Little more than a year ago, brand managers thought that posting their TV advert on YouTube was sufficient to tick the box marked "online video campaign". But now there is a growing awareness that original video content will do the job better.
In fact, more brands are putting together video-rich online campaigns that bear little resemblance to the traditional 30-second TV spot. While the latter is still powerful, online brands are now commissioning videos, games, podcasts, microsites and more, to feed the content-hungry internet.
Neil Simpson, chief executive at Publicis, lists success with brands such as Hula Hoops and the UK Territorial Army (TA). Both of these clients wanted online video content to support their traditional TV campaigns. "We now want active engagement with the consumer," says Simpson.
Online web content works, especially if it includes video, says Simpson. Hula Hoops reported a 28% rise in sales, thanks to a competition in which 100,000 consumers made short videos for a dedicated Hulu Hoops website. Meanwhile, the TA exceeded its recruitment targets for the first time in a decade after a TV ad directed potential recruits online to decide how a real Army dilemma faced by the actors in the ad should be resolved.
Russell Goldsmith, digital director at broadcast PR consultancy Markettiers 4DC, says that online audiences are "very marketing savvy" which means that brands have to make their online offerings take an extra step. Markettiers has staged live, online tastings for Laphroaig whisky where people were asked to send in their questions via the web to be answered in real time. One such event attracted 7,300 viewers from 63 countries and 1,100 questions were sent in.
One big area online is the viral nature of media where users with one click can alert their friends about something cool they are seeing online. Unruly Media, which specialises in viral online media, says this area is growing fast. "From Nandos to Burger King, from Nike to the Royal Mail, it's hard to think of a major brand or product category that we haven't worked with," says Scott Button, founder of Unruly Media. "That's not to say everyone is doing it well. Brands are used to dealing with a target audience that can't talk back."
The desire for online video content is creating a new kind of independent production company, like Big Balls Films. The latter created a 22-episode online drama, set against the backdrop of 2009's summer music festivals, called Who Killed Summer, which was available both online and on mobiles. The average viewer was 17 years old and each episode had over 300,000 views. Although entirely sponsored by Vodafone, the dramas did not include blatant Vodafone branding.
"This was a brand concept job," says Tom Thirlwall of Big Balls. "Vodafone wanted to be seen as cool and an ambassador of new technologies to a young audience, so the fact that a quarter of the people watched the shows on their mobiles was really important to them."
