Archive for the ‘Case studies’ Category

Tune-in video ads: The time is now

Monday, December 27th, 2010

Child watching television*

“Numbers don’t lie,” said Dale Lockett, director of creative services at KHOU-TV, Houston.

He was referring to an online video ad tune-in campaign the station ran recently on its own and other websites. “Engagement rates,” Lockett went on, “were between 7% and 10%,” 40 to 50 times higher than the clickthrough rates he typically sees for banner ads.

KHOU is living proof that the barriers to promoting programs and newscasts on the Web have disintegrated. Recent advancements in dynamic video advertising technology have made running tune-in promotions online easy, fast, and cost-effective.

Easy

No need for already-overloaded creative services teams to design new video creative specifically for online distribution. Stations, networks, and syndicators can upload existing TV spots and easily re-purpose them for the web.

For example, by adding pre-designed, customizable interactive elements on top of the uploaded TV creative, broadcasters can:

Build viewer lists and loyalty programs with lead capture.
Generate and complement news content with in-banner polls.
Provide real-time data updates through live Twitter and news feeds.
Make it easy for viewers to share the ads through their social media accounts.
Redirect viewers to videos featuring more in-depth content, such as anchor interviews, investigative reports, and more.

Fast

Timeliness is the key to successful tune-in promotions. Advertising morning or evening newscasts or prime time programs requires content that is updated sometimes on an hourly basis.

Lockett admits to being skeptical at first that online video ads could keep pace with the rapidly changing evening news topics. But, within a week, the team mastered the process and could switch out creative in a matter of minutes without having to re-traffick any ad tags.

In addition, features such as dayparting allow broadcasters to schedule a series of ads to run at specific times and days. By trafficking one ad tag, a station can schedule an entire week’s worth of promotions.

Cost-effective

Dynamic video advertising platforms make it easy for broadcasters to re-purpose creative originally designed for television to run online as interactive video advertising. This eliminates the high cost of developing separate creative to run on-air and on the Web.

In addition, stations and networks typically have their own web properties with display inventory that often goes unsold. They can fill this inventory with their own tune-in video ads to promote their valuable programming assets.

Because the ad tags are flexible enough to meet the requirements of virtually all ad networks, broadcasters can easily extend the promotions to run on any sites they have purchased as part of a standard media plan.

The time is now

Dynamic video advertising offers stations, networks, and syndicators the opportunity they’ve been waiting for: to easily and inexpensively extend their tune-in promotions online. The technology is in place. The time to act is now.

Learn more about dynamic video advertising.

*Photo credit: Aaron Escobar.

Tags: broadcasters, display ads, Mixpo, television, TV, video advertising, VideoAd, Xspot
Posted in Case studies, Product features, Publishers, TV and Xspots | No Comments »

Use performance data to get better results

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

To increase holiday donations, the Salvation Army rotated three Xspots and one rich media ad without video in the same banner ad space on Comcast Online. While all of the ads helped raise dollars, performance data showed the power of compelling true-story video content. The Xspot engagement rates outperformed the rich media ad rate by 38 to 1.

To increase attendance at a 2-day warehouse sale, fitness equipment industry leader SportsArt re-purposed existing video creative to run an Xspot campaign on two local media websites. More than 2,400 people viewed the Xspot and watched a combined total of 12.5 hours of SportsArt content. Part way through the campaign, SportsArt changed the play mode from click-to-play to rollover-to-play. This change increased the number of viewers substantially, resulting in an overall active view rate 16 times greater than the standard display ad clickthrough rate.

These success stories show the key role that accurate and detailed performance data plays in online video ad campaigns. Advertisers rely on the data not only to measure the success of completed campaigns but also to optimize campaigns while they’re running and run better campaigns in the future.

Through its Dashboard and Advanced Analytics, the Mixpo platform has always provided a wealth of performance data. Now, a Reports Wizard makes that data easier than ever to access.

Click to see a larger custom reports list

A user-friendly interface guides you through the process of setting up and scheduling fully customizable Xspot, placement, conversion tracking, and geotargeting reports that you and other recipients receive automatically in email. For example:

To compare ad performance across advertisers, schedule a weekly Xspot report that includes:

All of the Xspots in your Group.
All of the available performance, click, and interaction data.

To compare ad performance across domains, schedule a monthly Placement report that includes:

Two Xspots in a specific advertiser’s account.
All of the placement domains where the Xspots are running.
Only engagement rate, views, view rate, clicks, and click rate data.

To see the total of number of conversions a campaign generated, run a one-time conversion tracking report for a specific Xspot that includes:

Total conversions.
Number of conversions attributed to consumer impressions, views, and clicks.
Number of conversions per webpage.

More information

Online political ads build name recognition and favorability

Friday, July 30th, 2010

In the process of running a recent political advertising campaign for Chris Kelly (Democratic candidate for California Attorney General), the public affairs and research firm Global Strategy Group (GSG) used an experimental design to test the campaign’s effectiveness.

Using geotargeting, GSG was able to expose primary voters in 2 similar-sized media markets to different media. Palm Springs voters were exposed to both television and online advertising. Santa Barbara voters were exposed to television advertising only.

By surveying voters in both markets before the campaigns began and then again on election night, GSG was able to compare lifts in favorability, recall, and vote share.

The results, as described below, show that voters exposed to both the Chris Kelly television and online ad campaigns felt more favorably toward the candidate than voters exposed only to the television campaign.

As one component of the 200 million impression campaign, Mixpo partnered with GSG to run targeted video ads on local lifestyle and news websites. Two video ad examples are also included below.

Online advertising increases favorability

Likely Democratic primary voters who were exposed to both television and online advertising viewed Chris Kelly more favorably than voters who were exposed to television advertising only.

Total users favorability comparison

Online advertising makes an impression

The increase in Chris Kelly’s favorable ratings was driven largely by frequent internet users, who were more likely to be exposed to the online advertising campaign.

Frequent Internet Users favorability comparison

Online advertising moves target voters

The online advertising campaign was especially effective in reaching key target audiences, including older women 55+ and white women.

Older women and white women who were exposed to both television and online advertising were more favorable toward Chris Kelly, more likely to recall having seen, read or heard something about Chris Kelly and more likely to vote for Chris Kelly than their counterparts who were exposed to television advertising only.

Overall favorability comparison chart for target voters

Overall favorability comparison for target voters

Chris Kelly Xspots

These 2 Xspots illustrate the range of possibilities available to advertisers through Mixpo’s dynamic video advertising platform.

300×250 Xspot

728×90 leaderboard display ad that expands into an Xspot.

More information

Online advertising is effective for political campaigns. And barriers to online advertising are disappearing, making it a perfect time for politicians and advocacy organizations to jump in.

Learn more today about the Mixpo solution for politics.

Tags: Mixpo, performance, political, politics, television, TV, video advertising, Xspot
Posted in Agencies, Case studies, Publishers, TV and Xspots | No Comments »

Online video ad barriers disappear

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

Online ads can move poll numbers. Barriers to online video advertising are disintegrating. Now is the time for politicians and advocacy organizations to shift 10% of their TV ad spend online.

These were the major points presented by Political Online Video Advertising panelists Anupam Gupta, Michael Bassik, Michael Beach, Josh Koster, and Alex Skatell at the recent Personal Democracy Forum conference in New York.

Disintegrating barriers

Many political advertisers blame structural barriers for their hesitation to invest in online. They point to:

A lack of inventory for in-stream video ads.
The expense and labor involved in creating and/or editing video for online audiences.
Incentive and pricing structures that favor TV.

These barriers are more perceived than real.

While in-stream video ad inventory is low, inventory for in-banner video ads is virtually unlimited. By running video ads in standard display ad banners, advertisers have access to millions of online impressions.
Running in-banner video allows advertisers to target viewers, either by selecting the sites the ads run on or by taking advantage of the geographic and demographic targeting tools available through ad networks.
Studies increasingly show that online viewers are willing to spend time watching engaging video content. This means that 30-second TV spots can be easily and economically re-purposed for use online.
TV + online creates a synergy that is more than the sum of the two parts. Yahoo!’s analysis of Nielsen IAG data showed that a 10 percent to 15 percent shift from TV to online increased reach and significantly lowered cost per point (CPP). In addition, the frequency of online ads improved TV brand recall by as much as 50 percent.

Source: Nielsen IAG

Online advertising can move poll numbers

A recent study conducted by Russell Research on behalf of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association confirmed that online ads can move numbers. The study measured the ability of an online display and video ad campaign to raise awareness.

Comparisons of baseline polls and post-campaign surveys showed significant increases in awareness (from 42 to 56 percent for some audience segments) as well as strong ad recall.

The time is now

Only 5 months until the 2010 elections. Extend your TV ad campaigns online now.

Learn more about dynamic video advertising for politics.

Tags: Mixpo, political, politics, video advertising, VideoAd, Xspot
Posted in Agencies, Case studies, Publishers, Research and industry data, TV and Xspots | No Comments »

Be realtime relevant with dynamic video ads

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Grungy social media icons from webtreats.com

Grungy social media icons from WebTreats etc.

Kimbal Musk, CEO of OneRiot, claims that brands or websites that want to connect with users in a social or realtime environment need to advertise in realtime.

According to Musk, realtime ads are ads that “are created as they become relevant across the realtime web. Realtime ads” he says, “can be Tweets, search ads or display ads that contain content that is relevant right now.”

Indeed, one of the keys to the success of the Scott Brown for U.S. Senate campaign was the campaign’s ability to immediately capitalize on audience reaction to the final Brown-Coakley debate.

Immediately after the debate, without retrafficking any ad tags, the campaign replaced the creative in a video ad running on BostonHerald.com with “Momentum” creative that stoked the building enthusiasm.

Voters chose to watch Brown’s video ad nearly twice as often as the industry average for video ads. They engaged twice as often as viewers engage with video ads overall. The campaign’s click through rate exceeded the industry standard for display ads by almost double.

Read a case study about the Scott Brown campaign.

Learn more about the realtime power of dynamic video advertising.

Tags: dynamic, Mixpo, political, politics, social media, video advertising, Xspot
Posted in Agencies, Case studies, Measurement and metrics, Publishers | No Comments »

Rapid response for political Xspots

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Just before the January 11 Brown-Coakley debate in Massachusetts, the Scott Brown for U.S. Senate campaign began running a Mixpo Xspot in the Boston Herald.

As MSNBC’s Chuck Todd emphasized in his Daily Rundown, audience reaction to the debate gave the Brown campaign an enormous boost in momentum.

To take advantage of this breaking change, the Brown campaign included a second “Momentum” Xspot in its Boston Herald ad rotation. The new ad began running immediately.

Responding instantly to debates, opponents’ comments, poll results, and other shifts in political sentiment is key to any politician’s success.

With Mixpo’s Rapid Response capability, you can swap messaging, switch creative, insert polls or list-building forms, link to more detailed video content, and more without ever re-trafficking an ad tag. Changes go live immediately everywhere an Xspot is published.

Watch this demo Scott Brown Xspot to see examples of rapid-response messaging.

Note The messages included in this Xspot are for demo purposes only and never ran during the actual Scott Brown campaign.

Learn more about dynamic video advertising for politics.

Read the full Scott Brown campaign case study.

Tags: Mixpo, political, politics, video advertising, Xspot
Posted in Case studies, Product features, TV and Xspots | No Comments »

Brown campaign validates Mixpo model

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Scott Brown’s come-from-behind victory in the recent Massachusetts Senate race is widely attributed to his effective online communications and advertising model (for example, see An Online Model for the GOP?).

As part of that online model, in the final days leading up to the election, the Brown campaign trafficked an interactive Mixpo Xspot across the Boston Herald online edition. During the 10-day Xspot campaign, the paper served almost 1.5 million impressions.

Voters chose to watch and engage with Brown’s Xspot nearly twice as often as the industry standard for online video ads.
The Xspot campaign’s clickthrough rate exceeded the typical rate for display ads by almost double.
On average, viewers watched 78 percent of the Xspot.
Brown’s message was communicated for a total of 267 hours.

To learn more about how easy it was for the Brown campaign to convert an existing 30-second TV spot into an interactive online Xspot and to use the Xspot to respond to breaking news, read the full case study.

Find more information and resources on our political microsite.

Tags: Mixpo, political, politics, video advertising, Xspot
Posted in Case studies, Measurement and metrics, TV and Xspots | No Comments »

McDonald's and other advertisers see success with Online VideoAds

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

In a recent post (Capturing the value of VideoAds), I talked about capturing the value of VideoAds. I introduced the thesis that video display ads are different than regular display ads and much more effective both for advertisers and prospects.

VideoAds running in-banner benefit prospects by:

- Creating a richer presentation that’s highly interactive and more informative

- Bring information TO the viewer rather than forcing them to click away

- Keeping viewers in control and letting them take action when they're ready

And for advertisers by:

- Providing more insight into how receptive viewers are to an advertiser’s message

- Working across the purchase funnel helping advertisers achieve brand awareness and purchase
intent goals or conversion related goals, e.g., email inquiries, or, yes, even click to a website when the viewer is ready

Again, working with our publishing partners, we’re seeing the benefits of VideoAds for advertisers both large and small who focus on the local market.

One of the world’s most recognized brands goes local

Case in Point: McDonald's wanted to drive awareness of the regional launch of McCafe and their new line of coffee drinks. They launched a VideoAd campaign in the Detroit area repurposing seven of their television spots. Viewers watched over 1100 minutes and on average each viewer watched over 80 percent of the VideoAd.

Download Ad-0406-fastfood_core

A local tourism bureau goes big with VideoAds

Case in Point: Sonoma Country Tourism is like a “little piece of Provence” and wanted to drive awareness of that fact by showcasing the epicurean delights on Sonoma. They also wanted to drive action – clicks, calls, and inquiries. In three weeks they generated over 1100 clicks with a 0.53 percent CTR.

Download Ad-0403-wl_tourism_core-1

A regional healthcare provider finds the perfect marketing medicine

Case in Point: The University of Washington Medicine and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, serves the northwest community but is more known for its trauma center and university medical school than the world-class specialty practices in areas like Brain Aneurysms and Heart Arrhythmias. Using existing videos and turning them into VideoAds, they generated over 13,000 minutes of view over the 10-week campaign period. The average length of each VideoAd was 2 minutes, yet viewers watched over 50 percent.

Download Ad-0422-uw_core

A Performing Arts Center has a command performance online

Case in Point: The Orange County Performing Arts Center (OCPAC) wanted to promote a series of events in rapid succession, get people excited, and drive ticket sales. With events ranging from Stomp to CATs, OCPAC achieved an engagement rate that was 7X that of the click through rates regular display ads achieve. The top performing event, Backyardigans, achieved an ER of almost 1.70 percent.

Download Ad-0403-performing_arts_core-1

Conclusion: These local advertisers understand that the display ad can do so much more than provide a click. With video, display ads can drive brand awareness, purchase intent and lead customers down the purchase funnel to a sale but it all starts with getting viewers to engage with your message and become prospects. The click isn’t dead in display ads,steve it just has lots more company.

Posted in Case studies, Measurement and metrics | No Comments »

Capturing the value of VideoAds

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Working with our local media publisher partners, over the past several months, we’ve run thousands of ad campaigns delivering tens of millions of VideoAd impressions. In the process, we’re learning a lot about what makes for an effective VideoAd campaign.

At a macro level, we know that video display ads act totally different from regular display ads. Regular display ads provide a click. VideoAds not only offer sight, sound and motion, but ways for viewers to engage with the ad and get more from it. Viewers can get the full brand’s message in one place. They get the value proposition, the offer or the promotion. They also control the experience, how and when to interact and, yes, even click.

At a more measured level, consequently VideoAds provide richer metrics on effectiveness. What ‘effectiveness’ means, however, varies based on the objective of the advertiser. VideoAds show advertisers how viewers respond and interact, how much they watch, if their interest goes up by expanding the player to full screen. And when clicks are measured, VideoAds again go beyond regular display ads ─ not just measuring if a click occurs but when it occurs indicating a better or more qualified lead.

Taking a sample of our case study work for advertisers in automotive, travel, events, and sports we’ve seen how VideoAds help advertisers reach their advertising objective driving average engagement rates (ER) 5X that of the clickthrough rate (CTR) of regular display ads and brand exposure (represented by average view time) where viewers on average watch more than 70 percent of the total video.

A MLB team swings for the fences
Case in point: A major league baseball team, in the dark days of January, wanted to get people excited about the upcoming season. Running a VideoAd campaign, the MLB team achieved an engagement rate that was nearly 7X the CTR of a regular display ad.

Download Ad-0403-baseball_generic-1

A local television station sweeps up success
Oftentimes, advertisers just want to ‘get the message’ out and drive offline activity.

Case in point: A western U.S. local television station wanted to promote some special news programs to drive viewership up during the critical sweeps week. In one week, over 660 minutes of the VideoAd was watched.

Download Ad-0403-tv_station_generic-1

An auto dealer drives clicks
And of course, some advertisers want to drive clicks and interactions ─ especially important for “tough times” categories like automotive.

Case in point: A luxury auto dealer wanted to increase visits to a website where it was promoting a new “affordable” luxury SUV. A VideoAd promoting the new model generated more than 90 clicks and 100 interactions in just one week.

Download Ad-0403-auto_generic-1

A Ski resort takes viewer on a long run
Finally, video – even short 15 second ones – tell a story that regular display can’t. Advertisers can make their case for their business and viewers get more information.

Case in point: A ski resort in Colorado, where some of the best resorts in the world reside, wanted to differentiate themselves from the pack. Their VideoAd campaign not only generated high ER but also brand exposure. On average, viewers watched over 70 percent of the VideoAd, and 54 percent of the viewers watched it all the way through.

Download Ad-0403-ski_resort_generic-1

There’s lots of debate going on about the true value of display and how insufficient the click has been as the metric for success. Video changes that. Video affords advertisers more flexibility to meet different objectives and the Internet acts as an enabler for measuring success across those varied objectives. Engagement and brand exposure capture the value of video advertising. Clicks are just a part of the value – with their importance dialed up or down based on the advertisers’ objectives.

So does engagement trump clicks?
We believe it does. Engagement tells a better story than clicks alone do about what is going on in an ad, whether the message resonated or not, and when the viewer took action and what those actions were – all benefits to the advertiser who wants transparency on performance. Similarly, video tells a better story to the viewer, providing them better information that they digest without clicking away, and letting them choose how and when they engage – with the benefit of control and choice being theirs.

In this new world of video advertising, value goes both ways.

Posted in Case studies, Measurement and metrics, Publishers | No Comments »

Avvo Lawyers Take it Easy

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

We recently announced a partnership with Avvo – the online service that helps people navigate the complex world of finding the right attorney by providing detailed data and ratings on every attorney.

How does video come in to play? Video helps both parties by giving attorneys a better way to articulate their specialty, their expertise, and their manner as a legal advocate and gives buyers of legal services a way to sift through potentially pounds of information and cut to the chase on selecting an attorney that will largely be built on trust and confidence – something that video does better than any other format.

What is equally exciting to us about the partnership is that the Avvo members will leverage our platform in a self-serve way. As Josh King says, Avvo’s VP of Business Development and General Counsel, in an new, EASY Way in his blog post titled:

Avvo – New, Easy Way to Get Your Lawyer Web Video

We know from our experience that for online video advertising to take off it has to be easy and effective – even in industries like the legal profession that has its share of smart people. But even with smart people, time cannot be wasted. Time IS money and for the folks at Avvo they realize that Mixpo can create a win-win for attorneys and shoppers knowing that video it can save them both time and money.

Posted in Case studies | No Comments »