ZenithOptimedia

Some big numbers now being seen in video streams across the top players in this category of publishing. There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes at the likes of Yahoo7 and ninemsn to ensure that all their FTA TV content is licensed up and compressed for online consumption. This work is clearly now paying off with significant increases in streams per month noted - up to 100% growth in some cases, with more content expected to come (probably US)

Who needs TV eh?

Some odd / interesting results in this top 10 list from Ad Planner.

1. Google is missing?
2. Commbank is the 8th and 9th most visited website
3. RealEstate numbers are about a third of what they quote as their unique visitation.
4. Also interesting that the BIG AU News sites don't fair that well

http://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top100countries/au.html

Wow, inspiring stuff on the topics of technology media.

This link http://www.technologyreview.com/tr10/takes you to the MIT technology review, where MIT have listed their ten top or emerging technologies. The list includes a fair number of media related technologies; Real Time Search, Social TV, Cloud Programming and Mobile 3D.

I have dropped a great report on this topic here too - which I picked up from http://www.appmarket.tvin this report the App for TV market is estimated to be worth 1Bn Ppunds by 2013 - this is amazing given that its currently worth about $0 pounds

Social TV is one area that I am continually fascinated by, keeping an eye on the twitter back channel, its clear that some programs are making the most of this virtual water cooler experience, ABC's QandA is a great example. However there is not much made of this channel by the mainstream Australian broadcasters for programs which are live events live the Aria's or even X-Factor.  Why are Australian networks missing out on this media meshing phenomena.  It's surely a simple step to offer mobile voting via an App to influence who wins or even engage the audience asking them to help the artists choose a song to perform.

I can't wait to see how this space evolves.

 
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Click here to download:

thechannel-dick-richard-socialtv.pdf (4.97 MB)

(download)

Click here to download:

thechannel-dick-richard-socialtv.pdf (4.97 MB)

• Apple iPad users are younger and more of them are male than those of other connected devices
• The iPad trumps the iPhone for “print” and video viewing
• Connected devices owners as a group are comfortable with mobile advertising

These findings are not all that surprising given the early adopter profile and the way people seem to enjoy everything about their toys, especially when they are new.  I recall when I first got my iPhone - i went App mad, clicking and downloading anything and everything to see what would happen.  iPad users are better off still when it comes to ads too, as it seems the quality of ads being developed for these devices is comparatively high as companies are investing in what they perceive to be a premium audience.

Will be interesting to see if these figures flatten out once the device hit more mass penetration post X-mas.

Click here to download:

The%20increasingly%20connected%20consumer%20Oct2010.pdf (976 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

The%20increasingly%20connected%20consumer%20Oct2010.pdf (976 KB)

This report is a nice global perspective on key trends affecting business, media, state of mobile and so on.
Includes amazing charts like this one.

Thanks Morgan Stanley

Click here to download:

Ten Questions Internet Execs Should Ask and Answer - Morgan Stanley - Nov 2010.pdf (843 KB)

(download)

Click here to download:

Ten Questions Internet Execs Should Ask and Answer - Morgan Stanley - Nov 2010.pdf (843 KB)

As a media guy I've always struggled with the creative agency / production team's division from media.  It's not my imagination that frequently the will of creative agencies to iterate their concepts for digital somewhere gets lost between the presentation of concepts and the final produced asset.  Now I know that production dollars and time are often cited as pragmatic limitations behind this, but that's a challenge that is simply going to have to be over come.

The result of the current situation is that media folk are almost entirely held accountable for the results of the ad campaign - true they in control of the placements and most often the reporting and I suppose the levers for optimsation, but that really does not seem very equitable or in fact logical.

Today AdAge published some findings and a call for optimisation of creative to be stepped up. In this article http://bit.ly/cHIY1h

"Research from comScore ARS indicates the importance of creative in driving sales lift. In fact, we've found that 52 percent of sales lift variance is attributable to the quality of the advertising creative, four times the importance of the media plan. In other words, advertisers are currently assuming no control over the single most critical variable in determining sales performance."

One solution I have been trialling recently is MediaMind Smart Versioning tool. This is a neat bit of ad-serving kit that allows for multiple asset components to be rotated at will within the confines of a single ad template - This means that iterations can be introduced both cheaply and quickly.  I understand that Google are also introducing a tool if this type soon, and similar features are also being tested by EyeWonder with their tool Advolve.

Nuff said.

"It's always hard to review version 1.0 of a platform -- it's tempting to give concept and potential nearly as much weight as execution. And we'll make no bones about it: viewed in that light, Google TV is a success. Features like the search bar and integrated browser are so fundamentally good on a conceptual level that they seem destined to forever change our perception of TV user experience, regardless of how well Google TV itself fares in the market, and that's no small accomplishment. Other features, like apps and smartphone control, seem equally ambitious and worthy of praise because of promise alone.

The problem, of course, is that it's really execution that counts, and little else. By that much more exacting standard, Google TV feels like an incomplete jumble of good ideas only half-realized, an unoptimized box of possibility that suffers under the weight of its own ambition and seemingly rushed holiday deadline. Had Google simply focused on a few key features -- lightning-fast browsing and perfect search results, for example -- we'd have readily excused the missing pieces with the assumption that they'd soon arrive in an equally polished way. Indeed, the most disappointing thing about Google TV is the immediate realization that it could be so much more if only Google given itself some more time. An integrated DVR, a real program guide, a movable PIP window that opens quickly -- all these things must happen for Google TV to be successful. We're already hearing reports that Google's in talks with cable operators to build integrated Google TV set-top boxes, so perhaps the most difficult hurdle will soon be passed, but until Google TV's sluggish performance and general lack of polish are addressed, it will remain just as niche as the HTPCs from which it sprang"

Full review is here http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/29/google-tv-review/

Some thoughts
The promise for this technology is what is exciting, the fact that Apple and Google have both released a new and revised offering for a connected screen and that manufacturers like Sony are on board with this mean its only a matter of time before these capabilities and features are part of our every day viewing. We think the notion that a consumer will probably at some time have to commit their media to one of Apple, Google, Microsoft or even Sony as a connected screen > mobile device experience is an interesting concept.

This technology is going to undoubtedly have an enormous impact on traditional media consumption of television, and even film, and if course on the advertising that punctuates the spaces around these entertainment experiences. The engadget review does not specifically mention any ad formats in the form of search results, or other, but I would expect that any ads that are part of web video consumed would be a per the web experience appearing as overlays and pre-rolls, for which inventory is blossoming and new models for purchase like ad exchanges are already emerging.

The other interesting and critical element noted in this review is the fact that major networks like Hulu, ABC, NBC are blocking Google TV at the moment. This for now makes good sense for these publishers as they have to protect their content and revenue streams it represents, they are also in a position of power as premium content is still highly valued by consumers and they currently hold the cards. This dynamic however could certainly turn and if Google TV becomes as popular as Google's other ventures; phones, browsers it might not be too long before GoogleTV

So....  I'm getting one, but maybe not quite yet.

last week Yahoo presented their next gen targeting including consumer connect - a nice new opportunity to create a segment based on real consumer purchasing (data supplied in a panel form via a rewards card partner)

Conceptually all this new targeting makes great sense. But there are some limitations to this approach not least of which is all these would have to be run with a publisher partner. In this case Yahoo7

The other thing is that these targeting options also cost more - I asked if Yahoo if they had run a side by side comparison of straight performance (CPA) vs a BT or modelled segment targeted campaign to prove the theoretical ROI. This would be interesting and justify a premium position on price. Also the extra set up work involved. Yahoo of course Win from these offerings as they generate higher yield for impressions served.

The modelled approaches are actually quite cool (again in theory), as this takes out the reliance on cookies, but for this you need to share some real customer data (email addresses) with Yahoo or a 3rd party in order that they can find like users on their network and then begin to pin point them with your creative. I know some of our clients would find this difficult to do.

Yahoo are also working with third party data suppliers such as Experian Hitwise to implement what they call off the shelf segments - these are such targets a s "High net worth" or "Grocery buyers" which they may have conducted proprietary research on or analysed click stream data on to build out a Yahoo modelled profile. In light of much recent talk of data exchanges this approach is certainly going to be seen more and more.

It's exciting times for the nerds amongst us.

Thanks to the twitterverse for unearthing his one. Quite an interesting concept to say the least.

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