Video Marketing Report

For the most part the story of video marketing on the internet , as I recall it, is one of trial and error. A story full of players late to the game and small upstart giant slayers.

I like to think of the great football movie Rudy when I think of video marketing.

Let me explain. Not unlike the hero of the movie (Rudy) not many folks took video seriously when it first came to the web.  A scrawny rag tag video technology that was really the realm of the uberdorks. (Video Toaster, anyone?)

Early on, there wasn’t much content to watch, at least not at work or with your family. As usual, the adult industry pushed for better online video technology and got it. Gamers wanted better video cards and they got them.  As the price for both plummeted, there was a vacuum created and into that, folks started dumping their quirky homemade videos, like Global Funniest Home Videos on crack, and they suddenly flew to the furthest corners of the internet.  Some waited days to download the first viral videos over dial-up connections.

There were hits in this new form of entertainment, the “viral video stars” that saw millions of views and little else except notoriety and thousands of parodies.  And there were misses, big misses, usually by big companies trying to leverage the popularity of viral videos to sell products.A great deal of money was wasted before someone figured out that online, there was no captive audience. No rapt masses waiting to be fed over the top advertisements in 30 second bites. Viewers on the internet discovered, watched and shared the videos they wanted to, not the ones Madison Avenue had lovingly concocted from some mutant form of television spot.  No one could predict or prepare for the viral phenomenon. And it still defies understanding. Why do videos go viral? Because like the old Fabrege shampoo commercial, (the one with Heather Locklear) they told two friends, and they told two friends, and they told two friends, etc.

Something really clicked with the public, after all we are the video generation. Before 1980 you would have been hard pressed to name one music video, let alone a whole music video network, now there are thousands.  Same way with online videos, video portals, video software, etc.

And marketing? Where do we stand? Well, some are figuring out that, much like the plain text web, the video web needs quality content.  As we have discussed, quality is a relative judgment. And one not easily rendered by those who have a vested interest in it. Companies continue to struggle and fight with consumers, throw tantrums, and fall by the side of the road like weary travelers who’ve lost their will to keep going. And consumers keep surprising themselves by demanding transparency and respect, quality and relevance. How can you market to that?

Anyway, I have rambled enough. I am sure you remember it much differently, and we are each one entitled to our own version.  Share yours if you have a moment. I’d love to compare notes.

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