Guest comment: Interactive online video signals new call for creativity
- Added:
- Apr 11, 2008
The advent of interactive online videos gives advertisers a new way of capturing consumer interest. But Irfon Watkins, CEO at Coull, argues that success with this new format requires more than just rehashed TV ads…
Over the past few years, the surge in consumer use of online video has happened faster than many people expected. According to eMarketer, more than 70% of Internet users viewed online videos in 2007. Despite this rapid growth, advertisers have been surprisingly slow to develop creative optimised for the possibilities of this new medium.
The interactivity of the web has caused it to stand out over and above more traditional forms of advertising. Consumers can click and interact with content; advertisers can provide immersive, engaging experiences that inspire interest and action.
But this full potential has not yet been realised within online video. The increase in bandwidth and consumer appetite for online video has largely been met by advertisers with standard fare. TV slots are simply re-run online. What was once an engaging, interactive medium shifts down a gear to becoming a one-way, linear form of advertising, much like watching TV, or reading a newspaper.
Online video advertising today demands little more from the consumer than a lean back experience.
But what of the web’s intrinsic functionality? Why can’t a consumer watching an online video do all of the things expected on a standard web page – clicking and interacting with objects and information at will?
Coull has launched Coull engage to help advertisers answer this very question. Brand marketers and digital agencies can use the online video advertising format to easily create interactive video adverts – enabling unprecedented levels of interactivity and consumer engagement.
The first trial of this new interactive ad format was by Boots, running its ‘Here Come the Girls’ ad across the Lycos.co.uk site. Viewers were able to interact with products during play, finding out more information and clicking through to the e-commerce site to purchase.
Results from the campaign highlight a very responsive viewer base, with 29.3% of consumers interacting with the various products within the video -taking engagement with the Boots brand to another level. The Coull Engage format also drove five times the average play rate for a non-auto play MPU ad.
The success of the Boots commercial has been followed closely with a Renault campaign, now underway, and a first in the automotive industry. The Coull Engage format has again been utilised to allow viewers to interact with the new Renault Laguna advert during play, clicking on objects to book a test drive or request a brochure.
Boots and Renault’s experiences highlight the increased scope Interactive video offers brands scope to engage directly with consumers. Maximising the power of online video to drive deeper brand involvement, customer acquisition and sales.
But what results could be expected from content created specially for this new medium? The emergence of two-way, interactive functionality within video offers a significant boost in creative scope. Narrative and content can be designed around this, creating fresh and different ways to engage consumers and keep their attention.
When TV first emerged, producers largely imitated radio, with presenters talking straight into a camera, with no camera movement or editing. Direction of film was also very limited in scope until the creative brilliance of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane shone light on new ways to bring the medium to life.
Online video is at a very similar stage. The medium offers creative opportunity not possible on TV or film. As trials by the likes of Boots and Lycos highlight the increased potential for online video, attention will inevitably shift to production of content directly for this new medium. Exciting times lie ahead.
by
Irfon Watkins
CEO
Coull
