How to activate engagement within the video-viewing experience.
Video is a key channel marketing channel, but traditional advertising strategies are not always the best choice. “[Pre-roll and post-roll] video campaigns can be effective but often there just simply isn’t enough time for the product to be displayed for the consumer to want to make a purchase,” said Hank Frecon, CEO of Source Digital
Source Digital is a viewer engagement platform that monetizes engagement and measures audiences through its Source Activate Moments (SAMs) where consumers can engage by activating what is on the screen in that exact moment.
The value of video technology
SAMs allow advertisers, for example, to tell the viewer about the location in the video, offer an opportunity to purchase apparel worn by someone in the video, or deliver a paid advertisement about an automobile manufacturer when a vehicle is on screen. The technology allows content creators, owners, brands and retailers to establish ongoing real-time engagement with views through any device or screen. The SAMs appear embedded in the video; they don’t interrupt it as a traditional ad would.
“The days of basing advertisement results on impressions are over. You need to have various technological resources to measure success and keep marketing below 5% of the overall budget.”
The possibility of using the large volume of contextual information that Source Digital says is “trapped” in the video format allows for completely new angles of engagement with the viewer. It creates an organic relationship in the video, while measuring audience response in real time — instead of only allowing consumers to engage with pre-roll or post-roll ads.
“The medium of video has always been designed for one-way communication, never two ways,” said Frecon. “Video is the perfect medium in today’s relationship with consumers to identify moments that capture consumer sentiment.”
By focusing on what the consumer is actively interested in, the SAMs technology aims to develop brand loyalty organically through continuous, personalized engagement. Since the consumer is selecting what initiates the engagement, implementation of SAMs reduces audience drift while generating detailed metrics on viewer behavior.
“Today if a consumer sees something they like on screen in real-time they have to go to Google or Amazon,” said Frecon. “We think they should be able to buy it right there on the spot, which gives tremendous power to the content owner, and allows for a whole new way for marketers to conduct campaigns.”
Said Frecon: “We have more inventory in video content than anyone knows what to do with, so why not maximize it? There are unlimited moments that serve as opportunities to convert consumers. Keeping consumers in the video and not redirecting them off the site is a fundamental shift in how to use video content to generate revenue.”
This story first appeared on MarTech Today.
About The Author
Rodric J. Bradford is the Editor of MarTech Today and has worked in the marketing technology industry as both a journalist and corporate project manager. Prior to joining MarTech Today Bradford served as Convention and Technology Beat Reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Business Press publication and worked as Technology Reporter for Global Gaming Business, the world’s largest casino publication. In the corporate world Bradford has served as Technology Project Manager for CNA, Cigna, General Dynamics and Philip Morris. Bradford is an alumnus of the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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