Data from Nielsen show that while 99% of video in the US is viewed on traditional TV, DVR and online video use is growing fast. Is getting ads in front of those consumers as important as ads to traditional viewers?

Raj Amin
CEO,
HealthiNation

As the data shows, consumers are clearly comfortable viewing video in new ways so it’s absolutely as important to get advertising messages onto these growing digital channels.  It’s important also that content and advertising experiences be differentiated to get the most impact. We’ve seen exploding scale in online video and VOD, each which have different viewing styles. For instance, we know that in online video environments we can deliver longer format advertising messages than traditional TV, to deliver deeper information or establish stronger emotional connections with more specific audiences. VOD platforms have a “traditional” viewing experience, but are much more qualified than broadcast TV viewers. We see high engagement in those more qualified viewing experiences, so clients are seeing great results.

Liz O’Neil
Director of channel marketing,
EvoLogue

We are in a time of rapid behavior change where the new, empowered consumer can select where, when and how they want to view programs. As marketers we need to adapt to this changing environment and understand how consumers are looking to engage with brands in these new platforms. We are shifting from a traditional lean-back viewer to the lean-forward viewer who feels the content is for “me, on my terms,” setting a new bar for the way advertising is seen and accepted. This requires a unique approach to each digital platform and a new way of thinking about even the smallest details of a TV shoot. We’re no longer speaking of just a storyboard, but planning for the multiple screens being used by our customers.

Lee Slovitt
Senior director, media,
Heartbeat Digital

As media consumption changes, so too should media plans and budget allocations. Sites like Hulu facilitate on-demand viewing and have a model similar to that of TV. User feedback on Hulu blogs is positive:  “I even think the ads on here are more effective, it keeps the viewers centered on a brand… not annoying them with over saturation—just enough to be memorable.” When one considers Hulu distributes its player across over 123,000 other websites, it’s easy to see how broadcast-like reach can be achieved online. Couple this with the ability to track performance across dozens of metrics (including ROI) and digital becomes a critical part of the media mix. In today’s fluid media landscape it has become vital for advertisers to shift advertising dollars to where people are shifting their eyeballs.

Jack Barrette
CEO and founder,
WEGO Health

I see three top reasons that getting advertising to online video users is mission critical. First, the “traditional” viewer is often the same person that’s engaged online, even as the TV is on—but only the online viewer can take action, with a click. And online video users are in fact more active: health activists, social media opinion leaders, who each engage over 12,000 other online health consumers monthly, tell us that they watch more video online than on TV. The fabled convergence of TV and online is happening as we speak: analog TV has been eliminated, hulu.com is booming and new TVs are being shipped with PCs built in. Advertisers who stop at “traditional” will go the way of “rabbit ears.”

From the February 01, 2010 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media