Video As An Ad Vehicle

Video In Play As Ad Vehicle
B-to-B Viral Campaigns and Social Media are also expected to be big this year

By Kate Maddox
Story posted: March 24, 2008 - 6:01 am EDT
Printed from www.btobonline.com

As b-to-b advertisers seek effective ways to communicate with customers and prospects in a challenging business environment, they plan to increase spending on newer interactive formats, including online video, social media and viral marketing.

This year, online ad spending is expected to reach $27.5 billion, up 28.5% over last year, according to Internet research firm eMarketer. The spending will be driven largely by paid search engine advertising, which is expected to total $15.5 billion this year, up 31.9% over last year.

Spending on online video advertising is projected to reach $1.4 billion this year (up 74%), and advertising on social networks is projected to reach $1.6 billion this year (up 70%), according to eMarketer.

“There will be a lot more use of online video ads by b-to-b marketers,” said Lisa Phillips, senior analyst at eMarketer. “Video is becoming a way for people to find out about a product and how it works, particularly for b-to-b products.”

Many b-to-b marketers are using online video ads in innovative ways, including banner campaigns, outdoor ads and viral marketing efforts, to drive users to their Web sites to learn more about their products and companies.

LENOVO GOES FOR VIDEO
For example, PC maker Lenovo launched an integrated ad campaign last July, driven heavily by online video ads.

The campaign, with the tagline “Best engineered,” was developed by Ogilvy North America, New York, and includes online videos of engineers testing Lenovo notebook computers in extreme conditions. It features five online videos, portions of which were used in online ads as well as out-of-home advertising in airports, to drive users to a microsite at www.insidelenovo.com.

On the site, videos of about one minute in length show Lenovo engineers conducting extreme tests, such as holding a Lenovo laptop while being submerged in a tank full of water or holding a Lenovo notebook over a vat of liquid nitrogen.

The online video ads have also been picked up on social networking sites such as YouTube.

“The production value is a little more rough than in TV spots, so there is a better chance of going viral,” said Glen Gilbert, VP-integrated marketing communications at Lenovo. “There has been some nice viral pickup.”

Other b-to-b marketers are coming up with innovative ways to use online video ads in viral campaigns.

Last April, IBM Corp. launched an online campaign called “IBM Storage Scavenger Hunt Game,” which sent IT users scrambling around the Web to find clues to free fictional characters from a virtual storage maze. The campaign was developed by OgilvyOne New York. It included online video in banner ads and e-mail featuring a call for help from IT characters Ned and Gil, who have appeared in IBM TV spots.

“It was a really exciting campaign and demonstrated IBM pushing themselves to the next level,” said Jeanniey Mullen, executive director and senior partner, worldwide e-mail marketing at OgilvyOne.

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