Travel Distribution Europe SpecialAdvancements have been made in online video advertising with companies introducing specific monetising platform that allow advertisers to get their message to their target market without disrupting the user's video experience.

Published: 23 May 2008

Travel Distribution Europe Special

Advancements have been made in online video advertising with companies introducing specific monetising platform that allow advertisers to get their message to their target market without disrupting the user's video experience.

Since 2007 online video advertising has been growing, both in terms of sophistication and market size with some forecasters even predicting the video advertising industry to grow to $2.9 billion by 2010.

In order to know more about online video advertising and other developments such as social media monitoring solutions, EyeforTravel.com's Ritesh Gupta spoke to Constandina Milios, Online Marketing Manager, Enjoy England Marketing Division and its agency Greenroom's director Jon Hamm.

Excerpts from the interview:

Ritesh Gupta: Last year, a US-based company introduced an online video-monetising platform, that allows advertisers to get their message to their target market without disrupting the user's video experience. Considering such developments, how do you assess progress made in online video advertising?

Jon Hamm: Online video advertising has made great steps in the last few years in delivery methodology , quality and choice. However where there is still room for growth is in the production of creative specifically for the medium. Too often clients are simply repurposing existing TV creative and expecting consumers to interact / pay attention to them in an online environment.

Great success can be achieved in this area by brands who have a real understanding of their audiences needs and produce and deliver content that is relevant to these needs.

Constandina Milios: I agree, you cant just adapt a TV advert for online. It needs to be more attention grabbing, particularly when there are so many other things happening on the screen. I think companies are also put off by the expense of producing and creating these types of ads and the more expensive placements.

Ritesh Gupta: As far as Internet users are concerned, do you think the idea of offering them opt-in ads in their videos and making them more receptive to ads that they have a choice of watching is working?

Jon Hamm: The Internet is all about choice - it is fundamentally a choice-driven medium. Most consumers understand that the advertising pays for the sites they consume and most consumers accept this relationship. The idea of giving them greater choice in what the receive can only increase the perceived value of this relationship in consumers eyes.

Ritesh Gupta: Some companies have started offering social media monitoring solutions, which tracks and analyses all forms of social media, including blog sites, top video-sharing sites, opinion review forums, photo-sharing sites and micro-blogging platforms. How do you assess utility of these solutions from suppliers perspective especially when it comes to independent web 2.0 sites specifically social media?

Jon Hamm: Companies relationship with their consumers, in terms of their marketing strategy, used to be an "authoritative" one. In essence the brand had the capacity to "shout louder" than the consumer and as a result dictate consumers perception of the brand. Web 2.0 and other similar applications has fundamentally changed this dynamic to give the consumer both the platform and reach to influence others opinion of the brand. As a result of this brands need to engage in this environment, in other words get involved with the conversation. However to do this they need to take a more "discoursive" approach to their communications and establish a great dialogue with their consumers. To achieve this a brand needs to know not whether they should engage with web 2.0 but how.

Ritesh Gupta: A Google executive told me it is not a 'build it and they will come' scenario. If you have UGC then you need to promote it. If you build a channel on YouTube like the CheapTickets Deal of the Day, you need to promote it. Do you think travel suppliers or intermediaries are doing this currently?

Jon Hamm: Very few brands or companies are properly exploiting the opportunities that these new "channels" offer. As cheaptickets deal of the day has only a couple of hundred views I would think that they are not doing it very well.

Constandina Milios: It is like anything just because you build something does not mean people will automatically use it. Putting a video onto you youtube will not guarantee that people will view it in their masses or even see it. The social media space like any other is already crowded. You need to really think about why you are doing something, how it fits in with your objectives, the value to your audience etc and not always jump on the bandwagon because everyone else has. Also no matter how much promotion you do, poor quality content will never succeed. Any social media marketing must be designed to be both engaging and relevant to the intended audience as well as properly promoted.

Results can be improved if customers can get a sense of ownership by feeling they can play a part in creating in the video.

Ritesh Gupta: Do you think travel suppliers are yet to figure out how to use independent web 2.0 sites to not only brand themselves but also use them for fare sales and special promotions?

Jon Hamm: The problem that most companies face is that they are still thinking how can I sell my product rather than what can I provide my consumers that they will perceive as having value, then establish a dialogue with them that in turn will mean they will want my product. It also seems that most companies are still thinking about how to promote ourselves in the travel sector rather than outside of the sector in the areas that drive the desire to travel. For example there is a huge extreme sports community online but very few travel operators have entered this part of the web in any meaningful way. An application that contains surf info as well as how to fly to the best waves would be a good start for any company looking at this consumer.

Constandina Milios: I agree. I think there is a great temptation to try and push products out, rather than really understand the value it offers to customers, particularly when you are competing in such a competitive space.

It is also difficult to turn the pure social media sites into partnerships generating sales without a deep integration into the basic features of the site. Users visit these sites for a specific purpose and until that purpose can be integrated into an engaging relationship, the users will continue to differentiate between the two activities. That said, ticket sales or special offer messages lend themselves well to widgets.

Ritesh Gupta: Which according to you is the best way to measure the ROI of advertising campaigns in a social media environment?

Jon Hamm: Quality of interaction. The key in this environment is not how many but what are they doing. If they are spending time and interacting with the brand then you know you are getting it right, if they are in and out with little interaction then you know you are getting it wrong. 1000 people interacting on a forum is much better than 1000,000 people clicking on an ad then going elsewhere.

Constandina Milios: Measuring the success of advertising campaigns in social media is more than just about the number of clicks generated, it is more about the quality and interaction you have with your audience, particularly when converting the percentage of negative comments you receive into positive ones. As well as looking at the effects it has on the amount of time people spend on your site, repeat visits, conversions etc .

Ritesh Gupta: An expert recently told me there is not even a single travel supplier today that has implemented a robust Web 2.0/Social Media strategy addressing all four key elements: defensive strategy, Social Media and Employee Behavior policies, brand/corporate Web 2.0 initiatives, utilising Social Media as an advertising medium. What's your viewpoint regarding the same?

Jon Hamm: I'd agree.

Constandina Milios: I also agree. I think it is still early days, companies are learning and adapting their strategies as they move along.