Doug Stevenson and Gabe Greenberg interview
Doug Stevens, CEO and Co-Founder of Vibrant Media, and Gabe Greenberg, Vice President Strategic Relations of Vibrant Media, discuss users' need for control in the new media environment.
Transcript: Doug Stevenson and Gabe Greenberg interview
There's a big debate at the moment, and a lot of research going on that there is a user revolution going on. The user needs and wants to be in control of the content. They want to be in control in how they consume that content and when and where and what time and what geography they see that content. It doesn't just apply to content, it also applies to advertising. The user doesn't want to sit through linear 30 second adverts. They want the choice to get the most relevant advertising at the right place and the right time. That s what you re going to see coming forward in the industry - a lot more focus on the users experience as far as advertising and content online.
It's all about the relevance. It's all about being able to target words and phrases in the content and deliver targeted relevant messages to the consumer on their own terms when and where they want to be engaged in it. Media consumption has changed all the offline media dollars that have been spent over the years where we have been pushing the messages down to the consumer is no longer. The consumers want to be able to decide and are deciding when and where they re going to be engaged in online media. We re seeing that revolution.
There are so many challenges for advertisers at present - so many choices. Should I do pre-roll, post-roll or in fact, no roll? I guess our perspective is let s use a way to target advertising from words, by themselves, within articles. That way we can deliver a much better experience for the user. And I think what this advancement is all about is giving the control back to the user. Users don t really want to sit through 30 second pre-roll adverts to see 15 seconds of content. What they re looking for is control over the content, control over the branding, and ultimately, control over the media.
The day-to-day challenges that we see, and are facing regularly, is that the advertisers and their agencies still haven t figured out how to leverage the online video space. So they re taking their offline creative and trying to repurpose that online. The biggest challenge I see is marketers trying to figure out really how to truly leverage the online video space and develop unique creative that can be used for the online environment.
The metrics are much clearer and you can demonstrate real engagement to a television advertiser with video online advertising. The metrics are there in terms of ad views, and the metrics are there in terms of click through rates, and there s a whole bunch of backend conversion studies that have been done. So I think for a television advertiser, who s wondering if a user is really seeing their advertising with DVRs (etc.), they re wondering: where are my users, at present, seeing my advertising? I think with video online, it s very measurable; it can demonstrate the exact metrics, and so for a TV advertiser it s an easier solution to make in terms of getting more budget.
From my point of view, what I find to be extremely exciting is that the marketers are spending much more money online. With that additional budget, comes more innovation. And the opportunity to use the digital space, the online space, less is a direct response mechanism and more as a brand mechanism. The opportunity to leverage new and innovative tools, like in text advertising, like all the forms of video online, incorporate those with those bigger budgets is gonna be extremely excitng in the industry. We re getting away from static banners and skyscrapers and IMUs, and really innovating and moving to new and exciting ways to use online video and the space as a whole.
I think to add to Gabe, as well, a question that was asked by Shelly Palmer at the last session was: do people dislike advertising? Yes, I think they do dislike advertising if it isn't relevant, but if you can deliver a relevant environment and a relevant experience for users, it s gonna be more appropriate and more relevant fro them so they can have a good experience with the advertising. And I think that s what we're trying to focus on, is the textual advertising that gives a relevant experience for the user and a good experience for the advertiser.