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Forbes Insights Report – Native Video Content is Gaining Steam

Two diverging media phenomenons are impacting how marketers are advertising online: Branded video content growth and the demise of interruptive media tactics.  As we have discussed in length on this blog before, ‘native advertising’ has emerged as a solution to the convergence between quality brand video content, and the changing media ad consumption habits of consumers.

Now, we have some pretty compelling research to back up that claim.

Over the past few months, our research team partnered with the Forbes Insights team to survey 136 marketing executives from leading brands such as Intel, JetBlue, Heineken, Honda, & K-Swiss to assess the market’s appetite for native advertising and branded video content. It turns out that branded content and native advertising have a ton of supporters.

Here are a few of them:

“Consumption has changed, and advertisers will have to continue to follow [consumers]. Quality has become more important now.” — Ron Amram, Senior Media Director, Heineken USA

“If you do something that’s exciting and relevant, you can far expand your media spend in terms of its impact.” —Matt Jarvis, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, 72andSunny

“We’ve gone beyond  the thought of interactive digital into creating our own digital content wholesale.” — Marty St. George, SVP, Marketing and Commercial Strategy, JetBlue

In addition, many of the largest online platforms have been first on board to adopt native advertising (including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and WordPress). So while the term ‘native’ ads is still growing among marketing executives, a majority of them value the attributes of ‘native’ video:

With 32% of CMOs saying they have bought or are planning to buy native video advertising in the next 6 months, we invite you to download the full report here.

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Sharethrough.TV Week in Review: From Stunts to Series to Short Clips, Branded Content Runs the Gamut

Branded video content comes in many different formats, and this week we got to experience a few of those.  Whether it is an online only documentary or a one minute TV spot, the key to successful content is creativity, and these videos nailed it.

To kick it off, our friends across the pond, Addiction Worldwide, rolled out a new campaign for Remington that focused on the precision, control, and power of Remington’s electric razors.  To create an analogy for these qualities, Remington hired professional bike rider Denny MacAskill to do precision tricks through the streets of San Francisco. Similar to DC Shoes/Ken Block’s recent Gymkhana Five video, Addicition played off of the beautiful site lines to grab your attention and then used MacAskill’s skills to drive home Remington’s messages:

Intel and Toshiba continued to hit the mark with their “The Beauty Inside” online movie series.  With the help of Pereira & O’Dell, they did an excellent job at weaving in their product without making it corny or drawing too much attention to the product itself.  Overall, the series is really clever as it quintessentially incorporates an ingenious social component:

Honda and their creative agency RPA launched a new video that highlighted Honda’s U.S. presence.  The man character, Tim Mings, has made a life of driving and restoring N600 vehicles, the first Honda ever made for the U.S.. Destined for the scrap heap over 40 years ago, Tim has become the U.S. leader in N600 restoration.  The video is just another example of RPA’s ability to come up with a creative story line that delivers Honda’s message in a unique way.  Just take a look at their recent Ferris Bueller commercial for an example of another successful campaign.

Lastly, Audi created some buzz for a few different reasons.  First, their video called “Suspect” aired during the NFL Kick-Off last week and it was a great example of a TV spot that felt like content.  It built some nice suspense and then when it offers a resolution, you’re left wondering whether there might just be something more going on. Venables Bell & Partners, which made noise in the branded content community for its 10 part online series for eBay, was able to give a motion picture feel to a one minute spot…not an easy task.

Unfortunately, Audi and MediaComm received some harsh criticism for a promotional video that focused on Evil Kenevil’s “Snake Canyon” stunt.  Audi recreated the stunt with their newest vehicle, the RS5, but audiences felt short changed when they were left with a cliffhanger (no pun intended). Personally, we felt that this video was pretty spectacular and captivating.  We can’t wait to see what Audi comes up with next.

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Don’t Be A Rube – Brands Harness The Power Of Rube Goldberg Machines

Ask anyone involved in branded online video, and they’ll all tell you they’d like their campaign to go viral… and to go social. They all have their own secret formula for success. Some use humor, while others prefer to leverage the popularity of cats. Some use time lapse photography, while others still attempt to bait the audience with a reference to Star Wars, Mario, or any number of geek culture icons.

But all this time, all they really had to do to succeed with online video was to create a Rube Goldberg machine.

Just a few days ago, design studio Hey Hey Hey became just the latest brand to find viral success with a Rube Goldberg machine. It’s called Mini Melvin, and it fits inside a couple of suitcases and travels the globe:

Just last month, Purdue University (and the World Records Academy) gained attention with their videotaped attempt at setting a new world recored for the largest Rube Goldberg machine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7GzApUGJ3o

Let’s be clear here… this isn’t a new phenomenon. Rube Goldberg videos, from brands and amateurs, have been delighting audiences for years. Perhaps the most famous (and most-viewed) is the one from viral kings, OK Go:

It’s easy to see the potential of the Rube Goldberg machine to wow, entertain, and inspire–everyone loves them… even future wives:

One of my favorite branded uses of Goldberg silliness came from Honda, maybe even a little ahead of its time. It’s certainly the most gorgeous video of a Rube Goldberg machine ever shot:

I could go on….

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Top Social Video Campaigns For January 2012

January is regularly stocked with great video ads because of the Super Bowl. This year took Super Bowl advertising to the next level with a huge variety of trailers, extended cuts and other creative content released along with the spots. Since we’ve covered the Super Bowl in great depth of late, we thought we’d do a round-up of non-Super Bowl social video highlights from January.

One of the most successful branded social videos of the entire month actually hit the web just one day before the month was over. It’s a piece of viral marketing for the film Chronicle, and it features some clever contraptions used to trick New Yorkers into thinking real humans were flying in the skies above. The UFO-sighting quality of the stunt propelled the clip to nearly 7 million views in less than a week, and hundreds of thousands of social media shares:

Only one day earlier, HBO launched the latest trailer for their highly-anticipated 2nd season of Game of Thrones. And it’s already sitting near 5 million views, with press mentions on more prominent websites and blogs than you can shake a stick at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzXsqoJhtE

Disgraced former pitchman, Vince Offer, is apparently no longer disgraced by his prior arrest. Instead, he’s started a YouTube Channel… and apparently a pitchman business as well. His first product, which appears to be a real product (despite many notes in the ad that suggest it could be a parody), is something called the Schticky (Update: the copyright police have come a callin’ to Vince, so we are gonna post the Auto-tune remix)

ok fine, we’ll throw in something from the Super Bowl. This video gets the all-time award for gratuitous brilliance, enjoy 5 hours of Adriana Lima in 1080p courtesy of KIA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrW68jCy9pc

Improv Everywhere–the kings of video social experimentation–did their annual no-pants subway ride. And judging by the 12 million views, it’s more popular than ever: