Notes from the Observation Deck // The Online Video Universe

IN THIS ISSUE

The Online Video Universe2

History of The Moving Image

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Notes from theOBSERVATION DECK

New Video Fronts

The Futureof Video

A B O U TNOTES 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:

[email protected].

The Major Players in the Online Video Industry

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.

YouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website that

Editor in ChiefGabrielle George

Notes from theobservation deck

Assistant EditorsMorgan Pomish

Cameron Quattrone

CreativeAlex LeonardPaul Biundo

ContributorsAshok Sharma

Beau LewisChristine DebanoJenna Thompson

Trevor NaudKristine Taylor

Vol.2

1 Letter From the Editor A Video Revolution

2 Rewind: The Moving ImageThe 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-UpThought-Starters

A G E N D AT h e O n l i n e V i d e o U n i v e r s e

Notes From The Observation Deck: The Online Video Universe

A Video Revolution1

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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.

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 9

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?

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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.

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. V i 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 MAJOR PLAYERS

In The Online Video Industry

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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.

V I C E

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.

N e t f l i x

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.

H u l u

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.


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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?

V H X . T VVHX.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 yTelly 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.


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The Impact on Our World as Marketers

The New FrontsEvery 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.


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

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.

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

VIDEOFashionMusic EducationAutomotivex

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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.

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.

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.

Video x Automotive 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.

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

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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.

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.

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

Video is the most-shared medium.”

Title: Crowd in front of the City Hall, Detroit, Oct. 6, 1908


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.

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 landing-page video takes those visitors and offers them value in a product.

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.

In short, YouTube video content can grow your social media.”

YouTube runs more searches than Bing and Yahoo combined.” N O T

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

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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 + WebIn 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.

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 TV-enabled 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.

Fast-Forward/ Forecasting

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

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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.”

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

optimistic, even though they are the genera-tion hardest hit by the economic downturn. They value experiences over things and are always searching for authenticity and mean-ing. 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.

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.

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 one-way 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.

Title: Health Board supervising care of babies in hot weather

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


Video Apps + Everyday PeopleEveryday 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.

SocialcamSocialcam 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. ViddyViddy 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.

KeekKeek 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.

ClickerClicker 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 infor-mation with each episode including pictures, descriptions, themes, related show suggestions, ratings and more.

VidyouVidyou 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.

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Muybridge’s Phenakistoscope


Opinion: The Future Of Mobile Video Cameron Quattrone Mobile Marketing Strategist at Team Detroit

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

Title: Ford Motor Co. Ford car at new museum

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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:

In-Application Video Ads 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 ex-perience 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 location-based 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-gener-ated 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.

Over one-half of Americans own a smartphone.”

Users themselves are providing some of the content.”


Opinion: Ford Journey Toward Video Convergence Ashok Sharma Senior Content Strategist at Team Detroit

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.

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

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A secondary video delivery method is through an assortment of branded YouTube channels. These channels are primarily driven toward the Ford enthusiast community, providing engag-ing behind-the-scenes interviews with design-ers and engineers, vehicle features and benefits, along with real consumer opinions and use. However, much of these videos are not consis-tently 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.

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, man-age, 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 enterprise-level OVP is the next step in building a world-class 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.

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


xWrap-UpIn 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.

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Thought Starters• Content is king. How do we make ours relevant?

• In what ways can we better identify and push ourselves to present information in an innovative way?

• In order to be a part of culture and attract creators, we must become creators ourselves. How can we use online video as a platform for our own original thinking?

• Can we find authentic ways to “cue in” on unique social dynamics in society such as the video content consumers create?

• How can we be more cognizant of the changes occurring on video-sharing websites to leverage the videos we showcase?

• How can we leverage online video to extend our consumer proposition?

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Notes from the Observation Deck // The Online Video Universe

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