US Online advertisers are projected to triple their spending on video ads, reaching a total of $640 million by 2007, according to eMarketer. In 2005, online video advertising topped $225 million, suggesting that by 2010, advertisers will spend at least $1.5 billion on video ads.
As broadband increases in speed and in usage, producing video content becomes more realistic. Though some feel the proliferation of broadband is a threat to television, eMarket senior analyst David Hallerman says otherwise.
“Online video advertising used to be an oxymoron – but no more,” says David Hallerman, Senior Analyst at eMarketer and author of the report.
“Television and the Internet are developing new ways to complement each other.”
The advantage of the new medium for advertising is the ability to incorporate several styles of marketing/advertising by blending paid search, branded entertainment, viral marketing, consumer generated media, and behavioral targeting. Traditional broadcast or cable advertising has lacked these benefits, using a fishing approach to attract customers.
But Hallerman reiterates, it’s not a fight, but a dance.
“Video represents common ground for television and the Internet, not a field of battle,” says Mr. Hallerman. “Winner-take-all is not the name of the game.”
Sixty-nine million US households are expected to have broadband by 2008, doubling 2004’s figure of 34.3 million, and providing a new mass audience that is much more highly targetable.
These figures bode well for advertising agencies looking to expand the reach and options of campaign creativity.
“Now the products they are best at creating – film and video commercials, or ‘spots’ – can be transferred to a new medium, new markets,” said Hallerman.
In addition to more creative content delivered to larger markets, broadband and television have an opportunity to create a mash-up of sorts, providing instant user information, tracking, and performance evaluation.
