global issues of right now, including sustainability and the current economic climate. Thanks to Orca Communications, a PR firm for inventors and entrepreneurs, for organising. It was the most pain-free, quick turnaround I have had from a PR company to date, and have had some serious gripes about useless PR firms recently so it was an appreciated change! There are some good resources, including a top ten PR tips slideshow, from Ann Noder the President of Orca on the site.
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Me: What is the potential of online video?
Scott Broomfield: Context - the potential is unlimited. Video will consume 500+ exabytes by 2012. There is no end in sight and we are just at the beginning.
Me: Where are we in terms of penetration of video as a medium both in US and worldwide?
Scott Broomfield: At the beginning of a huge trend. Although Youtube is the 800 pound gorilla for UGC, the adoption for a regular web site to use rich media, flash and video is under 10%. Interactivity is under .5% (that’s ‘point’ .5%)
Me: How close are we to maximising the potential of video online?
Scott Broomfield: No where near maximizing. I give it at least 4 to 5 years before 80% of all sites worldwide have incorporated video into their sites.
Me: Any crystal ball gazing on what comes next after video?
Scott Broomfield: Yes - Sites will move from static web pages with text that occasionally use video, to rich video sites that are interactive where text is used less and less. In other words the video itself will become the new browser and the interactions within the video will guide people to the relevant information they are looking for.
Me: Are you concerned about emerging with this type of service in this economic climate where belts are tightening?
Scott Broomfield: No. Innovation is always all around us. Especially in difficult times people look for clearly compelling offerings. If one offers something that is a 10x improvement over the status-quo, then they will buy. Remember that is the last down turn during 200 and 2001, Google popped up seemingly out of nowhere.
Me: Are there any online media sectors or specific services that are more exposed than others in these conditions?
Scott Broomfield: Yes. Although this is a generalization, those who push out their message without taking into consideration relevancy and engagement will find themselves at the short end of the stick.
Me: Environmental impact of data centres etc are getting more coverage in the media and on blogs these days. Will increased consumer sustainability and carbon awareness have an impact on the online media industry?
Scott Broomfield: Well, I know a little about this as I am the chairman of www.sustainablelifemedia.com. The high level answer is YES. Data Centers consume huge amounts of heat and, therefore, cooling is a major issue as these data centers get bigger; due to the ever increasing flow of bits over the Internet. Cooling requires power, power createes CO2. That said, improvements in both CPU and broadband capability will help keep things green. Also, Google locates their datacenters near large rivers so there is a ready supply of water to cool the servers.
All that said, the lower level answer is NO. I do not believe that sustainability issues will slow the consumption of rich media. In actuality, we should see an increase in the consumption of rich media for a simple reason - it is a far smaller carbon footprint to show your product / service using interactive video, like what we do at Veeple, than getting on a plane or into your car. Although, one wouldn’t know that from the big 3 Auto execs this week.
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Veeple has a free (VaaS) trial on their site until March 2009 with which you can easily add a video player to your website or blog. For those wanting to read more about Interactive Video as a Service (VaaS) good whitepaper here
Online video and the emergence of innovative new tools and business models to maximize it’s potential is an interesting space, and one I will follow closely in the future.