Keystream is launching SmartAd today, a SaaS platform that enables advertisers to insert graphic overlays into the empty spaces in videos. Think of it as a more intrusive version of the network logos stamped on the screen of every show.
Yeah, this is a winning idea.
I can easily think of cons to this idea, but I can think of pros too. What cons do you see, which may not be self-evident to everyone out here reading?
I’m working from the premise that obvious product placements are disruptive to the viewing experience (I think they are). Replace a Coke bottle with a Coke logo plastered in the middle of the screen and I think you have a disaster. The viewer is watching the video for the content. Anything that inhibits that aim is not going to be viewed positively, and it won’t simply be “that ad is annoying” it’ll also be “that Coke ad is annoying”. Once that threshold is crossed — from ad-in-general to company-specific — I think folks are going to direct their animosity towards the companies running their ads.
This is the major con, which I imagine is self-evident to everyone reading.
A lesser con is that the producer of the video might not have anticipated there being an ad incorporated into his work. To the extent that we can think about any web video as an aesthetic work, the ad is a stain on that vision. It’s a violation of the art and a violation of the artist.
Conversely, if the video in question was made specifically for the purpose of being an advertisement, with the video’s author being fully aware that a logo might pop up in the middle of his frame, then the SmartAd concept is a sign of marketing laziness. Good ads are not the result of tagging a logo somewhere. They require creativity, vision, execution (among other things). “Insert Ad Here” circumvents all the redeeming aspects of a good advertisements. Were advertising not already working from a disadvantageous position this might not be an issue. But the deck is already stacked against advertising. Ads are not inherently likable things. They’re distractions. Compounding the distraction won’t mitigate anything. It’ll only serve to amplify the that distracting quality.
There have been examples of programs or videos where images and icons have been superimposed over certain parts and it has added to the content. VH1′s “Pop-up Video” and even the notoriously corny “Elemi-date.” These shows benefited from the added details VH1 would point out in old-school music videos and “Elemi-date’s” sarcastic commentary assisted in adding comedic value to the already awkward mismatches they would show.
And don’t get me wrong, I think Key Stream smart ads are a bad idea. But if they did it correct and placed the ads so they added to the content. Perhaps they would be sponsored text boxes that would actually point out something about the video or tell you to watch for an upcoming irregularity on the shot, they might actually be interesting.
The Hills on MTV also recently launched an online opportunity to add comments to the show as it plays online. They have created a game where viewers can add their comments to the show and other viewers can rank the comments in order to score points and be recognized as someone who adds value to the episode. How could this be used to advertise? Here’s the link: http://backchannel.mtv.com/the_hills/season_4/backchannel_home.php
Pop-up Video had a shelf life of about two years. If memory serves that was the late 1990s. When looking for ways to market a product I’d hope advertisers wouldn’t pilfer ideas from fringe pop cable television shows from the last decade.
This is not to belittle the idea of value added content, however. What Pop-up Video did was clever. I’m just skeptical that the same idea could be applied here.
To wit: The pop-ups in Pop-up Video were the focus of the show. Viewers watched for the pop-ups. I don’t think the same is true of SmartAd, at least how I understand it.
I haven’t seen the Hills but I’ve seen my share of teenage television and the one idea that I think is smart is when shows give a quick promo at the end of, say, the music heard on the show. In fact, when shows don’t do this I find it frustrating. Last year I spent an hour searching for the name of a song on some television show. Eventually I ended up on a message board not hosted by the company that broadcast the show. This was a perfect example of where this company (let’s say ABC) failed its viewers and its clients. What ABC should have done is set up a page for each episode that provided the details of any product, musical or otherwise, see/heard in the episode. They create a valuable resource for the viewer. They get more viewers to their website. Those viewers are interested in products — they’re a perfect self-selected targeted audience. That has to have value (this isn’t my field; I’m just guessing). Right?