As part of this launch we also introduced SmartVideo for in-stream. Any SmartVideo ad can now run as in-stream, in-banner, in-app, or in smartphone browsers.

We continue to build our technology based on what video ad ecosystem stakeholders are telling us they want. We garner such information through our daily interactions with publishers, networks, agencies, and advertisers as well as through more formal channels.

Last month, for example, we conducted a poll of nearly 100 publisher, networks, and agencies to confirm whether the numbers aligned with our core focus. Combining the results with our own empirical experience as well as research published by others, we came away with five key conclusions:

1. Demand for video advertising continues to grow faster than any other online ad format – a fact that the industry is seeing reported by a myriad of sources (aka no surprises here). According to eMarketer, video ad spend is expected to double its share of online ad spend by 2013.
2. As shared via a research study conducted by BrightRoll in Q1 of this year, advertisers state that “targeting” is the benefit they value most when it comes to online video ad campaigns.
3. Advertisers not only want their media buys to be targeted, but also their creative. They want video ads that are tailored for unique audiences – personalized, if you will – not one-size-fits all. Here’s some relevant data from our survey (Figure A):

Figure A

4.  Advertisers also want their video ads to…

•  Run on any screen.
•  Support multiple formats – not just in-stream – given that different formats influence different facets of brand building and the motivation of consumers through the purchase funnel. Some good, relevant data from eMarketer that we translated into an infographic in Figure B below.
• Be engaging – interactive in a way that’s compelling.

Figure B

5.   Up until now, providing the audience-tailored, interactive video ads that can run on any screen, any format that    advertisers want has been easier said than done up until now. Getting to the goodness that advanced video ad technology promises has to date been hampered by implementation hurdles ranging from a fractured vendor ecosystem to time-consuming complexity. Advertisers want dynamic and engaging campaigns, but they don’t want it to come at the cost of delays and headaches. Our survey results reflected these challenges (Figure C).

Figure C

Mixpo’s SmartVideo platform addresses the opportunity and challenges of next generation video advertising holistically. Through the SmartVideo platform publishers, networks and DSPs, and agencies are collaborating with advertisers across several industries to create video ad campaigns that are more:

• Engaging by adding compelling interactivity inside video ads.
• Relevant by tailoring videos on the fly based on a wide array of audience profile variables.
• Flexible in that video ads become screen and format agnostic.
• Insightful by providing advanced analytics that cross-tabulate video engagement metrics with granular audience profile data.

Importantly, Mixpo has wrapped these advanced capabilities in a platform that is easy to approach and consume. Advanced video ad technology made simple.

Just as display evolved from static to rich to dynamic so is video advertising evolving from flat file pre-roll to interactive and, now, to dynamically tailored. We’re excited to be part of this trend and look forward to learning more – and building more – as we go.

- The Mixpo Team

¹Source: eMarketer, November 2010
²See table on page 3 of the referenced report

Expanding the successful Smart Ads program, Smart Ads for Video leverages Yahoo! user data to make in-banner video ads personalized and optimized to its vast audience, as Yahoo noted earlier today on their advertising blog.

As our CEO, Anupam Gupta, noted today, “Yahoo! is a leading provider of display advertising and by partnering, Mixpo will offer more brand advertisers the opportunity to run highly targeted dynamic video campaigns at scale, and extend what they are doing on TV to online in a smart way.”

Yahoo’s analysis of Nielsen data suggests that brand awareness and purchase intent strongly increase when online is combined with the emotive impact of TV advertising. Smart Ads for Video delivers rich, video-based brand experiences in a banner ad format. Now brands can reach Yahoo’s 180 million users with new, engaging and relevant advertising using their video creative and powered by Yahoo! Data for higher performance.

Mixpo’s dynamic targeting helps deliver and optimize messages based on geography, time of day, age, gender and behavioral data so advertisers can tailor campaigns for different audience segments.

Plus, with Mixpo’s real-time data and reporting, advertisers gain insights about which ads perform best for any segment and can easily update and adjust messaging accordingly to enhance campaign results.

“We’re excited to have Mixpo as an official Smart Ads Program partner, and this new offering will help marketers apply dynamic ad technologies for branding programs at scale and with simplicity,” said Dev Patel, Vice President of Advertiser and Publisher Solutions at Yahoo!

Smart Ads for Video powered by Mixpo.

For more about the Smart Ads for Video program, as offered by Yahoo!, please click here.

For example:

• A band put QR codes onto a T-shirt. People who scan the codes download an MP3 of one of the band’s songs.
• A library replaced some printed signs with QR codes that lead to digital maps of the book stacks.
• Which Wich sandwich shop increased cookie sales by including a QR code on their sandwich bags that delivers a free cookie coupon.

But QR codes can also be used effectively to extend digital ad campaigns from one platform to another. Read on to see a proof-of-concept example of a QR code incorporated into a VideoAd.

How QR codes work

Scan code for Mixpo office location

QR codes look like this. Smartphone users with a barcode scanning application (free apps are available for most smartphones) can scan the codes using their phones’ cameras to quickly access information, such as coupons, maps, files, videos, and more. (For a crash course on QR code tools, tactics, and best practices, see Top 14 Things Marketers Need to Know About QR Codes.)

QR codes are often black and white but, as this code shows, you can also customize them to reflect brand colors or a special promotion.

Try it Have a smartphone with a barcode scanning application? Scan this QR code for a map to the Mixpo offices.

Anyone can generate a QR code using one of several free applications online (we created this code using qrstuff.com). Advertisers can track how many scans QR codes receive, which types of devices scan them, and more.

Proof of concept

We added the QR code displayed above to the following VideoAd as an overlay. We set up the overlay to pause the video. This gives viewers a chance to scan the code or click continue.

In addition, we added a Print action to the QR code overlay. Viewers who prefer to scan a printed version of the code can easily print it out.

To see the QR code overlay in action, roll over the VideoAd to play it.

Our proof-of-concept example illustrates how QR codes can easily be included in VideoAds. It also hints at what makes QR codes truly effective.

Effective QR codes offer something of real value to people who scan them. And, just from a practical perspective, the reward must be optimized for display on a mobile phone.

Here are a few ideas, besides map locations, for how you might use QR codes in VideoAds:

• Offer a mobile-users-only coupon.
• Open a virtual business card.
• Provide detailed product specs.
• Purchase tickets.
• Provide a PayPal “Buy Now” link.

OK, so QR codes work in VideoAds. But, just because you can include them, is there any reason you should bother? A February survey revealed that 32 percent of smartphone uses have scanned a QR code. Of those, 72 percent said they were more likely to remember ads that include a code.

More information

QR code overlays are just one of many interactive and dynamic features you can include in online video advertising. For additional examples see:

• Features-in-action: Video Redirect
• Features-in-action: Social media integration
• Features-in-action: Flash widgets

What kinds of intelligence can these intelligent overlays contain?

• Animation
• Live feeds
• Custom search queries

While animation plays a role in making ads entertaining, in this post we’re going to focus on live feeds and custom search queries.

Incorporating these kinds of intelligence into ads goes well beyond entertainment. Intelligent overlays are powerful because they make video ads more relevant.

For example, intelligent overlays:

• Keep ad content current and meaningful over time by providing a constant stream of up-to-date information.
• Make content meaningful on a viewer-by-viewer basis by personalizing the video ad experience.

Relevance appears to be one of the most important determiners of how well an ad performs. Studies comparing length and relevance have shown that targeted 30-second ads outperform untargeted 15-second ads in both clickthroughs and video completion rate.

Example: Live feed

You can associate an intelligent overlay with almost any type of live data feed for which you can specify an account name or URL.

For example:

• A TV station can include a live feed of weather-related tweets in a tune-in ad for its nightly weather forecast.
• A financial institution can keep viewers up to date by including a live feed of the latest interest rates.

Video ad with live Twitter feed

Play the tune-in VideoAd represented by the thumbnail to see a live Twitter feed of eyewitness news weather alerts.

Example: Personalized ad experience

You can associate intelligent overlays with dynamic search URLs to provide viewers with personalized results.

For example, viewers of a:

• Fast food restaurant ad can click an intelligent overlay to see map directions from their current location to the nearest franchise.

• Financial services ad can type a zip code into an intelligent overlay to see a list of local agents.
• Retail ad can type a product name into an intelligent overlay to see search results in the retailer’s online catalog.

VideoAd with widget overlay

Play the VideoAd represented by the thumbnail. Type a western Washington zip code (such as 98101) into the overlay and click Go.

Video ad with map directions overlay

Play the VideoAd represented by the thumbnail. Click the Map overlay to see personalized map directions.

Intelligent widget overlays are just one of many interactive and dynamic features you can include in online video advertising. For additional examples see:

• Features-in-action: Video Redirect
• Features-in-action: Social media integration

That’s the advice WebAdvantage.net president Hollis Thomases gives brands who want to target moms.

While Thomases’ ClickZ article focuses on moms, the specific fusing strategies she recommends seem relevant for most audiences.

For example, Thomases suggests:

• Including special offers and discounts in ads that your audience can easily share through their social media accounts.
• Bringing branded social media efforts alive in ads.
• Providing direct calls to action that encourage your audience to connect with your brand.

As the following examples illustrate, with dynamic online video advertising, it’s easy to integrate social media into the overall ad experience in all of the ways that Hollis Thomases recommends.

Include special offers that are easy to share

If an ad includes a good enough deal, viewers will want to share the ad with their friends. But, whether or not they act depends upon how easy it is to actually share.

Special offer that's easy to share

Play the expanding display ad represented by the thumbnail. At the end of the ad, click the Share icon to easily embed the VideoAd in your Facebook News feed or include a link to the ad in a tweet.

Bring branded social media alive in ads

It doesn’t get any more alive than a real-time Twitter feed.

VideoAd with live Twitter feed

Play the tune-in VideoAd represented by the thumbnail to see a live Twitter feed of eyewitness news weather alerts.

Provide direct calls to action that encourage brand connection

These days, one of the most direct and ubiquitous calls to action is a Facebook Like button.

It’s exceptionally easy to incorporate a Like button into a dynamic VideoAd and customize the Like button link.

For example, to keep a running tally of how many viewers Like a VideoAd, associate the ad’s landing page link with the Like button. Viewers who click the button not only Like the ad. They also automatically embed the ad into their Walls.

Advertisers who want to encourage viewers to Like their Facebook pages can associate the page URL with the VideoAd Like button. When viewers click the button, their Likes are added to the tally for the page and they become eligible for special offers available only to the advertiser’s Likers.

VideoAd with Facebook Like button

Play the VideoAd represented by the thumbnail to experience a Like button associated with the ad’s landing page.

What advertiser wouldn’t leap at that opportunity?

That’s precisely what Video Redirect allows advertisers to do.

(Learn more about brand building with rich media display)

A few examples will make the benefits of Video Redirect more concrete:

• Politics/Advocacy In a campaign video ad, a politician provides voters with the option of redirecting to videos where she elaborates on her budget deficit and health care reform positions.
• Tune-In A tune-in video ad promoting a sitcom presents viewers with the opportunity to redirect to three interviews with different actors.
• Auto An auto maker runs a national campaign to promote a new vehicle model. At the end of the standard video, each viewer is redirected dynamically to a short video from the viewer’s local dealership.

As the examples illustrate, Video Redirect is both an interactive and a dynamic feature that has the potential to substantially increase engagement and exposure.

• Redirect engages viewers by giving them choices and/or providing them with targeted content relevant to their specific situations.
• By integrating additional branded content into the same ad experience, redirect informs and educates viewers by presenting them with more of an advertiser’s message.

Video Redirect in Action Watch this Jeep Cherokee ad. Be on the lookout for four green overlays. Click an overlay to redirect to in-depth content about specific and powerful features of the vehicle. Return to the original video and click a different overlay.

Make the most of social media integration*

The lines between social media and online marketing are blurring.

It doesn’t take an article like Blurry Lines in 2011: Social + Search + Media to tell us that. We see the blurring everywhere in the form of Facebook Like buttons, Twitter feeds, and other icons.

But article author Harry Gold’s point goes beyond awareness. The founder/CEO of Overdrive Interactive urges marketers to “add octane” to their online advertising by making the most of social media integration.

How do advertisers benefit from effective integration? Through the multiplier effect. An advertiser’s messages get distributed further with no additional media costs, and they reach more of the advertiser’s target demographic.

The dynamic social media features included in the Mixpo platform make it easy for advertisers to add social octane to their video ads.

Using these features, advertisers can:

• Send viewers to their social media sites.
• Encourage viral sharing.
• Earn more Likes.

Send viewers to social media sites

In the Mixpo stock media library, you have access to a collection of pre-made icons for commonly used social media services, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Digg.

This means that adding and customizing a social media icon so it links viewers to an advertiser’s social media sites takes less than a minute.

In the stock library, you can also find pre-designed Twitter feed widgets. In a live Xspot, the widget automatically displays the latest tweets from the advertiser’s Twitter account.

Features-in-action

Watch an ABC 7 Eyewitness News tune in Xspot: At the end of the Xspot, click the customized Facebook and SMS icons. See live weather-related Twitter updates in the widget.

Encourage viral sharing

The power of social media is not just in social connections but also in social sharing. That’s why it’s important to make it as easy as possible for viewers to share an advertiser’s Xspot with friends and followers.

By adding a Share action to an overlay or a Share icon to the INFO menu, a tweet or Facebook post is just a couple of clicks away.

Feature-in-action

Watch a Phoenix Raceway expanding display ad: Expand the display ad, and then click the share-enabled custom Facebook overlay.

Earn more Likes

Earn more Likes for advertisers and their products by including a Like button in an Xspot’s INFO menu.

When viewers click the Like button, another Like is recorded on the advertiser’s Facebook page. In addition, an entry is added to the viewer’s Wall, and advertiser posts begin appearing in the viewer’s News feed.

Feature-in-action

Watch a Mixpo Xspot: Place your cursor on the playing ad. Pause over MENU to expand the INFO menu. Click the Like button. Replay the ad. The button changes to a display of the total number of Likes, preventing a single viewer from recording multiple Likes.

While you’re watching the ad, click the overlays to see other dynamic features, such as a survey and map directions, in action.

Follow Gold’s advice. Take advantage of Mixpo’s dynamic features and make the most of social media integration.

More Information

New to Mixpo? Explore our website today to learn more about dynamic video advertising.

Mixpo customer? Learn more now about social media integration by signing in to your account, opening the Client Resources home page, and then searching for “social media.”

*Image credit: fredcavazza on flickr.

Mixpo technology uses campaign data to optimize automatically on the best performing ad*

How do you break down the barriers that stop advertisers from extending their TV advertising online? Make it familiar. Make it effective.

Familiar Build on what’s familiar by incorporating many of the techniques, such as dayparting and ad sequencing, that advertisers are already accustomed to using in the TV world.

Effective Advertisers new to online are unlikely to know how to take full advantage of the dynamic nature of online advertising and the ease with which performance can be tracked and measured. Building automatic optimization into the process of running live online campaigns not only delivers the best results. It also educates advertisers about the creative and calls to action that are most effective online.

Auto optimization defined

Auto optimization means randomly rotating different versions of an ad through the same Player. After a specified number of impressions, the platform automatically stops running all versions except the best performer.

Advertisers have control over various aspects of the auto optimization process, including:

• The number of versions to rotate.
• The creative and calls to action in each version.
• The number of impressions after which auto optimization occurs.
• The metric on which performance is judged (for example, view rate, clickthrough rate, or percent viewed).

Auto optimization applied

To illustrate how auto optimization works, here are three different examples of the process in action.

Retailer: Optimize on view rate

A workout equipment retailer promoting a semi-annual sale wants to move as much merchandise as possible by attracting people into the store. The retailer comes up with a couple of different StartFrames (the image viewers see before they play a video ad) to determine which attracts the most views.

• Version 1 describes the sale this way: Semi-annual Sale! All inventory discounted.
• Version 2 describes the sale this way: Merchandise must move! First come, first served!

After the two versions rotate through the same Player for 75,000 impressions, Version 2 has the highest view rate. The platform automatically stops running Version 1.

Auto dealer: Optimize on clickthrough rate

An auto dealer wants to generate more local leads and get more car buyers into the show room. The dealer wants to test two different calls to action:

• Version 1: Sign up for a test drive!
• Version 2: Schedule a test drive today!

After the two versions rotate through the same Player for 100,000 impressions, Version 1 has the highest clickthrough rate. The platform automatically stops running Version 2.

Political campaign: Optimize on percent viewed

To garner votes as the election nears, a political campaign wants voters to view as much of the candidate’s message as possible. The campaign develops two versions of a video ad that approach the candidate’s platform in different ways.

• Version 1 presents the message by attacking the candidate’s opponent.
• Version 2 ignores the opposition and focuses on the candidate’s five-point program for change.

After the two versions rotate through the same Player for 50,000 impressions, Version 2 has the highest percent viewed. The platform automatically stops running Version 1.

More Information

New to Mixpo? Explore our website today to learn more about dynamic video advertising.

Read a MediaPost article about Mixpo tools that move TV ad budgets online.

Mixpo customer? Learn more now about optimization by signing in to your account, opening the Client Resources home page, and then searching for “auto optimize.”

*Photo taken by bionicteaching.

Use ad sequencing to tell stories*

Consumers typically progress through a single TV program or a series of episodes in a linear fashion. Advertisers have taken advantage of this linear progression to build brand awareness and tell stories through ad sequences.

For example, Budweiser served a progression of popular beer ads to football fans watching the Superbowl. Taster’s Choice promoted its coffee using an ad sequence that traced the progress of a developing romance. The Energizer Bunny sequence not only won a best-commercial-of-the-year Obie award but also resulted in Energizer pulling ahead of Duracell in sales.

Because ad sequencing works on television, advertisers who extend their campaigns online want to tap into that same sense of motion and momentum. But, they face a challenge. How is it possible to capture the repetition and story-telling potential of ad sequencing on the Web, an inherently non-linear medium?

As part of its goal to remove barriers to online video advertising, Mixpo recently released its Dynamic Suite. Included in the Suite is a message sequencing tool that provides advertisers with one of the easiest, most effective ways to deliver in-banner video ad sequences on the Web.

Ad sequencing described

With Mixpo’s user-friendly ad sequencing tool, advertisers can:

• Build in a progressive viewing experience by basing ads that a consumer sees on ads that same consumer viewed or encountered previously (through an impression).
• Fine tune that experience by controlling the number of impressions or views that trigger the delivery of a different ad.
• Set up as many ad sequences as necessary to deliver the optimal brand awareness or story-telling experience.
• Preview the ad sequencing experience to make sure it performs as expected before the ads go live.

Ad sequencing applied

Automotive: From the general to the specific

An auto dealer runs a sequence of ads based on views. Consumers who have actively chosen to view a general video ad about the new hybrid SUV will automatically be shown a more detailed ad about some of the model’s hottest features.

Retail: Upping the incentive

A sporting goods retailer runs a sequence of ads based on impressions. Consumers who have been exposed twice to a startframe that shows a re-designed elliptical machine will see a new startframe on their third visit that offers a 10% discount coupon to first-time customers.

More Information

New to Mixpo? Explore our website today to learn more about dynamic video advertising.

Mixpo customer? Learn more now about ad sequencing by signing in to your account, opening the Client Resources home page, and then searching for “sequencing.”

*Photo taken by Jill Clardy.

Target audiences through dayparting*

Advertisers want to extend their TV campaigns online, but often fear the expense and labor involved in creating or editing video for online audiences.

To remove barriers to the TV-online transition, Mixpo not only makes it easy to re-purpose existing TV creative for use on the Web. Our platform also incorporates tried-and-true TV programming strategies, such as dayparting, into our dynamic feature suite.

Dayparting enables advertisers to deliver content at a specific time of day or day of the week, when it is most likely to be relevant to particular viewers.

Dayparting described

Advertisers accustomed to running dayparted campaigns on television will find it easy to take advantage of this feature on Mixpo’s platform. Using an intuitive interface, dayparting is simple to implement and supports:

• Running different ads during select dayparts, with no limit on the number of dayparts.
• Setting up customized dayparting schedules for different days of the week.
• Copying schedules from one day to another.
• Previewing dayparts to ensure functionality before the ads go live.
• Trafficking one master ad tag that controls an entire dayparting schedule.
• Generating custom reports that track the individual performance of each dayparted ad.
• Changing creative or adjusting daypart times mid-campaign without re-trafficking any ad tags.

Dayparting applied

Here are a few examples of how dayparting can help your ad campaign:

Fast food: The right message at the right time of day

To bring customers into the store, a restaurant can run its breakfast burrito ad from midnight to 10am, its tuna melt ad from 10 am to 2:30 pm, and its four-piece chicken dinner ad from 2:30 pm to midnight.

Tune-in: The right message on the right day of the week

To queue up viewer interest and drive viewers to its nightly broadcast, a TV station can run ads a few hours in advance of air time that preview the most exciting news segment.

More Information

New to Mixpo? Explore our website today to learn more about dynamic video advertising.

Mixpo customer? Learn more now about dayparting by signing in to your account, opening the Client Resources home page, and then searching for “dayparting.”

*Image taken by David Sky