plans over the past few years, allowing more
people to access videos and other content
from their mobile devices in a much more
cost-effective manner.
• Accelerating use of videos for marketing and
communication purposes across all channels. “Consumers and businesses are finding the medium much more intuitive and
authentic than merely posting readable
content,” Berg says.
• An exponential increase in the supply of video
content produced by both marketers and the
general public.
• A very low “comfortability” barrier due to
the fact that consumers are already “
pre-programmed” to watch video thanks to their
TV and movie-viewing habits.
Uniquely Personal
Mobile is a unique and extraordinary medium
for reaching consumers because they treat
their mobile devices as part of their very
Within the next five years, mobile devices
will surpass PCs as the most popular way
to access the Internet for any purpose.
identity, says Victor Milligan, chief marketing
officer at Waltham, Mass.–based Nexage,
which provides a real-time bidding exchange
for mobile advertisers and mobile app develop-ers/publishers to buy and sell impressions.
Consumers now spend more time in mobile
apps than they do on Web consumption
(mobile and desktop combined), according
to Flurry, a mobile analytics firm based in
San Francisco.
The highly personal nature of mobile devices
and the time spent using them are creating a
massive opportunity for advertisers, Milligan says.
“Rich media and video ad units tend to operate
more gracefully in both web environments and
in-app advertising, creating a more pleasing
experience for consumers — and a substantially
higher engagement rate,” he notes. Brands see
the same phenomenon, and they understand the
power of mobile advertising to drive linear (direct
engagement) and nonlinear (the triggering of an
in-store purchase) value, he adds.
Within the next five years, mobile devices will
surpass PCs as the most popular way to access
the Internet for any purpose, adding to the
urgency for marketers to embrace all kinds of
mobile advertising, especially video. “Marketers
have to ask themselves what their business
would look like if 50 to 90 percent of it were
driven by mobile,” says Michael Becker,
managing director, North America, of the Mobile
Marketing Association. “That’s going to happen,
so they really need to start preparing for it now.”
Brands Taking Action
Mobile video gives brands the ability to engage
with consumers anywhere — most importantly
at the point of sale — using nonstatic and engag-
ing content, says Rob Friedman, cofounder and
executive vice president of Digital Element, a
Norcross, Ga.–based provider of IP-to-location
data technology. “Consumers have become
numb to static online ads,” he points out.
“The power of mobile video to create engaging
content — some of which is nearly indistinguish-
able from other video content — can capture the
attention of an otherwise uninterested audience.”
Brands are harnessing that power and put-
ting it into action. Almost all of Microsoft’s mobile
campaigns — whether they’re B2B (Cloud and
Dynamics) or B2C (Office and Xbox) — include
mobile video. “As long as the content is relevant
and the video is formatted for mobile, everyone
loves it,” says Barbara Williams, the company’s
mobile marketing global practice leader. “We
even have a mobile website dedicated to our
videos, Microsoft Showcase.”
Overall, the results of mobile video advertising
at Microsoft have been “stellar,” with the software
giant consistently increasing its spending on a
variety of formats, including rich media/video
in-app ad units and banners driving to videos
on mobile-optimized sites, Williams says. In both
cases, audiences click to watch the featured
video and are given the opportunity to watch
other videos and share their favorites via social
networking.
HP is also deeply involved with mobile video,
“as we are with all digital media types,” Berg
says. The company maintains a very active HP
Channel on You Tube, where it posts videos and
self-help information, and it’s in the process of
beefing up the video offerings accessible via its
mobile website. Technology self-help videos,
consumer-generated video, video chat function-ality, in-video product information, and video
blogging are all areas where HP is adding to
or expanding its mobile capabilities.
