After my initial euphoria had worn off, I realized what an incredible emotional connection this video had made with me. Cathie McGinn over at Mumbrella has already contributed a great article on the strategy behind it and the methods used to make such a connection, but I’d like to add another element I believe to be a crucial factor in this campaigns success: the medium.

Would’ve this story have achieved the same emotional connection if it was written text? And would’ve it spread through social networks engaging everybody it touched had it been on television?

According to a 2010 study out of Princeton University, ideas and messages are more easily and substantially conveyed and decoded when we are actively listening to a speaker (In this case John’s narration). This is because our brains engage in what scientists call ‘neural coupling’, which according to the study is a sort of delayed mirroring of the speakers brain patterns in the listeners brain which ultimately results not only in understanding, but shared emotions for the subject matter.

This is something text and photos could never achieve. Online video 1, written text 0.

One could argue however that television could create the same emotional connection with the viewer, but research out of the USA would suggest otherwise. A study by video advertising network YuMe used ‘Facial Tracking Algorithms’ and ‘Biometric Monitoring’ to show that online video content captures a users attention 8.5% more than TV content does.

Even with that aside, I believe it’s the ease of sharing associated with the coupling of social networks and online video that really drove this campaign. The fact that I can watch this video, slightly shift my wrist and instantly tell 600 odd people about it is incredibly powerful and something that, until we see the Connected/Social TV revolution, the medium of television could never achieve.

In-banner video advertising is less well known amongst marketers, but probably something seen quite regularly if you frequent the YouTube homepage. In-banner advertisements are simply banners with videos embedded in them, they usually follow standard IAB banner sizes (including 728×90, 160×600 and 300×250 for example) and are available on a wide range of websites.

On the contrary, In-stream video ads are those that are in the video player itself and are injected into the stream that is being sent to a client video player. There are essentially just three main types of these ads which are named based on when they are shown to the viewer.

• Pre-roll – Obviously these ads are shown before the video content.
• Mid-roll – These video ads are shown like commercial breaks, in between the beginning and the end of the video stream. There can be several mid-roll ads on a single piece of video content.
• Post-roll – These are ads that are only shown after the completion of the requested video content.

By far, Post-rolls are the least intrusive for viewers as they see the content first and are generally not obligated to stick around for the video ad. Mid-roll are the most intrusive as they either stop the video content in order to be shown or are shown in video overlays that are displayed on top of the video content itself. The Pre-roll is considered intrusive because it makes the viewer wait to get their content.

In terms of effectiveness, mid-roll ads are proven to have the highest completion rate as the viewer is engaged with the content already and is more likely to sit through the ad in order to finish consuming the video content.

Why it Applies to You

Any kind of advertising done in video online is generally going to be done in-stream meaning you need to know the ins and outs of online video advertising. Unfortunately, things aren’t always so clear cut. Many of the ad networks have all sorts of fancy names for their offerings and each has its own set of features. Some offer the viewer the choice of what they want to see, some offer the choice of when they want to see an ad and some allow for complete skipping of the ads.

Some also offer companion ads which run next to the video player, generally in a 300×250 next to the player and allow for some interaction between the ad units in-stream and in-banner. These are more complex in function but not really in form as it’s just an in-stream ad that runs synchronized with an in-banner ad for the most part.

Why You Need to Know

Being able to offer your clients multiple options for getting their brand and products in front of potential consumers is all about options. That means knowing the ins and outs of online video advertising and not just slapping a video ad in front of or in the middle of some video content. There’s also far more to video advertising online than one might think. For example, a lot of video ads are far more effective when they are placed against complementary content, so you need to know where to find that content and how to get the ads placed there. Plus, it’s also good to know about this when you’re doing a branded content campaign that might have some room for extra monetization through the placement of video ads.

RTMP video streaming – Real Time Messaging Protocol on the other hand is far more robust and allows for a variety of things that can’t be done with HTTP video streaming. First of all, it can do live streaming, it’s more efficient, video scrubbing to non-downloaded parts is possible, better encryption making the video harder to pirate. Of course, it’s not all wine and roses. Since it uses a different port it might come into problems with some firewalls and it requires there be enough bandwidth at all times for the video to play. Finally, you need an RTMP server like Flash Media Server or Wowza.

Adaptive Bitrate Streaming - Nowadays, most adaptive bitrate is done through HTTP where in the past it was a combination of RTP and RTSP. HTTP adaptive bitrate is supported by Flash (as Dynamic Streaming), Apple Quicktime and iOS (based on progressive downloading), Microsoft (as part of Smooth Streaming), Octoshape (their multi-bitrate offering) and  others.

If you want your video content to reach the iOS crowd your best bet is this last one because it is not only supported by the iPhone and iPad but also allows for best viewer experience over mobile networks that are far less stable than traditional wired connections.

Mute/Unmute – If you are pushing your message out audibly and not visually then you might be missing a large cross-section of your audience. Many people might be watching at work with the sound off or down. Others might be simply muting the ads. So if you don’t have a call-to-action with a visual element or a visual version of your message, it might be getting lost in translation.

Collapse/Expand/Full Screen - These are valuable metrics to track as well. For example, are viewers collapsing the video pane when the ads run? That could mean that they’re losing interest and going to do something else until the ad ends. If they’re expanding or going to full screen at a particular point in a video or ad it could be renewed or increased interest. This could couple with the next metric for some great insight into how viewers are watching your content and ads.

Rewind/Fast Forward – If you are giving the viewers options to rewind and fast forward you’ll want to know if and exactly when they’re using them. You might even just offer them rewind, so if they pause, expand, rewind you know exactly what they’re looking at in that expanded window and why. Then you can focus on that to expand either your content or your advertisements.

Play/Pause/Resume - Did I mention pause? You see why this would be useful, especially if you’ve got some sort of visual call-to-action like an email or phone number. If users are pausing when that is on screen you might want to make them interactive overlays so they can continue watching but get more information outside of the video player. Resume is also important if they are pausing for that information I mentioned above because you then know that is a lot of people are pausing at the same spot, that’s probably the reason.

Accepted Invitation – Another metric that won’t always apply but can speak volumes is the accept invitation meaning that the viewer clicked on a companion ad or interactive overlay to display further information over the video player content. This definitely gives some good idea what it is that your viewers are interested in and what they’re looking for, coupons, discounts, store locations, etc. Each of these should be able to be tracked separately so you know what invitation they chose.

Minimize – What? They’ve shrunk the video player away to nothing while the ads are playing and expanded it again when the ad was done playing? That’s not fair, but if you track this you know they’re doing it and can build something into the campaign to bring them back.

The Major Metrics

View: Perhaps one of the most important as well as most variable metrics on the planet. With most advertising there is the impression, the ad being seen by the consumer. However, with video there’s another element that needs to be taken into account, the length of the ad. comScore says a video is viewed after 3 seconds of playing. Christophor Rick of ReelSEO says 50% or more. Some ad networks say 100% or no view counted. When you’re looking at views you have to make sure you know what the service means by a view. It makes sense that at least 50%

Video Click-Through: The basis for a video ad click-through rate (CTR). This means a viewer has clicked on the ad for more information or answers a call-to-action.

Completion Rate: Generally seen as a percentage of how many viewers watched a video or video ad through 50%, 75% and completion.

Completed view or Finish: When a viewer watches through to the end of a video or advertisement. This should only be counted when the entire video is watched (no scrubbing to skip parts) and basically should count as the full length of the ad was viewed.

Viewing time: How much time, or the duration, of a video view. This can include anything viewed after an action is taken like fast forward or rewind but not the the skipped portions unless they had previously been viewed in that session (see session below).

Session: This is another term that has multiple definitions. In some places it means all videos viewed in a single visit to a website. Others see it as videos viewed in a single video player load, which would then take into account things like playlists or autoplay of several videos. In some places this is tracked by number of videos while in other places it’s tracked by time spent viewing. In regards to campaign tracking, ROI, etc, it’s a shaky measure because it is too vague to be extremely useful.

Engagement: This term looks at how many interactions a viewer has in regards to a particular video. It can be reported as a single number. Far better is an engagement graph which shows far more data including how many interactions are happening during each part of the video. This also gives you an idea of some type of average engagement level as well as drop off levels so you can see where the majority of viewers abandon a video. Some services report engagement as a graph with seconds on the X axis and views on the Y to give you an idea of drop off.

Abandonment: Abandonment is the drop off of viewers from video.  It tells you where viewers are leaving the video player in the duration of the video. Generally, if a video is too long or not interesting enough you will see a rapid drop off around a specific point. That helps you then shorten the video to make sure you get the message across before most viewers abandon or prepare to abandon.

Stream Quality: This metric gives you an idea about how well the video is streaming to viewers. This means you can find out if the video is too intense or rebuffering too much. It will also give you data on how much bandwidth is being pushed, how many rebuffers per view and how many lost viewers you had as well as start delay. How long did it take for the video to play after the player loaded.

We will continue this series on Wednesday with a look at more video metrics and analytics.

Premium vs. User-generated

In speaking with some industry leaders it’s been found that a lot of user-generated video content is mostly unreachable to begin with but that some brands have been interested in getting placement on that because of the complementary nature of it so this new research might actually draw them away from that content again or at least see them paying less and shooting for placement on more premium video content.

What this means is that most content publishers could put ads into their content more frequently to generate extra revenue, but there’s going to be a balance point between # of ads and length of content which, most likely, cannot come close to the ratio seen on television currently.

Like TV, online video often has ads before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll) and after (post-roll) a show. Mid-roll, according to the report, has a large 75% completion rate, most likely because the viewer is already invested into the content when the ad appears and so sees it as a time saver to simply sit through the ad instead going in search of the content with out ads. Hulu is a notable mid-roll publisher as much of their content is already tailored to that sort of break down because it is TV show episodes. Hulu is currently serving around one billion ad impressions per month (according to comScore).

The completion rate difference is 68% to 52% for premium content versus user-generated.

Live vs. On-Demand

Live streams has also been found to have a better completion rate overall, probably because it is seen as more engaging and the unique quality of live streaming being that it is happening in real time versus video-on-demand which could, theoretically, be seen at any time and probably in a place which has less ads against it. The difference between live and on-demand was a large 26% with live streaming seeing an 86% completion rate of ad breaks.

Factors that affect how viewers accept the ads include content type, length, format of the ad, and ad placement (physical location as well as when probably).

The research comes from tracking of some 11 billion ad impressions through their service.

Jeremy Helfand, CEO of Auditude, said there will be more professional content coming online as viewers spend more time online. “We have to make sure to provide creative content on any device that can deliver it,” he said.

It basically looks at two types of in-stream video ads: non-linear video ads (which run in the player by interrupting the video playback) and interactive ads which are able to be clicked on, or interacted with in other ways. The goal is to set forth a self-certifying standard that allows for complete interoperability between all advanced video ads, ad networks and serving technology and players so that any VPAID compliant ad could be delivered through any VPAID compliant ad network to any VPAID compatible player. It is tied closely with the VAST standard as well.

To allow interoperability of advanced video ads across different player environments requires,at minimum, standardization at the following two levels:

• The ad server response should be understood by compliant players – this is covered by the VAST standard
• The advanced ad requires a standard player run-time expressed as a standard API –covered by VPAID

VPAID is most useful (and indeed necessary) for ads that are displayed concurrently with the video content, such as overlay ads, or for ads that must interrupt the playback of the video content as a result of user interactions with the ad, for example, pausing the video to open a form, sharing out to social networks, printing coupons, etc.

VPAID in its entirety is far more than can be covered in a simple blog post so it is suggested that if you are going to start creating video ads  that are non-linear or interactive, you take a quick read through the standard document.

Why it Applies to You

Video advertising is a diverse and expanding area for online marketing and in order to be able to make valid and useful suggestions for your client, you need to know both the capabilities and the limitations of video advertising. By being familiar with VPAID you will know what the ads can do and where they can be placed so that they are as interactive as possible and able to be quickly distributed around the Internet.

Why You Need to Know

There are several major reasons you need to know. First, you need to know that there are far more than just standard pre/mid/post-roll video ads available. You need to know what they can and cannot do for the most part and how they interact with the video content and the video player. In order for an ad to be completely VPAID compliant it needs to interface with everything as outlined in the standard-setting document.

What is it?

In non-technical terms, VAST is a standard designed by the IAB to regulate the way advertising is served from ad networks and platforms into video players. It applies to both Linear Video Ads (Pre-Roll, Post-Roll, etc), Non-linear Video Ads (Namely overlays) and companion banner ads.

Why do we need it?

Today, there are a huge number of Ad Networks and Platforms to choose from, and combined with the number of players a publisher can choose to use (not to mention those who build their own) there was a significant need for a standard to be developed that allowed for seamless linking of the two to ensure easy integration and to protect choice (by preventing Ad Networks from teaming up with Players and forcing Publishers hands). Fortunately for us, the IAB stepped in and developed the VAST standard which majority of the industry now adheres to.

Why it Applies to You

As a publisher or content creator, your ability to monetise your content is a crucial factor in whether or not you get to create that next great piece of content your planning. The VAST standard has made it significantly easier for you to integrate an Ad Network into your site and display video ads. Similarly, it has created a level playing field where a vast (excuse the pun) majority of players and Ad Networks work seamlessly together, giving you ultimate choice over which one’s you want to use.

Why You Need to Know

As someone who is charged with monetising content or even someone who is utilising video ads for your client, it is role your role to ensure the seamless integration of advertisements to ensure both the advertiser and end user are kept happy.

If you are handling video distribution in-house, you will first need to ensure both your Ad Server and Video Player are VAST compliant when choosing your providers. In terms of integration, the VAST standard will make it fairly straightforward to integrate the two whilst if you are using some of the more popular Ad Networks and Video Players, you should be able to find plugins that will integrate the two for you.

On the contrary, if you are using an OVP or a Video CMS like what’s offered at Launchpad6, the integration has been taken care of for you and it is a matter of simply activating the link between the two following whatever procedure your service provider sets out for you.

What’s it used for?

At its very heart DRM is aimed at making sure that content is only accessed by users who have the right to do so. It’s used to cut down on piracy by limiting the users, hardware or software that can access a piece of video content or by putting a specific lifetime on the access to the content.

Online and Offline DRM

In our humble opinion, there are two categories of DRM… online and offline. Online DRM refers to managing the rights of content viewed online (i.e. video viewed through a webpage) while offline refers to content viewed offline (i.e. a video file that is downloaded to one’s computer from the web or uploaded to their computer from a DVD).

There are significantly more challenges in Offline DRM than there is in Online. For instance, how do you stop the downloader making copies when it’s on their computer and out of your control? Fair Use policy allows a content owner to make copies for personal use but how do you define personal use? Many corporations specify a number of copies a person can make, but what if they have more devices than the set number? Or what if one of their devices dies and they want to simply put it on their replacement device? These are many of the challenges faced in Offline DRM.

Fortunately for us though, Online DRM is a bit simpler as it all happens within the controlled environment of a website and here at Launchpad6 we take a two pronged approach, content protection and controlled access. The content protection aspect utilises similar techniques to offline DRM to prevent users from downloading a video stream from the web to their computer, whilst the controlled access aspect utilises either subscription, rent or buy models to control who can view what content and ultimately monetise it.

How Does It Work?

There are numerous techniques for implementing DRM, the most common is using encryption keys. There are numerous methods utilised by different organisations but put simply, this involves encrypting the stream and providing a key that is used to decode the stream during playback.

Why It Applies to You?

As a publisher or content creator, your bottom line depends on your ability to monetise your content and if users are able to steal it, copy it and make it available elsewhere on the web your ability to monetise it will be significantly reduced.

Why You Need to Know

As someone charged with leading online video strategies, it is your role to ensure the widest possible distribution of your content whilst making sure it is protected and properly monetised.

If you are handling video distribution in-house, it is possible to utilise media streaming servers like Wowza or Adobe Flash Media Streaming Server which have a number of DRM functions built-in to prevent users from copying the stream to their computer. That however only tells part of the story, as anyone and everyone can still access the content through their web-browser. In order to implement a true DRM infrastructure, you will need to build a controlled access system whereby users can subscribe, rent or buy content and their access to that content is limited based on their chosen package.

OVP’s like Brightcove and Ooyala offer protection against stream stealing but still require you to build the infrastructure that controls access, whilst the Launchpad6 VideoCMS will (it’s still in development) provide the complete end to end solution that allows you to simply define your packages and begin charging your customers for access straight away.

CDNs can be used for anything from data-intensive websites to streaming media. Since we’re in the business of online video, we’ll take a look at them from this viewpoint however CDNs don’t need to be thought of as solely for video delivery. In fact, we use a CDN to deliver the images and files associated with this very website and have found it significantly reduces load times, making for an enhanced experience for the user and contributing to our SEO efforts.

How Do They Work

The easiest way to explain a CDN is to illustrate it:

Essentially, a CDN works by hosting the video files at multiple Edge locations around the world. That way, when a user tries to play a video they receive the data from the edge location closest to them rather than having to retrieve it from the core servers which could be located thousands of miles away.

Launchpad6 utilises the Amazon Cloudfront CDN for both it’s video contest platform and VideoCMS and has edge servers in the following locations:

Who provides them?

If you’re looking for a list of CDNs to check out there are numerous lists available around the web. However, we have compiled a quick list of some of the largest available:

• Akamai
• Amazon CloudFront
• CDNetworks
• Level 3
• Pando
• Octoshape

You might also need to know the difference between a P2P (peer-to-peer) CDN and a regular CDN. The last two in the list above utilize P2P quite often which means that the availability of data can be determined by how many peers are sharing it and at what speeds. For larger, more stable, corporate solutions, it would be best to look into the first four, though Pando and Octoshape are both respected CDN providers. It might boil down to how much the budget is and what capabilities you need in the end.

What’s the benefit?

The benefit of using a CDN is that files are retrieved from servers located close to the user, which means the time it takes to send the request and start downloading the file (know technically as Latency) is lowered.

For the video viewer, it results in faster video playback with less stuttering and interruptions. For organisations, it results in a more responsive website that delivers to an enhanced to your customers that ultimately results in better brand perceptions.

Why it Applies to You

With the average user viewing 180 videos per month from all over the web, there is no telling where your potential customers may come from. In order to give a consistently outstanding experience to the viewer that reflects positively on your brand, you must be able to deliver video from localised locations to anyone in the world.

A CDN can help you achieve this, and whilst the introduction of new players to the market has made it more reachable in terms of pricing, they are often complex beasts to setup and require serious IT knowledge to administer and manage.

Why You Need to Know

As someone charged with leading online video strategies, it is your job to ensure a seamless viewing experience is delivered to the viewer regardless of their location.

If you are handling video processing & distribution in-house, it would be necessary to conduct research and comparison on the various CDN offerings, and compare their network of Edge Locations, pricing structure and technical requirements with your goals and budget to ultimately determine which CDN is a best fit for you.

If you are utilising an OVP or a Video CMS like Launchpad6, these kind of things have been extensively researched and the hard decisions have been made for you, allowing you to simply upload your video file and relax knowing that whenever a user views your video, it is being streamed to them from the closest edge location and they are enjoying the best possible experience.