ComScore's Dan Piech presented the State of Online Video in 2010 at the OMMA Video conference, and draws from industry insights to provide a picture of today's online video consumer.
Dan's takes a comparative approach to advertising and monetization of online video in 2006 compared to today to make some interesting points. He argues that the ratio of new video titles to advertising dollars is shrinking, which suggests that the industry is not fully taking advantage of the monetization opportunity in front of it. ComScore has also polled audiences to understand their preferences and expectations for online video experiences, and comScore is seeing that audiences have begun to expect fewer ads during long-form content played back online. He's arguing that the industry is conditioning users to expect and then prefer seeing fewer ads online, which is backing us into a wall.
Dan also makes the case that the online video audience, while often thought of as "cheap" by association with cord cutters, are also some of the more in-touch and savvy consumers out there. While some have suggested that online video watchers are distracted by multi-tasking windows on computers, Dan makes the case here that those viewers are also more proactively engaged with content, whether it's clicking through to an ad, or researching a piece of clothing they see in their favorite sitcom because it reminds them on the spot that they wanted a new pair of shoes. This is a very unique opportunity, and is a complete shift from traditional lean-back advertising paradigms. Dan makes the case that creative will continue to explore new engagement models designed specifically for the online viewer.
The presentation itself is about 30 minutes and chock full of great insights into the online video audience and market. Definitely worth a view!