What do Paris Hilton,
Organic, Prison Break and YouTube have in common? No, this is not a
riddle and until recently, they did not have much in common. However,
through the power of the web, these popular
media brands were connected this week by a news breaking sponsorship.
This year’s darling of the internet, YouTube, finally announced their
plans on how they were going to monetize their site.
YouTube
was founded not too long ago (February 2005) as a consumer media
company for people to watch and share original videos through a Web
experience. Their growth has been astronomical, skyrocking them as the 12th
most visited site on the Web with over 30MM US unique users per month.
With that type of growth and user engagement, advertisers were banging
down their doors to let them
in. And they did, but not by selling out and offering pre-roll. They
created a model that capitalizes on the strengths and values of YouTube
and is members (ie: community, openness, entertainment and participation)
This new
advertising platform contains two main elements which represent a shift
in how advertisers are engaging with users. The first element is the
Participatory Video Ad which is also being referred to by the catchy
acronym (PVA). A PVA is a user-initiated video ad with all of the
YouTube community features enabled. Consumers can rate, share,
comment, embed and "favorite" ad content that they find interesting.
PVAs have been running for the past 6 weeks, proving positive results
for their clients which have mainly been gaming vendors and movie
studios.
The second element
that made groundbreaking news this week, which you might have seen in
AdWeek, heard on NPR or read in the SF Chronicle, is the launch of
YouTube’s Brand Channels. What are Brand Channels? Well, Brand
Channels are the next evolution of PVAs and represent the marriage of
video and community. Brand channels are dedicated advertising channels
on YouTube that allow marketers to broadcast brand related content
directly to users. In essence, they help brands become an organic (no
pun intended) part of YouTube’s fabric by allowing advertisers to
access the full spectrum of community connection features.
And, what better person to help launch the first branded channel then the “hottest” and
most viral personality, and to some degree a brand of her own, Paris
Hilton. The Paris Hilton Channel was created to promote the debut of
her album, Paris. Due to the power of Organic’s network, a lead on the
sponsorship came to the Organic San Francisco media team by way of our Detroit
office (thanks again Deborah!).
It didn’t take us long to realize the
potential and power of being associated and integrated into this
sponsorship. The media team quickly jumped on it and negotiated a
compelling package on behalf of Fox Broadcast Company. Fox’s show
Prison Break is the sole sponsor of the Paris Hilton channel with
signage in her channel, trailers in her videos, an end roll to her main
channel page video and 100% share of voice on display advertising on
watch pages of Paris’s videos. This is the latest installment in a long
list of "Fox firsts."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BUVw0qq47I
You might be asking
yourself, "why is this significant"? Well, it represents a shift in
how marketers are engaging and speaking with their customers. To me,
it represents the impact of Web 2.0 on advertising. In fact, it is web
2.0 advertising. I agree that Paul Saffo’s quote on the current state
of the web is spot on: “the Web is moving from being a place where
people access information to a place where people access other people
in an information-rich environment.” This is true on YouTube and this
is true for how advertisers are trying to “access” customers; by
leveraging 3rd party credibility and tools to establish
dialogs in authentic environments. Sure, there will always be a need
for high reach display advertising to help tell a company’s stories,
but the true benefit of the Web is its immediacy and ability to engage
and interact with users. The tools and sites of Web 2.0 are helping to
make those connections and facilitate dialog amongst consumers.
A hugely important
and impactful part of this entire equation is measurement which should
not be overlooked. It is a critical component of the core principles of
PVAs and Brand Channels; that is the ability to measure and literally
view user’s interations in real time. Engagement metrics have arrived
and are manifesting themselves in these types of sponsorships. With
PVAs, advertisers can measure qualitative aspects like view ratings,
comments, and how many people subscribe to receive additional content.
One of reoccurring questions that I’ve been asked while executing this
sponsorship is if online marketers are really using and benefiting from
“engagement metrics". My response is, if you could be a fly on the
wall in consumers’ homes while they watch TV and comment on your spots,
would you listen?
Chris Portella
Comments
Connections
FYI – The first URL above opens in a tiny horizontal window.
Killer post Chris! Your “fly on the wall” comparison is spot on – it’s a question no client can avoid. Hats off to you and the team.
What the…? That “Paris live in Tokyo” is utter crap. 37 seconds of Japanese gibberish and Paris just says “I’ve been playing piano since I was 6 years old.”
Big deal. The video is horrible quality and conveys absolutely nothing.
You shall fail miserably by trying to con us. Using social media for empty boring attempts at commerical exploitation is pathetic. WE are not as dumb and bored as you think we are.
YouTube and blogging equals the End of Stardom and the Death of Celebrity Status.
Now each person has value and can make videos or write blogs with meaning and fun, bypassing ad agencies, Hellywood, etc.
It’s a Universal Content Utopia and a Share Economy. Wake up, losers.
I was very impressed to learn how creative Organic can be. Excellent and powerful thinking. I wish to have an opportunity join the Team.
Excellent job!!!
Useful site. Thanks!!