Uvidi Presents a Framework for Evaluating Video Effectiveness

We have built Uvidi into a growing and compelling video destination, and are committed to delivering premium video content, user verification through proprietary technology and third party validation, as well as world-class distribution.  Uvidi provides a great experience for users, a brand safe environment for our partners and maximum ROI for our advertisers.

At Uvidi, we recognize that brands need a way to evaluate video effectiveness. In fact, an industrywide debate is underway. Organizations such as the IAB, Nielsen and Adap.tv have established the 3MS Council and the Video Viewablity Consortium to address this issue. Some constituents propose that “viewablity” should be the defining metric to evaluate ad effectiveness. However, viewablity as it’s been defined for TV and display cannot be applied to digital video, which is a unique format with distinct differences. Similar to search, digital video is a responsive product that should be measured based on campaign effectiveness and completion of an action.

We caution against using viewability as the determining factor of measurement as it is limited in scope and fails to take the unique attributes of digital video into account. While the practice of measuring viewability delivers a form of measurement, it’s just a starting point.

We believe that there are far more relevant measurements that should be considered. As such, we’ve created a layered framework to help brands evaluate video effectiveness.

Audience Verification: Uvidi’s audience is validated according to our parent company, Vertical Search Works, Security Integrity Process (SIP). SIP utilizes data and human verification technologies to form a hybrid approach that provides a more comprehensive and fair evaluation of user verification than what is possible when the decisions are solely left to computers to select. SIP strongly differentiates Uvidi from sites that are reliant on random clicks.

Exposure: To conduct a proper effectiveness assessment brands need to consider exposure. Exposure includes: video player visibility, audience reach and video completion rates. Comscore’s recent research on this subject shows that ad views and hover time strongly relate to conversion. Furthermore, Econsultancy’s study finds that there is a positive correlation between brand recall and video completion rates.

Campaign performance: Brands must go beyond clicks and impressions and look at post-view data such as site visits, request for information and purchases from users that were exposed to videos ads but didn’t click at the time of viewing.

Uvidi is built upon the above framework and is committed to providing a superior standard of measurement and a best in class experience for consumers.

As many Facebook users were surprised to discover, the social networking giant recently integrated hashtags–popularized by competitor Twitter–into their interface in an effort to help aggregate conversations.  As has become the norm on Twitter, the hashtag feature allows Facebook users to follow conversations about a specific topic across the entire social network (as opposed to just their friend network), and communicate with other users whom they never would’ve been able to connect with otherwise.  From the marketers’ perspective, hashtags allow brands to extend their reach beyond their current network as they can not only tap into existing conversations, but also use hashtags to start new conversations around a specific campaign and encourage brand fans and followers to join in.  For example, a major event like the Super Bowl will have its conversation aggregated into a specific tag (e.g., #SuperBowlXLVII).  Theoretically, Facebook could sell that hashtag conversation page to advertisers to create a branded experience, although Facebook has not released an official statement on this topic.

Despite the momentum with hashtags, Facebook still has room for improvement before its new features reach their full potential.  Searches based on single keywords are arguably outdated, and will not serve as a long term strategy.  Contrarily, Facebook’s Graph Search is powered by much more comprehensive and effective semantic technology; hashtags will become truly powerful when they are integrated into the Graph feature.  How?  Graph search allows marketers to learn more about the common likes and interests of Facebook users.  Incorporating hashtags would allow these marketers to tap into the conversations that these users are having about their shared likes and interests.  As a result, they would be able to create highly targeted micro-campaigns. 

As leaders in the search technology space, we’re looking forward to how social networks like Facebook utilize semantic technology to reach hashtags’ full potential.

For more information, read CEO Colin Jeavons’ latest piece in Media Post, available here.  

Last week in New York City, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) hosted the Digital Content NewFronts. Like the traditional UpFronts for TV, the event featured a series of presentations by major content companies to influence advertisers to invest in digital. With digital video consumption on the rise, the online advertising landscape is also rapidly changing to deliver relevant content across multiple screens.

At the NewFronts, IAB and market research institute GFK revealed their 2014 Original Digital Video Study, highlighting statistics about consumer viewing behavior in comparison to 2013. According to the study, 52 million American adults watched original digital video each month, a 15 percent increase from 45 million per month last year. The report also found 46 percent of the people surveyed viewed content on smartphones and 41 percent viewed it on tablets, double of those a year ago. 41 percent of those interviewed cited viewing flexibility as the main reason for watching digital content instead of traditional TV, which explains the rapid transition.

As a result, online video advertising has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. Although television ad spend still dominates, the gap between TV and online ad spend is getting smaller, and IAB projects that advertisers planned to spend more in digital advertising in 2014 than they did in 2012. In addition, industry leaders discussed how video can deliver personalized experiences for individual consumers. New advertising technologies are being refined and ensuring that consumers receive the most relevant ads at the right time.

Publishers and platform providers are giving advertisers more options when it comes to targeting consumers with relevant ads. YouTube rolled out the Google Preferred advertising platform that allows advertisers to deliver pre-rolls during the top 5 percent of the most popular video content. Time Inc. and Yahoo announce that they are producing scripted long form shows at the NewFronts this year. This comes on the heels of an eMarketer study, which revealed that digital video ads that are played during long-form videos (20 minutes or more) had a 92 percent completion rate.

The future is looking bright for digital video. As online video is on track to eclipse $5 billion in 2014 ad spends, now is the time for marketers to consider how to deliver the most engaging, relevant video content to an increasingly digital audience.

At the Search Insider Summit this week, marketing professionals gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges of integrating search marketing into mobile and social media platforms. Our team was on-site to for a first hand look at what the industry was buzzing about.

Taking Mobile and Search to the Next Level

Mobile marketing is now a broad term used for any marketing activity reaching consumers through mobile devices. The summit took the conversation about mobile marketing one step further and focused on in-app advertising as an increasing amount of consumers are flocking to apps rather than mobile browsers. According to an April 2014 report published by mobile analytics company, Flurry, the average U.S. consumer spent 86 percent of their time on mobile devices in apps, an increase from 80 percent from 2013.

The most difficult part of mobile advertising is gathering accurate data and analytics, mainly because it’s difficult for marketers to track consumer behavior across different mobile devices. Apps make the job easier because all consumer engagement and solid data come from within the boundaries of the app. Additionally, MediaBrix found that in-app ads can yield 20 percent engagement and 2000 percent higher click-through.

Socializing Becomes Key

Industry leaders also urged marketers to prioritize the use of social platforms, as social media and marketing have the same ultimate goal: to build relationships. Word of mouth is golden and social media gives marketers a new distribution channel for fans to advocate on the company’s behalf.

In addition, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms host a massive audience. The time users spend on these sites and their respective apps is unmatched. By combining rich, accurate demographics and psychographics with a display network, social media proves to be an ideal destination for search marketers. A study by Marin Software found that there was a “multiplier effect” when integrating search and social. The study reveals, “Consumers clicking on an advertiser’s paid-search and social advertisement will double conversion rates, compared with those who only click on the former. Consumers who click on search and social ads also spend more. The ads generate four times more revenue per click than users who only click on a social ad.”

One challenge that marketers face with social advertising is figuring out how to cater to a diverse audience. However, by using the tremendous amount of consumer data available through social media, marketers can test out different strategies and invest more in the area that is most successful.

Looking Forward

The key takeaway from the Search Insider Summit was loud and clear: there is a wealth of opportunities for search marketers. As consumers increasingly prioritize being digitally connected to the world, the savviest marketers are already discussing how to optimize their campaigns for a better consumer experience in-app and on social.

Vertical Search Works is a search technology company that works with advertisers and publishers to create useful online advertising. By using a semantic search system that better comprehends the intent of users, Vertical Search Works provides its clients with more accurately targeted ad placement.

Technology and the Internet are now part of virtually every aspect of everyday life, and online advertising is now the leading medium for marketing campaigns. Here are some benefits of online advertising over advertising in traditional mediums:

1. Online advertising provides more value for each dollar spent
2. Ads run 24/7, which allows maximum exposure and full-time product visibility
3. Product information can be broadcast to remote locations as long as they are connected to the Internet
4. More information can be presented in a shorter period of time, which reduces the chances of the ad being switched off by the viewer
5. Online advertising provides way to better reach specific demographics
6. Web advertisements can be viewed by the consumer as many times as they wish                            

Search was originally performed with the Boolean expression, which made it possible to find results based on keywords, phrases, and advanced algorithm. Today’s technology has improved giving us Semantic search, which allows us to search based on context rather than keywords and phrases. Machine intelligence can determine the intended meaning of words, making it easier to find, share, and interact with information. Millions of people are already using semantic search and they don’t even know it! The most popular search engines and social networking sites have been using semantic technology as people have become more accustomed to search on the web.

How can we adapt to Semantic technology?

• SEO and SEM strategies are becoming outdated as today’s users want faster, more relevant information
• Content creators need to utilize new strategies in order to survive as the nature of search changes
• Bing, Facebook, and Google have already begun to adapt Semantic search technology into their search engines
• Semantic technology can give machines the ability to interpret the meaning of information and deliver it to us without even having to ask

With the world’s most popular search engines utilizing Semantic technology, it is only a matter of time before Semantic becomes proverbial to both companies and consumers. Learn more about Semantic technology and the benefits it can have on your business in the full article by Colin Jeavons at http://www.searchenginejournal.com/stealthy-rise-semantic-search/

Email marketing is still very much the most successful and cost efficient way to market a business. 75.8% of marketers are using more promotional emails to market their business than they were three years ago. To determine the most effective email marketing campaign for your business, check out these tips:

• Ongoing list generation – don’t lose your contacts!
• Smart list sourcing – create your own list, it takes more time and effort, but it is the most effective
• Simple steps to inbound marketing – get customers to opt in to hear from you by having them sign up for newsletters/blogs
• Social sourcing – utilize social media!
• Understanding unsubscribers – find out why people unsubscribed from your email campaign
• Relevant content – don’t send emails that aren’t relevant to your target market
• Mobile – 43% of emails are opened on mobile devices, keep your emails simple, short, and mobile friendly
• Third-party integration for easy import and tracking – utilize CRM software to help save time and money, track responses, and change account statuses
• Know the sender score – don’t let your emails fall into the spam/junk inbox
• Measurement and analytics – track the total number of opens, clicks per link, bounce rates, unsubscribe rates, and date and time sent

Email marketing is still the most efficient form of marketing in today’s world and using these tips can help you to optimize your email campaign! Check out the full list of tips and many more tricks to having a successful Email marketing campaign at http://www.dmnews.com/email-marketing-still-works/article/323282/

VSW recently announced its acquisition of the demand-side platform (DSP) addGloo, further adding to VSW’s position as the leading semantic technology company. With this acquisition, VSW will continue to lead the way in the online advertising marketplace of integrated search and contextual targeting.

AddGloo focuses on integrating real-time semantic analysis with real-time bidding (RTB) for online display advertising. This technology allows search marketers and display advertisers to target and bid on display ad inventory using keywords, phrases, subjects, and sentiment across the web, as well as mobile and video.

With this acquisition, advertisers will have the ability to maximize their ROI and give them a more efficient way to purchase, execute, and optimize online campaigns with greater relevance and scale via real time bidding. Customers will no longer have to worry about their ads being aligned with content that is irrelevant. This also gives businesses the ability to integrate search with their display campaigns

Utilizing our semantic search technology in combination with addGloo introduces a new approach to targeting online content with superior quality, brand safety, optimizations, and transparency. This highly innovative advertising solution brings new opportunities to VSW and their customers. To learn more about VSW’s acquisition of addGloo, see our press release on Businesswire!

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140415006269/en#.U07VZPldWul

Semantic technology analyzes the context of online articles beyond just the headline. Most keyword search engines only reference the main point of the article, but semantic technology can analyze the context of articles, images, and videos more like a human brain to determine the intended meaning of words to increase relevance.

So why is it important to adopt this technology?

• We are going through a digital advertising revolution! Internet advertising is expected to grow over the next two years, which means advertisers need to utilize new technologies, tools, and practices in order to manage ad campaigns
• Keyword search can often go very wrong without understanding context. Negative brand associations and bad ad placement is a commonality when creating ad campaigns. An example of this is former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick being paired next to dog food ads. This can be awkward and embarrassing for campaign managers and can damage the reputation of the company
• Semantic technology understands context, making it far less likely for a dog food ad to be positioned alongside an article about Michael Vick joining the New York Jets
• Semantic technology allows advertisers to reach their target market by delivering relevant information to social media users
• Advertisers and publishers will no longer have to worry about spending significant time and resources responding to external data points and trends
• Google, Bing and other search engines are adopting to semantic search, while (VSW/Ntent) have been at the forefront of semantic search technology!

Semantic solutions can help advertisers build better, more efficient campaigns and streamline content discovery. Find out more about semantic technology and how it can be used to improve your digital advertising campaign by reading the full article by Colin Jeavons at http://www.searchenginejournal.com/semantic-time-savings-online-advertising/89921/