Notes from the Observation Deck // The Online Video Universe

Notes from the
OBSERVATION DECK

2

The Online
Video Universe

IN THIS ISSUE
01

History of The
Moving Image

02

New Video
Fronts

03

The Future
of Video

ABOUT
NOTES FROM THE OBSERVATION DECK IS A QUARTERLY CREATED
THROUGH THE BRAND STRATEGY GROUP AT TEAM DETROIT.

T

his publication will provide you with an examined look at the interesting
phenomena and trends taking place around us today. We present

them to you with the hope of sparking broader conversations, debates and
ideas within the agency. We want you to use this magazine as a resource for
inspiration, innovation and enjoyment.
With this quarterly magazine, we’re featuring the vastly growing and
evolving culture of video on the Internet. If you are interested in telling us
what you think or contributing to future issues in any way, please contact:
intelligence@teamdetroit.com.

Notes from the
observation deck

Vol.2
Editor in Chief
Gabrielle George

The Major
Players
Creative
in the
Online
Contributors
Video
Industry

Assistant Editors
Morgan Pomish
Cameron Quattrone

Alex Leonard
Paul Biundo

Ashok Sharma
Beau Lewis
Christine Debano
Jenna Thompson
Trevor Naud
Kristine Taylor

While Youtube is the most widely used
source for accessing online video,
a handful of other services have
successfully inserted themselves into
the conversation as well. Netflix,
Hulu and Vimeo have carved out their
niche in the online video sphere, and
are jockeying for position in the race
to online video supremacy. Below is a
dive into who they are and how they’re
developing in the landscape.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website that

AGENDA
T h e O n l i n e Vi d e o U n i v e r s e
1

Letter From the Editor
A Video Revolution

2

Rewind: The Moving Image
The Major Players in the Online Video Industry
The Online Video Industry Up-and-Comers

3

The Impact on Our World as Marketers
The New Fronts
Online Video’s Impact on Fashion, Music,
Education and Automotive
Why Viral Video is the new SEO
Hot or Not

4

Fast Forward/Forecasting
TV + Web
The Impact of Apps and Social Media on Millennials
Video Apps + Everyday People
The Future of Mobile Video
Ford Journey Toward Video Convergence

5

Wrap-Up
Thought-Starters

As early as the beginning of the Aughts,
the media world began proclaiming
with hysteria that TV was in critical
condition and would soon be dead,
while the television networks scoffed
and immediately gave a green light
to another really interesting reality
TV show.

1

A Video Revolution

The truth is, television is not dead,
nor will it be anytime soon. What does
have numbered days, however, is the
distinction between online video and
television. Right now television and
online video are on a collision course
toward total convergence where we will
arrive simply at video. Here, television is
but another means of consumption that
is interchangeable with the laptop, iPad,
and the smartphone, and video “created
for the Web” becomes video that is
simply created for consumption, period.
So what have we learned? At the end of
the day, video is an epic communication
tool for sharing information quickly

and eliciting emotional responses. As
marketers, it’s important to recognize
the ways in which we’ve historically
consumed video and be responsive to
evolving consumption patterns. In this
report you’ll find a cursory overview
of the major players in the online
video industry, an examined look at the
Internet’s impact on online video and
online video’s impact on music, fashion,
connectivity, brands, and pop culture.
After reading, we hope you’ll be
inspired to engage with video (if
you’re not already). If you are, we
hope you’re inspired to think about it
in different ways than you have before.
We also hope your head will start to
swim with ideas about how we can
better utilize online video to engage
people in meaningful ways and
contribute to culture.
Thanks for reading!
Gabrielle George

Notes From The Observation Deck: The Online Video Universe

7

rewind: the moving image

Audio and video; while these may
seem like relatively modern terms,
they actually derive from a language
thousands of years old. In Latin, these
terms translate to “I hear and I see.”
And while the two words have been
used long before our time, they still
have significance in our language today,
but perhaps within a slightly different
context — technology.
The phenakistoscope, zoetrope
and kinetoscope are some of
the early video devices that made
serious contributions to the moving
image. This early equipment featured
shadow puppet theatre, magic lantern
shows and a range of slideshow
movie attractions.
Since then, the moving image has
evolved to what we refer to as video
and is currently embedded in the video
universe. Video can be viewed on
televisions, laptops, tablets and mobile
phones. Today, nearly 145 million
people watch video online in the U.S.,

compared to about 290 million who
watch traditional TV (Nielsen). As
technology emerges, we can expect the
gap between online video viewing and
traditional TV to shrink.
Now, we recognize the ever-emerging
trend of “brand as publisher.” As
brand marketers become more aware
of the value of creating content, they’re
investing more time and dollars in
video content creation and curation.
But marketers aren’t the only ones
creating content; consumers are too.
Harnessing and publishing all this
content is a big job, and YouTube is
among the leaders investing in the
publishing process.
Despite their ubiquity, video content
and consumption are still in a
transitional period. Video will continue
to evolve for years to come, and it’s
up to us to decide what’s next. As
innovators, how can we be at the
forefront of the online video explosion?

2

9

THE MAJOR
PLAYERS

Netflix
Gone are the days of wandering the aisles
of Blockbuster, looking for your favorite
chick flick or epic battle film. Responsible for
obliterating the brick-and-mortar concept,
Netflix streams video content. Now, video
content is delivered to your mailbox or
even right to your TV. With online flat rate
DVD/Blu-ray disc rental-by-mail and video
streaming, Netflix serves the consumer with
everything but the popcorn. Despite its
many successes, the fate of Netflix is unclear.
The company is showing current losses,
which mostly points to the rising cost of the
subscription, poor company leadership and
increased competition.

In The Online
Video Industry

Hulu
While YouTube may be the most widely used source
for accessing online video, a handful of other services
have successfully positioned themselves in the marketplace
as well.
Services such as Netflix, Hulu and Vimeo have
carved out their niche in the online video sphere, and
are jockeying for a position in the race to online video
supremacy. Below is a dive into who they are and how
they’re developing in the landscape.

1

Yo u Tu b e
YouTube is a video-sharing website that allows
users to upload, view and share videos. The
platform originated as a personal clips site, which
has since shaped into an open stage to present
content. YouTube is a leader in its category.
In January 2012, YouTube recognized its
achievement of 4 billion views per day.

The site has partnered with major movie
studios, record labels, Web-original creators,
viral stars and millions of other channels,
and the site is in the process of rolling out
hundreds of new professionally produced
channels. We can expect more channels and
branded content from YouTube in the future.
Vi m e o
Vimeo recently introduced monetization
platforms to support its creators, such as
the “Tip Jar” and “Pay-to-View.” The tip jar
allows viewers to show their appreciation for
a video by donating anywhere from $0.99 up
to $500 per video.The platform wants to be
taken seriously as an authority in this growing
field, as evidenced by its commitment to create
an experience that caters to today’s mobile
consumer. Vimeo is bringing new apps to the
Android, Windows phone, and iPad and, with

the stamp of approval from advertisers like
Oprah’s Book Club, the site is attractive to new
audiences and advertisers. In the future, we can
expect Vimeo to continue to build an eclectic
and creative user base.
VICE
VICE, “The Definitive Guide to Enlightening
Information,” is a global media channel
focused on presenting edgy content through
raw footage. Content on the site is targeted
toward youthful, urban trendsetters. VICE is
available in over 34 countries, and the company
has partnerships with Facebook, YouTube, the
Huffington Post/AOL, the Creators Project
and other major media networks. With over 10
million unique visitors a month and over 180
minutes of created video a day, VICE is aiming
to become the largest independent hub for
original content for young people in the world.

Hulu is a service that provides shows, films
and clips from traditional televised sources.
With the majority of Hulu users viewing on
their computers, Hulu recognized the need
for easily navigated content. Coupled with
its exclusive contracts with NBC and The
Criterion Collection, Hulu has staked out a
unique position in this competitive arena.
Future changes to the site have raised
concerns. Some have speculated a lack of
exclusivity (making content available on
YouTube or Netflix), decreased access to
shows provided by major networks, and an
increase in commercials and pre rolls.
The market is shifting toward personalized
and social, and Hulu plans to spend half a
billion dollars on new content in 2012, says
CEO Jason Kilar.


11

Up & Comers

The Online Video Industry

As the video landscape explodes, new types of online video
products and business programs have emerged, with many new
companies contributing to the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The following sites incorporate content creation and aggregation in
their business models, but will they have what it takes to become
sustainable members of the video universe?

VHX.TV
VHX.TV lets independent video makers sell their work
online, from their own websites, direct to fans and
restriction-free. Its goal is to provide tools for the creative
class to break out of the traditional TV and film systems.
VHX.TV uses video to discover, share and transform the
video viewing experience through TV channels.
The site launched in beta, but the founders formerly built
websites like Vimeo and Know Your Meme, so there’s hope
for success.

Te l l y
Telly is an online, personalized video feed that allows users
to easily filter videos from the top users and collections
they’re following. By organizing videos based on topics
and interests, users can discover and share videos, to better
engage in “social discovery.” Users can discover what
they’re interested in, follow people and collections, and get
pushed videos that they find entertaining. Telly plans to
launch a mobile and tablet app in the near future. The site
is trying to help shape the future of media by providing a
social discovery experience across multiple devices, letting
users connect wherever they are.


13

3

The Impact on
Our World as
Marketers

The New Fronts
Every year, television networks gather together to
compete for over $60 billion in TV commercial
advertising dollars by major marketers. Broadcast
networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC throw
lavish “up-front” events to present their work and
woo marketers to grab ad spend. Yet, competition
is increasing as large Web players are hosting their
own digital new fronts. Major online video websites
like YouTube, Hulu and Netflix are shifting from
hosting sites to networks. This year’s up fronts will
present an entirely new dynamic as these sites battle
the major networks for ad spend.


15

VIDEO
01
Video x Fashion
Burberry’s Shoppable Video
Burberry’s “Runway to Reality” concept allows
customers to shop while watching the fall/
winter 2012 campaign video. Viewers can
purchase the Prorsum collection straight off
the virtual runway through the v-commerce
experience that is redefining the future of
retail by adding the shoppable layer. So, how
does it work? Viewers watch the runway video
and have the ability to click on certain items.
When they have chosen the items they’d like to
purchase, they can select sizes, colors, and add
them to their carts. At the end of the video,
users can give payment information, and then
they’ve officially shopped a video. Burberry is
positioning itself as a fashion and technology
leader by integrating digital innovation in its
campaigns. In addition to runway videos, the
campaign includes news and a “Tweetwalk”
show on Twitter to generate conversation.
Burberry intertwines the physical and digital
worlds by offering an exclusive runway
experience to a global consumer reach.
Calvin Klein’s Interactive Digital Campaign
To promote Calvin Klein’s new men’s
fragrance, Encounter, the company launched
an interactive digital campaign that engages
consumers through storytelling. The campaign
features a dark storyline that unfolds as
consumers unlock different clues. As people

x

Fashion
Music
Education
Automotive

complete various challenges, they gain access
to a short film and the chance to win the
“ultimate Encounter getaway.” In addition
to the interactive campaign, Calvin Klein has
created a series of film-noir-style GIFs. Visit
encountercalvinklein.com to view the sleek site
design and learn more.
NOWNESS
NOWNESS.com is a culturally rich website
created by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët
Hennessy). The site daily showcases inspiring
stories influencing contemporary arts and
global lifestyle in fashion, art, film, music,
architecture and design, travel, sports,
and gastronomy.
NOWNESS.com dives into luxury and the
art of living by collaborating with designers,
creatives and thinkers in the luxury industry.
The site is a source of information for
experiencing high-end fashion and culture
digitally. Versions of NOWNESS are available
in English and Chinese.

02
Video x Music
Interactive Music Experiences
Interactive music videos and apps are on
the rise as part of a wider effort to promote
album debuts and artist innovation. Artists

have created interactive music experiences to
promote their latest albums.
One artist depicted a lone space explorer on
his return to Earth. As the explorer floats
through space, the viewer can interact with the
planets he encounters, create black holes and
explode asteroids.
another artist created an app that allows fans
to create customized music videos with photos
taken from the band’s artwork and produce
remixes of tracks from the album. Users can
interact with the video by tapping the screen to
cue new shards in an animated mosaic, creating
an interactive slide show.
Interactive music videos are a great way for
brands and musicians to engage with fans as
they bridge the gap between digital music and
tactile experiences through customization.

Online video introduces an entirely new realm
of transparency in the world, as the spread of
information is greater now than ever. PBS’s
YouTube channel, Off Book, debuted “The
World of Viral Video,” an educational video
about the viral video spectrum and the rise of
video culture.
Remember Bill Nye the “Science Guy?”
He recently launched an online video
called “Creationism Is Not Appropriate for
Children,” and there’s speculation he might
return to the spotlight for good, only this
time he’ll be online. As scholars and educators
recognize online video’s global influence,
we should expect more E-learning sources
to surface.

04
Video x Automotive

03
Video x Education
E-Learning
Not only did the emergence of the viral
video open the door for advertisers to further
engage consumers, but it has also exhibited
its influence in other disciplines outside of
the marketing sphere. Online education is a
great example of how viral video has sparked
the consumption of video via nontraditional
channels. E-Learning has substantially
grown due to its ease of access on a global
scale. Channels such as PBS, Big Think,
and Coursera are among the most popular
education channels available on YouTube.

A Worldly Tale
The new Cadillac ATS sedan launched as what
was previously referred to the “standard of
the world.” In the model’s new launch, the car
“takes on the world.” The campaign used a
video central approach to convey its story and
gave the car an international identity. By taking
the vehicle to exotic places, it alluded to the
vehicle’s ambitions and sense of worldliness.
Cadillac successfully positioned the vehicle
with a global luxury standard. The Cadillac
ATS campaign’s excitement for exploration and
video central approach attempted to tackle the
brand’s unfavorable perceptions.


17

Seedwell is a digital creative studio that specializes in
viral video. Its clients include start-ups as well as big
companies such as Google, Nike, Pepsi and HTC. Its
work has been featured by media outlets including the
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Techcrunch,
Mashable, and shared by digital influencers including
Ashton Kutcher, Lady Gaga, and Perez Hilton.
Seedwell is based in San Francisco.

Opinion:
Why Viral
Video Is The
New SEO
Beau Lewis
Partner, Head of Business at Seedwell

Video is the
most-shared
medium.”
By now, most have seen the Old Spice
campaign, Evian Babies, and DC Gymkhana,
salivated at the view counts, and pondered their
own viral video campaign. I’m not going to tell
you the secret sauce of viral video (the subject
of our recent Mashable article), and I won’t
rehash the value of building buzz. Beyond buzz
building, there are two less-discussed reasons
why YouTube and virality matter. Surprisingly,
neither of them is integral to online video. They
are SEO and Social Media.
YouTube is the second largest search engine
online. It runs more searches than Bing and
Yahoo combined. What is more, YouTube
results show up in the other search engines.
Videos that rank highly in YouTube search
are also found within the first few pages of
Google search results. If you are invested in
SEO, it is a missed opportunity not to optimize
your YouTube channels and videos.
Title: Crowd in front of the City Hall, Detroit, Oct. 6, 1908

At Seedwell, as viral video experts, we’ve
been amazed to see how many top brands
have YouTube channels with URLs that end
in “169,” four random videos uploaded, two
broken playlists, and no metadata or thumbnail
strategy. When we see these ghost towns, we
see unrealized upside. It’s a shame because
these brands typically already have vaults of
creative video assets (from TV and Web spots),
as well as an active group of users uploading
their own related videos.
Optimizing these existing assets and creating
a custom-made brand channel can be done
relatively efficiently. Building a nice home on
YouTube is a smart first step before producing
viral video campaigns to make sure the effects
are maximized.
Optimizing your brand’s YouTube channel
in 2012 is kind of like having the foresight to
optimize your website for Google search back
in 1999. Red Bull is a brand that has built a
nice YouTube channel to optimize its videos.
Video search is still in its infancy compared to
Web page search, which makes it easier to
differentiate oneself. The two factors at work
here are the relative simplicity of the algorithm
and the lack of competition for search terms.
It’s more difficult to decode what is happening
in a video than it is to process the text of a
Web page.
You have the metadata (title, keywords,
description), combined with the reputation of
the uploader (number of videos, subscribers,
channel views), and the popularity of the video
(views, likes, favorites, inbound links). This
will evolve as Google does things like image

19

and speech-to-text processing when indexing
videos. For the time being, however, there
are fewer signals for the algorithm to judge
relevance. In this world, content creators who
understand the signals, optimize their videos
accordingly, align themselves with reputable
content creators, and invest in the creation of
regular content will be rewarded. Especially
when they get there before the competition.
Because videos aren’t websites, in addition
to building relevance, it’s important to
establish conversion paths. In order to lead
that viewer to the cash register, the best viral
campaigns have a conversion funnel with three
components. They start by building buzz, then
engaging with a social component, and finally
converting to a download or sale.

YouTube runs
more searches
than Bing and
Yahoo combined.”
A simple example of these three components
at work for a Web-based company would be a
combination of (1) a buzz-building viral video,
(2) an engaging Facebook contest, and (3) a
landing-page conversion video. The viral video
builds buzz and pushes viewers to the FB
contest, the contest engages players and offers
them rewards at your website, and the landingpage video takes those visitors and offers them
value in a product.

In short, YouTube
video content can
grow your social
media.”
When it comes to the social component, video
is the most-shared medium online. As a tool
for sharing stories that elicit emotional
responses, it’s the best humans have come up
with so far.
This translates to tremendous power for
growing social media properties that rely
on sharing with friends. For brands that are
invested in growing Facebook and Twitter
communities, it is a missed opportunity to not
also be invested in the creation and curation
of video content. In short, YouTube video
content can grow your social media.
Beyond being the largest network for the
consumption of video (4 billion views per day),
the YouTube platform bears some resemblance
to a social media network itself – one where
sharing contributes to building SEO video
rank. Every time social sharing happens, the
view count goes up, inbound links get created,
comments/likes/favorites flow in, and the
video’s rank goes up. This creates a virtual
feedback cycle where going viral spikes a
video’s search relevance.

HOT
1

2

3

4

5

Purposeful
content

Humor

Element of
authenticity

Storytelling

GIF

NOT
1

2

3

4

5

Content with
intent of
going viral

Wordy
content

Technical
language

Repetitive
content

Overproduced
content


What would you share?
with mobile apps
Phone No.

8

percent

28

PRECISE LOCATION

%

Date

of

Birth

%

forty-nine percent

List of
Contacts

ONE%
Note: n=544, ages 18+; Source: TRUSTe, “US Consumer Privacy Attitudes and Business
Implications”; Conducted by Harris Interactive, July 2012

The explosion of online video content has a lot of people thinking
about the future of online video. Content aggregators, content creators,
quality and consumer consumption habits are underlying factors
that will contribute to sustainable site activity. Let’s fast-forward
to syndication outlets and projects willing to take the risk in this
competitive universe.

TV + Web

In the past several years, television and Web-based viewing
systems such as Apple TV and Google TV have emerged.
These devices allow users to watch live TV, stream content
on-demand, and browse the Web all though their television
screens.

9%

Gender

4

Fast-Forward/
Forecasting

The future of these Web-based platforms will be less
about the gadget itself and more about access to premium
content. Cable providers and content providers such as
NBC, ABC, and Hulu have already blocked Google TVenabled devices from accessing their Web content since
Google TV’s launch in 2010.
Regarding services, HBO is one of the first networks to
make its content accessible across platforms. The network
shows, movies, comedy, sports and documentaries can be
streamed from your desktop, mobile device and tablet.
HBO GO comes free with your subscription to the channel
or for $12.99 a month. The program has seen huge success,
since HBO has what Google TV and Apple TV do not —
highly demanded content.
Like HBO GO, Amazon Prime Instant Video has made
content accessible across devices. With an increasing
availability of content and accessibility across devices, the
brand is aiming to compete with Apple’s iPad and challenge
Netflix in the online-movie market.

23

In the same way that Baby Boomers used rock
and roll to define their generation, Millennials
are defining theirs with creative, multifaceted
ways to express their personality through
an enhanced social networking experience.
When asked to identify “the biggest difference
between your generation and previous ones,”
40% selected “My generation is more digital.”

Opinion:
The Impact
Of Apps and
Social Media
On Millennials
Christine Debano
Associate Creative Director at Team Detroit

optimistic, even though they are the generation hardest hit by the economic downturn.
They value experiences over things and are
always searching for authenticity and meaning. For them, the line between personal and
professional life is blurred. So when it comes
to apps, they gravitate toward those that offer
the most features to create the richest, most
immediate experience.

The biggest
difference between
the younger
generation and
their own — 55%
cited more digital.”

Tumblr is an example of how a blog site offers
enhanced, real-time social sharing capabilities.
The site formats personalized content in a
stream on the dashboard similar to Twitter and
Instagram. It also offers multi-dimensional
features like embedded videos, GIFs and
graphics. GIFs (graphics interchange format)
are repetitive movements that can be found on
anything from blogging sites to professional
business sites. It’s an intriguing showcase of
video on the Internet because it’s interactive and
often times humorous. As marketers, we should
consider integrating GIFs in our work as a
means of short, interactive communication.

This view was echoed by older generations
when asked “the biggest difference between
the younger generation and their own,” 55%
cited “more digital.”
The first generation of tech natives have
found a way to collaborate, share and express
ideas and life experiences with real-time apps
that can sometimes blur the lines between the
real and online world. For marketers trying to
reach this group, consider incorporating this
genre of apps to tell your story and create
an interesting, multilayered online experience
wherever possible.
The attributes that define this generation
provide the greatest insight into their approach
to social networking and online video. They
excel at multitasking, and are collaborative and
Title: Health Board supervising care of babies in hot weather

Animated GIFs, blogs and social media have
been around for a while. What makes these
new apps significant is the extent to which they
offer this tech-savvy generation the opportunity
to apply them in real time and creatively tell
their own story, in their own way to their own
audience. It’s a shared dialogue, not a oneway street, and if your story has lots of twists
and turns, it’s okay. They will listen, and if it’s
authentic, take the journey. If you’re lucky, they’ll
add their own unique layer to the conversation.


25

Video Apps
+ Everyday People
Everyday people are making content through apps
that enable various video-editing functions. Anyone can
upload a finished product directly from their phone to
video hubs such as YouTube and Vimeo. Popular apps
include Socialcam, Viddy, Vidyou, Splice, Pixorial
and iSupr8.

Socialcam
Socialcam is a social video application that
allows users to easily create and share videos
with friends by adding special-effect filters
and more. It’s like Instagram for video. The
app aims for easy video consumption and
the ability to share videos virtually anywhere.
In July 2012, 3-D design and software
architecture firm Autodesk purchased
Socialcam for $60 million.

Viddy
Viddy is a video-capturing application that
allows users to produce and share short films.
With a clean, organized layout, it’s easy for
users to browse the app to connect with other
users and view viddies. In May 2012, Viddy
rolled out an iOS app and raised around $30
million in funding to build out its service
and figure out how to deal with the drop in
its Facebook-connected user base that put it
behind its archrival, Socialcam. Justin Bieber,
Britney Spears and Mark Zuckerberg have all
jumped on the Viddy bandwagon.

Keek
Keek is a micro-video sharing app for the
iPhone, Android and webcam. Users can
record and upload videos to share with friends
on any major social media network. Think of
the app as if YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram
had a video-sharing brainchild and named it
Keek. Keek recently ended a $7 million round
of funding.

Clicker
Clicker is an Internet television aggregator and
search engine comprised of millions of shows,
networks, movies, music videos and artists.
The site is a great resource to help narrow
down the infinite video choices available on
the Web. Clicker is one part directory, one part
search engine, one part information database,
one part entertainment guide and one part
DVR. In addition, Clicker provides brief information with each episode including pictures,
descriptions, themes, related show suggestions,
ratings and more.

Vidyou
Vidyou is referred to as “the magical little
TV that fits into your pocket.” The app
allows users to interact with Internet video
without the hassle of searching, by creating
personalized video channels connected through
your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Google
reader accounts.

Muybridge’s
Phenakistoscope


27

Over one-half of
Americans own a
smartphone.”
to grow as a viable means for connecting with
consumers, marketing professionals are exploring
different ways to take advantage of the trend
while simultaneously streamlining the back end
of their offerings.
This experimentation has manifested itself in
several ways:

Opinion:
The Future
Of Mobile
Video

In-Application Video Ads

Cameron Quattrone
Mobile Marketing Strategist at Team Detroit

Title: Ford Motor Co. Ford car at new museum

You eat with it. You sleep with it. You dress
it up. You never leave home without it, and
if you’re separated from it, even for just a
moment, you may spiral into a state of panic
and anxiety. It’s your smartphone, and it has
become such an integral part of your everyday
life that you can’t remember how you got along
without it — and marketers are taking note.
As the penetration of smartphones in the U.S.
(over one-half of Americans now own a

smartphone) continues to shoot upwards,
marketers are scrambling for new ways to
translate their experiences and offerings to a
mobile platform.
One of the fastest growing trends in the
mobile sphere is the utilization of mobile
video. In fact, mobile video traffic accounted
for 52% of all mobile traffic at the end of
2011; so what are businesses doing to take
advantage of this? As mobile video continues

Distributing video through applications enables
brands to serve up content to highly engaged
users in an unobtrusive way. For example, the
popular mobile game “Words with Friends”
now includes video ads, which are inserted
between player moves. Nvew technology has
made it so the player can interact with the
video ad within the primary gaming experience,
which allows users to engage with the ad experience without having to switch to a mobile
browser.
GEO/IP Filtering
With nearly one-fifth of the world’s six
billion mobile users already using locationbased services, location-based marketing
campaigns provide a unique opportunity for
marketers to reach out and target a select
consumer audience. By targeting and delivering
messages based on location, marketers can
serve up video content that is relevant to the
surroundings of the consumer.

For example, a 65-year-old corporate retiree
living in Naples, Florida, would more likely
be interested in viewing an advertisement
for the Ford Fusion Hybrid than an F-Series
Super Duty® while viewing a YouTube video.
Conversely, a 35-year-old skilled tradesman
living in Flint, Michigan, would more likely
be interested in watching the ad for the F-150
while viewing the same video.
With geo-filtering, marketers are able to take
advantage of these locational differences
by pushing video that caters to the tastes of
specific regions, states, or even cities.
User-Generated Video Content

Another emerging trend for marketers in the
mobile sphere is the distribution of user-generated video content. People can become highly
engaged with a site and its content when they
themselves are providing some of the content.
Several companies, such as Amazon, Dunkin’
Donuts, and Starbucks have employed simple
contests in order to encourage consumers to
create promotional videos of themselves with
a specific product. The contests include voting
by fellow consumers, and are integrated and
driven through social platforms such as
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Users themselves
are providing some
of the content.”


29

A secondary video delivery method is through
an assortment of branded YouTube channels.
These channels are primarily driven toward the
Ford enthusiast community, providing engaging behind-the-scenes interviews with designers and engineers, vehicle features and benefits,
along with real consumer opinions and use.
However, much of these videos are not consistently displayed where necessary on Ford and
Lincoln.com; rather they are redundantly and/
or inconsistently loaded to YouTube and/or
hosted from the CARSadmin server.

Opinion:
Ford Journey
Toward Video
Convergence

U.S. Internet
users watched
nearly 37 billion
videos in April
2012 alone.”

Ashok Sharma
Senior Content Strategist at Team Detroit

Title: Northeast corner office on third floor where Henry Ford worked

Online video consumption continues to grow
at astonishing rates. U.S. Internet users watched
nearly 37 billion videos in April 2012 alone.
These users are online for an average of 19.5
hours per week, and 60% watch online video at
least monthly, providing a real opportunity for
Ford to extend its consumer proposition.
Video is a widely used content asset that Ford
has already started to work with successfully.
However, there is still room to grow video

presence not only on Ford and Lincoln.com
but also across the Web.
Presently, TDI manages over 400 online Ford
and Lincoln videos primarily through the
CARSadmin server displaying in an Adobe
Flash Player. Although this solution does
offer some functionality in terms of social
sharing, it also presents significant limitations
in terms of overall video control, scalability
and extensibility.

YouTube is an excellent syndication site to
display Ford product video because of its
large audience. Additionally, if videos are well
optimized they are 53 times more likely than
text to appear on the front page of Google,
giving videos even more exposure. It is this
exposure and natural search lift that Ford
should be capitalizing on as the primary host.
It is important to underscore that YouTube is a
destination site, not an Online Video Platform
(OVP). Even though YouTube does grant a lot
of additional viewers there are some limitations
to this free site. Because of these limitations,
finding an enterprise-level OVP to host, manage, distribute and promote video content is

the next step to enhancing Ford’s digital ability
to “Go Further.”
Adding an OVP to the Ford repertoire is not
meant to replace the Ford YouTube channels,
merely to supplement and streamline. Not
only will it help scale and control the current
amount of videos, but it will also assist in
managing the overall life cycle for video
content. Better yet, many OVPs will syndicate
to YouTube, allowing Ford to upload all online
video content to the “One Ford” platform.
There are dozens of online video platforms
available, each with its own unique functionality
and capabilities. While Brightcove, Liveclicker
and Ooyala are considered big players in
the space, it is important to understand the
broader environment. In evaluating the right
enterprise-level OVP, it’s recommended to
look at these five key areas: Video player,
platform capabilities, optimization, supporting
functionality and promotion/distribution.
With the amount of video consumption
currently being experienced online, Ford is on
the right track by not only creating engaging
video content that viewers are looking for, but
also utilizing YouTube and the CARSadmin
server as a present means of delivering
content. However, leveraging an enterpriselevel OVP is the next step in building a worldclass video program. This would serve to not
only continue scaling the program, but to also
increase user engagement, utility, functionality
and overall consideration and perception of
the Ford brand online.


31

Wrap-Up

x

In an effort to leverage the brands we represent,
it is important to express stories in ways that
engage our consumers. To engage consumers,
we need to be creating compelling video content
that speaks to their interests.

5
Thought Starters
• ontent is king. How do we make ours relevant?
C
• n what ways can we better identify and push
I
ourselves to present information in an
innovative way?
• n order to be a part of culture and attract
I
creators, we must become creators ourselves.
How can we use online video as a platform
for our own original thinking?

• an we find authentic ways to “cue in” on
C
unique social dynamics in society such as the
video content consumers create?
• ow can we be more cognizant of the
H
changes occurring on video-sharing websites
to leverage the videos we showcase?
• ow can we leverage online video to extend
H
our consumer proposition?


33

Notes from the Observation Deck // The Online Video Universe

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Notes from the Observation Deck // The Online Video Universe