Will quality video content change how advertisers engage with online media?

Quality online video can change the marketing game, argues Yahoo! head of commercial development Guy Beresiner.

This week, Ofcom research revealed that TV is still one of the most popular media choices. However, the same research also shows that consumers are broadening their media intake throughout the day via a variety of channels and sources. So how should advertisers respond?

I feel combining the high quality content consumers get through TV – and the flexibility of the online digital sphere i.e. the times in the day people are engaging with these various platforms – may provide the answers.

Although Ofcom’s research might suggest that traditional media platforms still appeal to a core audience, the study also found that more than ever before, the British public is consuming content from a multitude of different sources including sophisticated smart phones and social networking sites.

Online video content offers significant choice for consumers as well as major revenue opportunities for advertisers. As high quality video becomes more widely available on mobile phones, and the internet becomes further integrated into TV platforms, I believe this is set to continue – meaning we’ll see an even bigger shift into online advertising sales.

Traditional TV Channels like Five and ITV have all indicated that they are to develop their online digital offering, as they see the chance to fill a void that user-generated content can’t offer. To date, user generated sites have been successful in driving traffic but these sites have then found it difficult to monetise their video services for the purposes of gaining advertising revenue – mainly due to the quality of the content.

Yahoo’s recent launch of the online Barclays Premier League highlights that high quality video content is what our internet users are demanding and what our advertisers need.

I know that traditional media platforms for advertising such as TV and Print will understandably remain in the mix for most big campaigns, but I are also see a clear shift into the need for integrated campaigns which include more and more digital media elements.

And quality video content provides advertisers with an online platform, through pre-roll for example, where they can use creative executions either directly from their TV campaigns – or an extension of this, whilst being able to benefit from the same levels of targeting and analysis of investment. Yahoo’s partnership with a number of big name brands including Nissan and BT who have signed up as launch partners for the highlights packages has helped prove this.

With TV, internet and mobile playing a more significant role in the way people stay connected with the world around them – ’video snacks’ via the internet will certainly become more and more relevant. Football fans are already now able to access a high volume of quality video inventory through Yahoo!’s 5 minute highlights of the Barclays Premier League, changing the way they view games from the traditional weekend roundups, to access on demand from their computer.

So, while more traditional forms of advertising remain an important outlet for advertisers, streaming high quality video in the right places can reach a far greater audience with much more precision. Because of this, long term online video will continue to expand both in terms of ad revenue and internet traffic and ultimately begin to change the way in which digital content is consumed and how advertisers engage with consumers through it.