Google's video exchange ambitions

Google is trying to get everyone -- and I mean everyone -- to create video advertisements.In fact, if you're a job candidate seeking to get hired by Google, you might consider creating a video ad about yourself and bid against other marketers to place your smiling face on those gazillion blogs and publications that write about Google. This idea was first mentioned to me by Ryan Money, who started HireVue.com. But Google's Gokul Rajaram seems to think the video resume idea will work on Google as well. My money is on HireVue.com since I believe Google will be too distracted to provide the contextual environment job seekers need. Plus, I don't believe job seekers will want to pay for everyone watching their video resume.

But I think there is a place for such pay-per-click video ads, partly because the inventory for news and entertaining video (where these ads typically are placed) is scarce. Advertisers are clamoring to place ads on rich media. I know since I've been creating online videos for MarketWatch since 1999. Google is creating liquidity for advertisers (with video ads) by giving them a cheap alternative ($5 to $12 per CMP) across the blogosphere, where there is inventory. And, when the supply of entertaining video increases, Google will have already amassed the inventory of video ads.

Publishers won't mind these video ads as long as the ads are relevant. And, I believe they have the potential to be relevant and entertaining. The possibilities of what video advertising will look like tomorrow, and who will be advertising are scary, exciting, on the verge of ridiculous, potentially profound, and almost limitless. 

Google's ad video project has had mixed reviews across the Web, with many skeptical about the viability of pay-to-click video commercials. For those who have any doubt about how much video advertising will be created and viewed, think again. Videos will come from people and places unimaginable.  Will Swedish nannies start creating ads about their services and target blogs that only attracts readers who can afford such luxuries? If the potential salary covers the cost of their ad spend for those clicks, which it might, why not? If I had property in Lake Tahoe, I might take my relatively cheap video camera and create a video to showcase the property and upload it onto Google and target lifestyle blogs. 

My Net Sense column - which includes the rest of my observations -- received a lot of responses. I hope those who responded to my column also post their observations here for others to read.

Read my Net Sense on MarketWatch

Comments

[Andrew]

Hi Bambi.

I have been reading your work on Marketwatch.com for years. Keep up the good work!

Your latest article on Google's video advertising leaves me with morequestions than answers. What websites can I visit to experience Google's newest venture? Thank you.

[Bespoke]

Interesting article. How does the reverse work: content providers who
want to offer these video commercials to run alongside their video
content?

[bf]

Andrew:
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[Samuel Salter]

Hi Bambi:

I agree with the whole premise of your article. I think the Google experiment will be a resounding success.

Why? Because video makes the internet come alive and using Google’s targeting technology the video ad should match the content of the site pretty well. A guy at a fishing site reading about bass fishing should find a commercial about the latest fishing rods pretty interesting.

The one thing no is talking about from a business stand point is the creative. A bad video ad is a bad video ad, nobody is going to click on it or become a customer of the advertiser.

The best way to use the Google video ad system is first to test with a text based ad and once you develop one that your market responds to develop your commercial concept around that ad.

I hope Googles’ venture succeeds because we are now in the same business we recently launched Internet Television Channels.com.

We broadcast movies, television programs and targeted online video ads on a pay per click basis.

One of the key differences between our model and Google’s is that we provide our publishers with video programming that matches the content of their website,as well as pay per click video ads.Our videos plays on a pop page after clicking. We think people will be pretty excited about finding shows that relate to the content of their favorite websites along with the ads.

You can see a sample of our pay per click video ads and more information about our model on my blog the Internet TV Diary.

http://www.internettvdiary.com/internet_tv_diary/2006/05/startup_beats_g.html

Sam Salter - CEO Internet Television Channels.com...

[Video]

I am not sure about the GoogleAd Video - Ithink it might be distracting. I think that with Spotrunner you wil get more bang for your buck.

[Nemo Semret]

Great article. I would have expected the same thing as you -- "a sophisticated self-service video-ad auction service". Why they have not put it together yet is an interesting question.

At least part of the reason may be that auctions don't always "just work". The underlying mechanism has to be designed to produce the right (i.e. efficient) outcome for that market.

We have such a system, called Merkato. Although we've been applying it to bandwidth (see www.invisiblehand.net), the platform applies to any resource that is shared and allocated in real-time on a market basis - such as "eyeballs" traffic. In the real-time ad auction marketplace as we see it with Merkato, the advertiser sees a resource, a specific piece of content (optionally, the content owner can add detailed traffic volume and other characteristics that will enhance the willingness to pay of the advertiser). Each advertiser can then bid for some of those eyeballs (either in absolute terms or as a percentage of the total traffic), and get allocated a certain portion based on a real-time auction mechanism e.g. the progressive second price auction (http://www.invisiblehand.net/index.php?p_id=54).

Thanks for an enjoyable and informative article!

[ISI]

Dear Bambi,

This is Michael Harris of International Services. I enjoyed your recent article “Google's video exchange ambitions”. This article was a watershed piece for the industry because it identifies the turning point from television based advertising to web based advertising. It will never go back.

My company has created a new method to deliver advertising to the public global IPTV viewing audience. The technology is known as MyPrivaSee™ and offers the IPTV viewer a choice of which advertisements they view, independent of the IPTV channel they are watching. These advertisements are selected by the viewer using an “Opt-In” process from an Advertisement Database.

For instance, a viewer may live in the United States and watching an IPTV broadcast from Madrid, Spain. However, the Spanish advertisements are not relevant to their interests. Using the MyPrivaSee™ web based application, the viewer can Opt-In to view advertisements concerning their interests, such as “financial services and hair care products”, to watch during the regular IPTV advertisement time slot. When the Spanish IPTV broadcast advertisement begins, MyPrivaSee™ shifts the viewer to see their Opt-In “financial services and hair care” advertisement choices. The Opt-In advertisements also feature an electronic coupon to encourage viewers to purchase the advertised product. After the Spanish IPTV advertising time slot is complete, the viewer is returned back to the Spanish IPTV program content. MyPrivaSee™ is by definition, “Always On Target” with viewer interests, and can be used by the viewing customer as a way of shopping for products and services.

Number of Television sets in the world: 3 Billion

Television as an Aggregation Point: The majority of the people on the planet watch television.

IPTV viewers: Currently, there are 20 Million people viewing television on cell phones, iPods, computers, HDTV etc., over the Internet. This number grows daily.

How to reach the majority of television viewing people Give them control over their advertisements to view, independent of televised content. Give them a discount coupon towards their product purchase.

From your conversation with Mr. Eric Schmidt, he indicated that he would be interested in looking at such a video advertisement technology, if it were available. That is my dilemma. To date, I have been unable to reach him. Bambi, do you know the best method to reach Mr. Schmidt?

.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Michael Harris, President

International Services Inc.

847-905-1000

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