SMBs in the entertainment vertical love video advertising. We’re talking movie theaters, event venues, catering, on-demand performers*, etc.. As is conducive to their craft, they’re big fans of online video, particularly website and YouTube videos. They’re also big on cable and broadcast TV.

This is according to BIA/Kelsey’s latest cut of SMB survey data (information below). On average, these Entertainment SMBs spend 12 percent of ad budget on video, much more than overall SMBs. When applied to their high ad spending, this notably produces an average annual video spend of $4,000.

This class of SMBs are also heavy users of social media of all types, and have a high interest level in advertising and marketing services. This is the wrap: Entertainment SMBs are good prospects for video and social media products. They use a lot, spend a lot, and they have their antennas out.

________

These were a few of the top-level findings of the latest cut of LCM 18, focusing on SMBs in the Entertainment vertical. Clients of BIA/Kelsey can access this report through our client portal. The report is also available for purchase, and more information on the LCM survey is here.

*SMBs in Entertainment is a roll-up category that includes: Restaurants, Bars, Hospitality (Catering/Hotel), Music, and Entertainment – miscellaneous.

The post Entertainment Value: SMBs Have it Too appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Verizon‘s announcement today that it will buy AOL for $4.4 billion is a bid to get beyond dumb pipes and airwaves to get deeply into mobile and video. By doing so, Verizon, a $200 Billion company, hopes to play on more of a level playing field with other major telecom players combining access to content and personalization services, especially Comcast (with NBC U) and AT&T (with Direct TV.)

The all-cash deal provides a 150 percent return for shareholders in AOL from when CEO Tim Armstrong came on board in 2009. The price is 17 percent above the current stock price. And at the lower price — which may ultimately be even lower if some of the content properties are sold — a lot less is riding on it.

Have you seen this movie before in 2000, when AOL was disastrously sold to Time Warner for $165 Billion? A lot of the same synergies are being discussed: video on demand, personalized content and subscription revenue.

But this time, it is really all about mobile; video on mobile; and the prospect of converting (or selling) 2.1 million dial-up subscribers that continue to be AOL’s biggest moneymaker. Indeed, AOL has built or bought a powerful arsenal of mobile ad serving and video tech, especially LTE Multicast, which uses its cellular network to broadcast live video.

In our view, content is not likely to be an important factor here. It would have been more important if AOL had merged with Yahoo, or with Microsoft. The biggest “what if” probably involves MapQuest, which has technically lagged behind mapping leaders but retains a powerful, verb-like brand in that space. Given Uber’s $3 Billion bid to buy Nokia?s HERE, it may ultimately emerge as an important factor in the deal — much more so than Huffington Post.  AOL’s sizable effort to make Huffington Post into a super content portal, including a major local dimension, failed dramatically last year. Similarly, Armstrong’s huge, multi-hundred million dollar effort with hyperlocal site Patch amounted to very little.

To some degree, we also see Verizon’s acquisition of AOL as an acqui-hire. Verizon has stumbled around advertising for several years but not had an impact. It also has made some small investments in content and classified properties, but hasn’t been confident enough to really spend. Its biggest effort was a promotional program with the NFL to broadcast games for free.

We like the statement issued in the name of Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, who we note, has long had his eye on geo-targeted advertising. “Verizon’s vision is to provide customers with a premium digital experience based on a global multi-screen network platform. This acquisition supports our strategy to provide a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers to deliver that premium customer experience.”

The post AOL's Sale to Verizon: All Eyes on Mobile and Video appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

BIA/Kelsey: John, your company provides targeted, cross-screen video advertising. Video and programmatic targeting are particularly hot right now in the market. So let’s talk about that. We’ve seen this moving from national into local media with increased acceleration lately. Let?s start with the basics, how do you define “programmatic”?

McIntyre: Programmatic buying, in its most simple form, is the automated real-time bidding and purchasing of digital advertising inventory. It is undoubtedly a powerful tool, but a relatively “dumb” one. It’s a “go fetch” mechanism designed to buy digital media at the lowest bid for a broadly defined target audience. But as video reshapes the digital landscape before our eyes, the requirements for programmatic buying are also rapidly evolving. First, a little context… The rise of multi-screen video and the related explosion of online video advertising are well documented. comScore reports that each month, 225 million Americans now watch video online — including some 40 billion video ads.

BIA/Kelsey: Our forecasts show that local online video ad spend will continue to increase by double digits in the coming years. Some of those dollars are new incremental spend, but most of it is shifting from display, print and TV. How does programmatic play in this mix?

McIntyre: If, as the forecasts indicate, video is becoming the preferred digital ad medium, then programmatic must get smarter. We see two keys to unlocking its potential: 1. Buying micro-targeted audiences and optimizing on performance. First, this requires we apply advanced levels of intelligence to segmentation. We need to integrate highly reliable data that allows advanced segmentation beyond demographics, e.g., location, current topical context, device, recent behaviors (search, browsing, purchase, etc.), day part, purchase funnel position, etc. Second, we need to be able to adjust bids and buys based on how audiences respond to ads during campaigns. In other words, we need campaigns to become self-learning and optimize intelligently. 2. Personalizing ad content and seamlessly integrating it with micro-targeted buys Message relevance is becoming the new creative mantra. Producing versions of ads that resonate with viewers in different locations, at different times, with different interests dramatically increases response and engagement. We need to be able personalize ads quickly, affordibly and at scale, then deliver them with the appropriate buys.

BIA/Kelsey: John, you will be speaking at our BIA/Kelsey National conference next month about some of the work you’ve been doing in programmatic at Sightly. Could give us a teaser here of what you’ll be talking about?

McIntyre: Our platform incorporates these technologies today as part of programmatic buys of YouTube TrueView inventory so we’ve already seen its potential first hand. For example, here are a couple success stories featuring campaigns we ran for Wendy’s in which we combined ad personalization with micro-targeting and intelligent optimization to deliver exceptional results that led to an annual commitment for 2015.

BIA/Kelsey: Thanks, John. Looking forward to your discussion on our Programmatic SuperForum next month in Dallas at BIA/Kelsey’s National conference March 25-27.

The post Unlocking Programmatic's Potential for Video Advertising appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

BIA/Kelsey: John, your company provides targeted, cross-screen video advertising. Video and programmatic targeting are particularly hot right now in the market. So let’s talk about that. We’ve seen this moving from national into local media with increased acceleration lately. Let’s start with the basics, how do you define “programmatic”?

McIntyre: Programmatic buying, in its most simple form, is the automated real-time bidding and purchasing of digital advertising inventory. It is undoubtedly a powerful tool, but a relatively “dumb” one. It’s a “go fetch” mechanism designed to buy digital media at the lowest bid for a broadly defined target audience. But as video reshapes the digital landscape before our eyes, the requirements for programmatic buying are also rapidly evolving. First, a little context… The rise of multi-screen video and the related explosion of online video advertising are well documented. comScore reports that each month, 225 million Americans now watch video online — including some 40 billion video ads.

BIA/Kelsey: Our forecasts show that local online video ad spend will continue to increase by double digits in the coming years. Some of those dollars are new incremental spend, but most of it is shifting from display, print and TV. How does programmatic play in this mix?

McIntyre: If, as the forecasts indicate, video is becoming the preferred digital ad medium, then programmatic must get smarter. We see two keys to unlocking its potential: 1. Buying micro-targeted audiences and optimizing on performance. First, this requires we apply advanced levels of intelligence to segmentation. We need to integrate highly reliable data that allows advanced segmentation beyond demographics, e.g., location, current topical context, device, recent behaviors (search, browsing, purchase, etc.), day part, purchase funnel position, etc. Second, we need to be able to adjust bids and buys based on how audiences respond to ads during campaigns. In other words, we need campaigns to become self-learning and optimize intelligently. 2. Personalizing ad content and seamlessly integrating it with micro-targeted buys Message relevance is becoming the new creative mantra. Producing versions of ads that resonate with viewers in different locations, at different times, with different interests dramatically increases response and engagement. We need to be able personalize ads quickly, affordibly and at scale, then deliver them with the appropriate buys.

BIA/Kelsey: John, you will be speaking at our BIA/Kelsey National conference next month about some of the work you’ve been doing in programmatic at Sightly. Could give us a teaser here of what you’ll be talking about?

McIntyre: Our platform incorporates these technologies today as part of programmatic buys of YouTube TrueView inventory so we’ve already seen its potential first hand. For example, here are a couple success stories featuring campaigns we ran for Wendy’s in which we combined ad personalization with micro-targeting and intelligent optimization to deliver exceptional results that led to an annual commitment for 2015.

BIA/Kelsey: Thanks, John. Looking forward to your discussion on our Programmatic SuperForum next month in Dallas at BIA/Kelsey’s National conference March 25-27.

The post Unlocking Programmatic’s Potential for Video Advertising appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent to Davenport in October 2013 for a “Wired Internet Network System for the Internet Video Streams of Radio Stations.” Since then, he’s been working with SurferNetwork engaging in testing and concept development while trying to raise industry interest in supporting this idea for how to add new video advertising inventory that is synchronized to the radio station listening experience. As Davenport puts it, “You can double 12 minutes of radio ad inventory into 24 minutes of inventory with ad replacement technology by adding video that is synchronized to the airplay across any Internet connected device.”

One example he pointed out to us when he partnered with C360 Technologies, Inc. and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to allow radio listeners enjoying a performance to simultaneously view the performance via Internet connections and devices with the added user engagement feature of having 360 degree camera controls to pan around the orchestra. That makes the listening experience more fun and that type of technology can also be applied to commercials and other sponsored content.

We’ve talked about different ways radio broadcasters can leverage their large and often quite loyal audiences over-the-air with synchronized audio technologies such as what Xapp Media is doing. MediaSynced, active in the U.S. and Europe, is another company that offers ways to sync real-time TV and radio with online campaigns. In MediaSynced’s 100 or so campaign deployments with brands like Renault and Sony, the analytics have been encouraging. MediaSync reports CTR increased 113% for Renault with 5.7 million unique impressions and CTR increased 210% for Sony with 3.6 million impressions. Other campaigns showed significantly decreased Costs per Lead, 37% less as compared to a similar RTB programmatic display campaign.

The message Sheridan’s Davenport is trying to bring to the radio industry is an important one and adds generally to the potential digital arsenal radio broadcasters can use to generate significant value by leveraging their valuable over-the-air assets with compelling new Internet technologies tied specifically to that asset.

The post Synchronized Video Advertising . . . on Radio Stations. Wait, What? appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

BIA/Kelsey participated in a thought leadership summit hosted by the American Press Institute yesterday at NPR’s headquarters in Washington, DC to explore content and revenue strategies around digital video with about 50 participants. Five discussion panels covered topics ranging from “audience and devices – who’s watching and how” to “how to build video into your organization.” Speakers came from major publishers including CNN, ABC News, NBC News, USA Today, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic and more locally oriented publishers including Minneapolis Star Tribune and Desert Digital News. Overall, the theme was still a lot of experimentation and balancing journalism ethics and valuable brands with what makes the editorial, audience and advertiser needles move in digital video. Spoiler alert, it’s rarely the same thing. In fact on the BIA/Kelsey panel we focused on “Identifying Helpful Metrics for Your Strategy” and even that exposed some diversity/conflict in terms of how to judge success.

Here’s a set of five take-aways from this leadership summit on digital video:

1. Keep your focus on multiple balls in the air or you may never succeed. You can’t pick a favorite key performance indicator and use that as your North Star to navigate to success in digital video. Your organization must understand and embrace in a serious way multiple metrics around content quality (i.e., editorial as well as audience appeal), promotion (leveraging social channels), device and platform responsiveness (phones, tablets, desktops and various networks from WiFi to 4G), type and number of ad units, revenue generated, cost of video, distribution and partnerships (use social media and partners – even the major publishers can have more traffic driven by third party sites than they can do themselves), and a host of metrics ranging from streams viewed to completion rates to CPMs, etc. You can’t kill it on a subset of these factors and sustain success, your organization must be built around all these factors to get to scale.

2.Use social media as a promotional tool and not as part of your product. Mashable’s Ashley Codiani really drove the point home that came up several times. “Good video” by whatever standard needs to be found if the audiences and advertisers are to get engaged. Each video package whether a 6-second short or a “long form” 10+ minute video that gets published should have a standard constellation of social packages going out to drive views. Each social channel tends to have its own follower list so use them all and drive maximum exposure through shares. Condiani advises posting to Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Vine and leverage all these audiences. One example in private discussion was that one of major newspapers produced an awesome (by journalistic standards) and well produced video but it generated only 800 views. With a $20 CPM that’s a total of $16 per ad unit. That doesn’t cut it and social channels can help drive those shares and views.

3. Create a valuable ad product. New York Times’ Rebecca Howard shared that until last year the NYT was selling “run of site” ad inventory, not ads against specific audiences or content. By working with a company like FreeWheel, they were able to create much more valuable inventory. This also ties into the content strategy. For example, CNN’s Ed O’Keefe says they learned to tell the story in different ways for different devices. To drive viewership in mobile, “tell the end of the story first.” That will then engage viewers to go deeper into the video for higher completion rates. Similarly, NYT’s Howard urged that publishers make smart use of recommendation engines to lift content and generate more views. She noted that YouTube is the second largest search engine and is about video discovery. Once you get a viewer to the site, add value to user experience and advertiser value by showing recommended videos based on the one they’re viewing.

4. A tale of two cities – there is unlimited demand for video content, there is too much video content. In a sort of intellectual contortion, panelists shared that there is “too much video content out there” at the same time the wisdom of the crowd was that “we need more video to meet demand.” What’s going on here? Premium video with a publisher brand and high production quality tends to be in short supply. Even the NYT does barely more than a video a day. Yet as Allen Klosowski from SpotXchange related, “we see over a billion video trades a day.” While video inventory tends to get sold out either by first parties or through exchanges, the demand for better video continues. But it is expensive and time consuming to produce. So don’t be afraid of 6-second videos in the inventory as traffic drivers and audience extenders. VICE’s Drake Martinet suggested, “think about video as living in different lanes…news videos have to come out fast or if we wait 3-4 weeks for a highly produced video the publisher’s brand can be proud of the Ukraine may well be part of Russia by then. Go for quantity and timeliness with video shorts for news and think about a different lane for the more highly produced videos.

5. There is money in digital video! BIA/Kelsey data show that video is high growth. Rahul Chopra from News Corp/Wall Street Journal predicted that, “in five years 50% of our revenue will be from video.” The money picture among summit participants ranged from loss leader to high growth, “but we’re still experimenting.” It’s clear that no one yet has, or is willing to share, any insights for the easy road to high profits in digital video. It appears that participants are learning digital video is a complicated if promising ecosystem and the code has not yet been cracked by publishers even as the programmatic exchange do video trades in the billions.

The post Producing Value and Revenue with Digital Video appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Video is quickly becoming one of the most transformative areas in digital tech & media. It’s right up there with mobile and social media. In fact, its quickly colliding with both of those areas as underlying mobile technology and social behavior compel new formats like Vine and Instagram Video.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. How are video business models forming? How are the traditional owners of video production and distribution evolving in such a quickly changing environment? And what does it mean for local video and other important areas like video ad sales?

BIA/Kelsey analyst and Managing Director Rick Ducey is tracking these areas pretty closely and I recently got the chance to pick his brain on a few topics. One theme that seemed to thread throughout these sub-topics is video’s tipping point: Where and when will it happen? The Q&A with Ducey is below.

Q: How is the macro environment changing for video consumption patterns, and what does that mean for those in the business of delivering and monetizing video?

A: The TV Everywhere authentication model used by cable operators is a bit clunky in terms of the user experience but it has value. Netflix is teaching us the “binge viewing” paradigm of releasing an original series all at once. Letting viewers connect to “their” content on various devices and networks is huge. But we need better content discovery across platforms like linear television, VOD, DVR, Internet, and OTT services like Netflix and Hulu. A seamless and powerful interface with a solid business model can drive a lot of change fast. Everybody from Intel, Google, Apple, Tivo, cable MSOs to Amazon and others have their toes in this water.

Q: Mobile technology and behavior is also creating a multi-screen world. What challenges does mobile present for video delivery and monetization?

A: As consumers adopt multi-screen behaviors, programmers and advertisers will follow. For example, ESPN research shows viewers consume ESPN content across an average of four screens. The tipping point will come with the ability to plan, execute and attribute ROI across screens. This involves the transactional platforms that brands and video publishers use; measurement and reporting systems; optimized creative for different screens; and the complementary effect of cross-screen campaigns (we know that broadcast plus mobile video campaigns drive more lift). And it’s not just screens, mobile is such a killer in this category in terms of growth potential, it gets to measuring and attributing user targeting and behavior inside mobile apps since that’s where a lot of traction and engagement occurs.

Q: Drilling down to local, What are some of the ways that Local Television is adapting to today’s changing video environment?

A: Most video advertising is on broadcast television. National spot advertising is sold on Cost Per Point compared to the rest of the video world that is sold on a CPM basis. It’s sort of geeky, but it will be a potential large tipping point if spot TV converts to selling on CPM basis as it reduces a lot of friction in the buying process. We’re doing research on this point for the Television Bureau of Advertising. Of course local television is quite well monetized but another tipping point will come through driving more video monetization in other channels including desktop, tablet and mobile. Most video consumption is still plain old fashioned linear television.

Q: So how does all of this impact the entrenched ways that video ads are bought and sold?

A: Yes, interrelated to all of this is the way video is bought and sold. Often at agencies there are separate video and digital planning and buying teams. Same on the video side. When buying and selling is oriented to video — as a content type with different affinities and values on different screens — and that’s all plugged into pricing and attribution big data algorithms, we’re off and running.

The post Where is Video's Tipping Point?: A Conversation With BIA/Kelsey's Rick Ducey appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Video is quickly becoming one of the most transformative areas in digital tech & media. It’s right up there with mobile and social media. In fact, its quickly colliding with both of those areas as underlying mobile technology and social behavior compel new formats like Vine and Instagram Video.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. How are video business models forming? How are the traditional owners of video production and distribution evolving in such a quickly changing environment? And what does it mean for local video and other important areas like video ad sales?

BIA/Kelsey analyst and Managing Director Rick Ducey is tracking these areas pretty closely and I recently got the chance to pick his brain on a few topics. One theme that seemed to thread throughout these sub-topics is video’s tipping point: Where and when will it happen? The Q&A with Ducey is below.

Q: How is the macro environment changing for video consumption patterns, and what does that mean for those in the business of delivering and monetizing video?

A: The TV Everywhere authentication model used by cable operators is a bit clunky in terms of the user experience but it has value. Netflix is teaching us the “binge viewing” paradigm of releasing an original series all at once. Letting viewers connect to “their” content on various devices and networks is huge. But we need better content discovery across platforms like linear television, VOD, DVR, Internet, and OTT services like Netflix and Hulu. A seamless and powerful interface with a solid business model can drive a lot of change fast. Everybody from Intel, Google, Apple, Tivo, cable MSOs to Amazon and others have their toes in this water.

Q: Mobile technology and behavior is also creating a multi-screen world. What challenges does mobile present for video delivery and monetization?

A: As consumers adopt multi-screen behaviors, programmers and advertisers will follow. For example, ESPN research shows viewers consume ESPN content across an average of four screens. The tipping point will come with the ability to plan, execute and attribute ROI across screens. This involves the transactional platforms that brands and video publishers use; measurement and reporting systems; optimized creative for different screens; and the complementary effect of cross-screen campaigns (we know that broadcast plus mobile video campaigns drive more lift). And it’s not just screens, mobile is such a killer in this category in terms of growth potential, it gets to measuring and attributing user targeting and behavior inside mobile apps since that’s where a lot of traction and engagement occurs.

Q: Drilling down to local, What are some of the ways that Local Television is adapting to today’s changing video environment?

A: Most video advertising is on broadcast television. National spot advertising is sold on Cost Per Point compared to the rest of the video world that is sold on a CPM basis. It’s sort of geeky, but it will be a potential large tipping point if spot TV converts to selling on CPM basis as it reduces a lot of friction in the buying process. We’re doing research on this point for the Television Bureau of Advertising. Of course local television is quite well monetized but another tipping point will come through driving more video monetization in other channels including desktop, tablet and mobile. Most video consumption is still plain old fashioned linear television.

Q: So how does all of this impact the entrenched ways that video ads are bought and sold?

A: Yes, interrelated to all of this is the way video is bought and sold. Often at agencies there are separate video and digital planning and buying teams. Same on the video side. When buying and selling is oriented to video — as a content type with different affinities and values on different screens — and that’s all plugged into pricing and attribution big data algorithms, we’re off and running.

The post Where is Video’s Tipping Point?: A Conversation With BIA/Kelsey’s Rick Ducey appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Sightly has launched a new video ad platform aimed at allowing local marketers to target their video ads to a highly customized audience.

According to today’s announcement, the new platform, called TargetView, allows advertisers to serve ads tailored to specific consumer’s device and location at the time they view the video.

The emphasis on multi-screen is key since more and more video is being consumed on mobile devices. The new platform is also well timed to the increasing importance of national to local, with big brands increasingly interested in reaching highly targeted local audiences.

“With TargetView, we have built a next generation video ad platform that delivers personalized video ad content to micro-targeted audiences in hyper-local areas on every screen,” said John McIntyre, founder and CEO of Sightly, in today’s news release. “The level of relevancy that highly-targeted ads deliver will forever change how people view and interact with advertising — completely disrupting the industry as we know it.”

BIA/Kelsey is bullish on the online video ad market. Our most recent U.S. Local Media Forecast calls for online video advertising to grow at an 31.5 percent CAGR from $1.6 billion in 2013 to $6.3 billion in 2018.

McIntyre will speak at BIA/Kelsey’s Leading in Local: The National Impact conference, on a Day 3 Superforum entitled, “Brands and Local Market Video Opportunities.”

The post Sightly Unveils Local Video Ad Platform appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.

Video is proving to be a strong a media channel for businesses to advertise their message. Before Super Bowl XLVIII even started, Budweiser’s #BestBuds had been viewed on YouTube an unheard of 33 million times.

BIA/Kelsey examines these differences this week in a new “Spotlight” report using data from the recently completed Wave 17 of the Local Commerce Monitor (LCM). The report is the latest in the ongoing “Spotlight” series that drills down into the LCM data to examine how SMB advertisers acquire and retain customers.

BIA/Kelsey projects U.S. local video advertising will grow from $29.7 billion in 2012 to $38.6 billion in 2017.

The LCM Wave 17 data shows that SMBs that identify as “video SMBs” differ from those that do not use video advertising in several important ways:

— Annual media spend for SMBs that use video advertising $53,815 compared to $24,049 of that non-video advertisers.

— Among video SMBs, 55% percent plan to increase their advertising spending for the next year, compared to only 39% of non-video SMBs which plan to increase their advertising spend.

— Video SMBs are more likely to offer a customer loyalty program, compared to those that don’t use video to advertise 60% vs. 31%.

— Video SMBs are adopting other digital-based channels quickly. 5 out of the top 8 future marketing priorities are non-traditional and digital media types which include some the following: social media advertising, advanced analytics and performance monitoring, SEO, and video advertising.

Interested in learning more about LCM Wave 17 or getting a custom cut for your business? Contact Celine Matthiessen at cmatthiessen@biakelsey.com.

The post LCM Data Shows Video Advertisers Spend More appeared first on BIA/Kelsey - Local Media Watch.