Hulu is making quite the name for itself. Super Bowl ads will do that. According to Brandon Eshman with Nielsen online, from November 1 to February 1, 2009, Hulu averaged about 300 mentions per day in the online community.
Then the Super Bowl ad aired. The next day, Hulu attracted 1,082 brand mentions online for a 259% increase. That’s way more than even the presidential inauguration influenced.
The super bowl ad was a brilliant move for Hulu, which has been growing in popularity since its launch. comScore had Hulu at 6% growth from November to December.
At the end of the year, Hulu added a number of usability features that have no doubt helped its cause as well. They added things like new actor search and video description features, and recommendations and closed caption location ones, buffer progress bars, full screen embeds, etc.
These things add to the convenience, which Hulu is becoming known for, and will likely keep the site rising in popularity. “According to the old saying ‘content is king,’ right?” asks Eshman. “But what if a combination of content AND convenience are ultimately what attract consumers?”
We’re still in the early stages of 2009, and there is no denying that it’s going to be a big year in online video (perhaps even bigger than last year). I think as time goes on, we’re going to continue to see Hulu moving up those charts. The brand awareness they have managed to create thus far is going to play a big role in that.
