MAM
Insight + Creative Tension leads participation in video marketing: Watson
VARCA: The era of the thirty second TV ad is fast diminishing as online video marketing makes inroads into the marketing strategy for brands. Speaking at Goafest 2012, YouTube global vice president Lucas Watson explained how video marketing online can be used to optimize the power of digital.
Online video marketing operates on three tenets- passionate communities, the concept of paid, owned and earned and lastly everybody can do it.
Giving the example of pop-star Lady Gaga, Watson explained how online video marketing can develop passionate communities and through the use of social media make a video popular. This helps in increasing brand visibility and at the same time engage the consumers with the brand.
YouTube has recently introduced True View where the uploader is charged for the video only if it is viewed from start to end. This makes marketing spends more targeted and reduces wastage as opposed to television where one has to pay for the slot no matter the amount of views.
Lastly, online video marketing is open to everyone, the size and scale of the organization notwithstanding. In face, many start ups have used online video marketing to launch the brand. An example of this incident is a brand called dollarshaveclub.com. The brand sells economic razors in the US, where Gillete sells razors at $ four or five on an average. Within two weeks of the online launch, the video recorded four million views. In fact, 48 hours into the launch, the company was flooded with orders to an extent where they had to put up a message asking customers to have patience as they order for more razors.
“The trick in case of online video marketing is to identify that one thing that will strike a cord with the TG. If you go into the concept with the thought of creating a viral video, you will be disappointed. But instead if you think about what will interest your consumers and make them feel connected to your brand, you have greater chances of success. Human insights combined with creative tension is what makes for a good engaging online video campaign,” explains Watson.
The task ahead for creative directors at agencies is no longer limited to coming up with great ideas. They also need to go out there and source the ideas that are making themselves seen on the web. Also, online video, as said before is not time bound like traditional TV advertising and thus leaves more scope for innovation and adventure.
Another wave that has hit our industry, which is already in a state of flux, is the mobile internet phenomenon. According to a research, almost one fourth of the online video viewership globally is through the mobile internet. Mobile internet gives marketers a chance to target more touch points in a consumer‘s life using the entertainment proposition. So now, consumers can be targeted while waiting for the bus or during lunch.
Another aspect that works in tandem with developing and understanding human insight is building trust. In this case the trust has to exist between the agency and the brand and it is of paramount importance in order to have a cohesive and comprehensive online video presence.
“Also, as we move towards tomorrow, we need to realise the importance of being opportunistic along with developing good strategies,” Watson explains. He goes on to say that simple observations like the characters or roles that people relate to while uploading a video can play a big part in the video going viral or not.
“Make it easy for the people to participate,” he concluded.
Brands
Hemlata Sharma joins ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer
Former Zee Media distribution head to steer growth, partnerships and strategy
MUMBAI:Â Hemlata Sharma has joined ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer, bringing with her more than three decades of experience across television, telecom and media distribution.
Sharma most recently served as head distribution, research & CRM at Zee Media Corporation Limited, where she worked closely with editorial and senior management while overseeing distribution, consumer research and customer relationships for 14 news channels including Zee News, WION, Zee Hindustan and Zee Business, along with ten regional state channels.
In that role, she led nationwide distribution across platforms such as DTH, Hits, IPTV, cable networks and DD Free Dish. She also drove consumer research and strategic insights on a pan India scale, analysing content performance, anchor impact, programme slots and audience behaviour to guide editorial decisions and programming strategy.
Her portfolio also included managing one of the largest alliances with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and overseeing the global distribution monitoring of Wion across North America, Mena, Europe, Africa, APAC and Australia.
Earlier, Sharma briefly served as head sales and distribution at Triplecom Media Pvt Ltd, an engagement driven OTT platform bringing together content, gaming, music and advertising for the entertainment distribution ecosystem.
Her earlier career includes a senior vice president stint at Ten Sports Network, where she played a key role in relaunching the sports broadcaster as an independent bouquet comprising Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action and Ten Golf following the Zee takeover. During this period, she moved from vp west to head strategy for cable and dth and later national head retail distribution, helping build the network’s retail distribution vertical across India and launching dedicated golf and football channels.
Before that, Sharma spent over six years at Bharti Airtel as general manager operations for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She initially led marketing and corporate communications before moving into sales leadership, where voice sales grew by 86 per cent and revenues by 96 per cent. She later headed business operations, expanding annual business volumes to Rs 100 crore while significantly reducing operational costs.
Sharma began her long association with the media distribution ecosystem at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as regional head sales and distribution for central India. During that period, she played a role in the early rollout of pay television channels including Zee Cinema, HBO, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, while also contributing to the launch of Siti Cable in key central Indian cities.
With her new role at ONEOTT Broadband, Sharma is expected to focus on strengthening business strategy, expanding partnerships and driving growth across the company’s broadband and digital distribution ecosystem.
