5 thoughts on “Keep video short and in Flash”

1. Unfortunately, the online media daily blurb is woefully lacking in specifics about the study, and I can’t find any info on either podzinger’s site or Pathfinder Innovation. This is exactly the sort of thing that frustrates me as an internet news reader: I want more information, but no one seems interested in sharing what they’ve found. I almost guarantee that online media blurb was a rehashed press release from podzinger. I’d like to see more details.

2. You’re right. I tried PR Newswire and couldn’t find it.

3. There’s this and the full release, cut-and-pasted here:

   NEW MARKET RESEARCH REVEALS BEST PRACTICES FOR ONLINE VIDEO ADVERTISERS

   Comprehensive Analysis of Consumer’s Online Behavior Sets New Benchmarks for Placement, Length and Frequency of Online Video Advertising

   CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – November 20, 2006 – PodZinger (www.podzinger.com), the world’s most powerful audio and video search engine and online advertising network, today announced the results of its proprietary research into consumer behavior and online video advertising viewing preferences. The study’s key findings reveal that not only will consumers tolerate advertisements that appear during their search for online audio and video content, they willingly accept that short 10 to 15 seconds ads, are “part of doing business” on the Web. PodZinger’s research findings underscore the need for brands and marketers to view online advertising as a new and distinct initiative, not merely as an extension of paid text advertising or television advertising. This research was conducted prior to the recent launch of PodZinger’s video advertising platform to ensure consumers would be receptive to advertisements on the popular search engine’s site.

   PodZinger’s research examined consumers’ attitudes, usage and acceptance of online video advertising. To gauge viewer reaction to the length and format of video ads, PodZinger commissioned market research firm Pathfinder Innovation to conduct one-on-one interviews in three major U.S. markets including Cambridge, Mass., Chicago and Los Angeles. In addition to featuring a comprehensive set of in-depth questions, consumers were presented demonstration sites to gauge their reaction to the length and format of video ads. The research revealed that consumers prefer 10 to 15 second ads in comparison to the typical 30 second television commercial. However, many expressed concern about the frequency of video ads, which, unlike banner ads, were considered “annoying” if repeated too often. Almost three-quarters of respondents viewed search-relevant advertisements positively and many viewed this as a unique level of Web-site personalization.

   These results, in combination with aggregated consumer behavior statistics for online content, further emphasize the importance of streamlined, targeted, non-intrusive video advertisements. By recording what audio and video content is played most frequently and examining the vast library of searchable content on PodZinger, the company captures unprecedented information, providing advertisers an in-depth view of what content consumers are interested in most. PodZinger also examined behavior patterns of consumers on http://www.podzinger.com to set the baseline for consumer behavior, discovering that:

   * Consumers typically play only 15 percent of an entire online video or audio, which are 7.5 minutes and 22 minutes in length, respectively.
   * Consumer attention span for online video is much shorter than audio – one minute vs. three minutes on average.
   * Consumers are more likely to play content online than they are to download it by a factor of almost 6 to 1 (5.7 to1).
   * Of all the categories tracked by PodZinger, five of these, including entertainment, technology, news and politics, music and sports, represent approximately 85 percent of all online activity (Table 1). Additionally, online activity does not track to the volume of content available, e.g. entertainment represents 36 percent of all online video play, but only 6 percent of available video.

   Audio

   % of Total Plays

   Avg Play Time (min)

   Video

   % of Total Plays

   Avg. Play Time (min)

   Technology

   24%

   3.16

   Entertainment

   36%

   0.92

   Music

   18%

   1.93

   Technology

   24%

   1.29

   Entertainment

   18%

   4.55

   News & Politics

   15%

   1.05

   News & Politics

   15%

   2.70

   Music

   8%

   1.52

   Sports

   8%

   31.6

   Sports

   5%

   0.85

   Most Played Categories of Online Content, September 2006, http://www.podzinger.com

   Table 1.

   Through speech-to-text technology, PodZinger automatically classifies all audio and video content and is able to tailor advertising based on this information. By recording the length and frequency that audio and video content is played, PodZinger is able to identify which content is more valuable based on the actual usage aggregated from consumers. Through the combination of data analysis algorithms of video advertisers and PodZinger’s classification technology, advertisers, for the first time, are able to deliver relevant brand messaging in online video and audio content.

   “With Internet video consumption surging, advertisers are clamoring for a best-in-class solution for delivering branded and relevant online messages.” said Alex Laats, CEO of PodZinger. “To accomplish that, it is essential to develop a deeper understanding of what consumers are watching and listening. Our technology uniquely allows PodZinger to connect advertisers to consumers based on consumer intent, and the response in the marketplace has been overwhelming.”

4. Sorry, didn’t realize the charts formatting would get so borked.

5. Thanks, Michael.

   BTW: I talked with your parents, my neighbors, the other day. Nice people.