“Consumers today have a shorter attention span than ever before therefore you really have to do all three of this in a seamless way. We believe we bring the best combination of all of these capabilities to the innovative brands out there today that recognize the incredible power of mobile video advertising.” Said Meera Chopra, Global Head of Ad Sales, Vuclip.
MediAvataar India caught up with Meera to know more about the soaring Mobile marketing in our country also to identify Vuclip’s role in pushing it forward. Here is the Q&A….
MediAvataar: Please share few latest innovations and trends in the fast evolving mobile video ads space.
Meera: In February of this year, Cisco issued their Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update and reported that over two-thirds of the world’s mobile data traffic will be video by 2018. Compelling and original mobile video content is an addiction!
People are glued to their phones watching cricket, Bollywood movies, behind-the-scenes bonus clips for films, comedy clips and so forth. As a marketer it’s clear that this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity. We see that mobile video advertising will become mainstream for brands in the immediate future and those brands who are innovative and aggressive in this transition will gain significant first mover advantage and consumer mindshare while the rest of the competition is still figuring out the space.
The technology today is superb for delivering this compelling content across the board to any device on any network in a way that does not buffer. So marketers need to know to seek out this capability from companies such as Vuclip. Can you imagine watching a television ad playing while the television is flickering? If you don’t have the right advertising partner, then that’s basically what you are going to get on mobile.
MediAvataar: How has the mobile ad space evolved from being an intrusive banner ad to something interesting?
Meera: Humans respond best to visual, motion and audio all in one, rather than just one of those in isolation. It is the immersive experience of mobile video that is translating into fantastic brand recall for mobile video ads versus say traditional banner ads.
For example, when Vuclip conducted a campaign last year for a popular toothbrush brand and purchase intent towards the brand was significantly higher post campaign exposure. Brand favorability was 7.9 percent higher among the exposed group compared to the control group, while purchase intent went up by 11.1 percent.
The bottom line is that the amazing user experiences that mobile video ads deliver bring amazing engagement.
MediAvataar: What is the reaction of brands towards this change?
Meera: We see a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from brands such as Perfetti, Old Spice and Airtel. We see brands keenly looking for partners who have core expertise on the mobile platform, achieve the greatest reach and can co-create campaigns with innovative strategies to increase engagement. Brands understand that they have to be innovative and aggressive in this transition to gain a significant first mover advantage, as well as consumer mindshare while the competition is still figuring out the space.
And while consumer goods companies and handset manufactures were early adopters on the Vuclip platform, today Vuclip is working with brands from almost all verticals. Mobile video advertising is going mainstream.
MediAvataar: What are the important characteristics of a good mobile campaign?
Meera: There are three things that were mentioned earlier also apply here:
•Connect with consumers by going where they already are. And they are glued to their mobiles watching compelling mobile video content
•Seek out a top notch technology partner that can target a mobile video ad campaign to the right audience in a way that doesn’t buffer even on constrained networks
•Take advantage of the immersive experience that video offers over just banner ads
Additional points to remember:
•Offer video ads that are original, creative and fun. When ads are more than mere sales pitches, consumers are far more likely to view, enjoy and share with their network. Nothing could be better than an ad going viral. More than 65% of video views on Vuclip happen through social shares.
•Target ads based on gender, location and/or language preference which will make your mobile ads highly relevant to the viewers.
Advertisers need to understand the effectiveness of their campaigns beyond clicks and impressions. Any good mobile advertising campaign should be planned with this aspect in mind and should offer measurement of impact on key brand metrics like brand awareness, purchase intention etc. It’s not always about a zillion impressions; but capturing the attention of the right person for just a few seconds.
MediAvataar: How do you foresee mobile advertisements to grow?
Meera: Accordingly to Gartner, the mobile advertising spending is forecast to reach $18.0 billion in 2014, up from $13.1 billion in 2013. Mobile is fast becoming a screen of choice in mature markets due to the personal nature of devices.
In emerging markets, mobile is often first and the only screen available to consumers. The population has leapfrogged straight to mobile phones and the smart phone market in India is expected to double to 365 million this year. Additionally, the emergence of low cost smartphones and affordable data plans are making viewing videos even more attractive.
Brands are aware of these changes and want to be present where consumers are spending their time. Mobile video ad campaigns can now target this broader audience base and not only at a high-end smart phone user. If you want to read more about some trends in viewer demographics, please check out this recent Millward Brown study. It’s notable that a great number of women from non-metro areas are on mobile video and there are quite a few other interesting points in there.
MediAvataar: What is gamification and how brands today are incorporating it in their marketing marathon? Could you share examples from your clients?
Meera: Gamification is utilizing a game ‘set up’ to engage users and prompts them for a desired action. Gamification has been widely adopted in the mobile platform though apps, online games etc. As far as mobile advertising is concerned it can be a very potent tool for consumer engagement. For example, Vuclip worked with Perfetti to create a custom contest zone titled “Gum Charades” a play on the game of “Dumb Charades” which garnered a whooping 3.4 million video views in just four weeks. Vuclip is also currently working on a couple of additional concepts that will drive viewer engagement through gamification.
MediAvataar: What is your company’s research pattern? What is Vuclip’s innovation track record?
Meera: Vuclip in its journey so far has introduced several breakthrough innovations in technology, advertising and content areas and has grown from 40 million active users in 2013 to over 120 million monthly active users globally. Vuclip’s innovations were recognized by the industry last year where the company won the Mobby’s Award for Best New App at the Mobile Digital and Marketing Summit and the Smarties India Award in the ‘publisher/media company of the year in mobile’ category. Here is a quick round up of our innovations.
Buffer-free video viewing experience:
Video loading times and frequent buffering often exasperate consumers; Vuclip’s breakthrough patent pending Dynamic Adaptive Transcoding TM technology offers consumers a buffer-free experience on any network and any device, making streaming videos fun and easy. Dynamic Adaptive Transcoding enables the simultaneous transcoding or optimization of the content to each specific device and dynamically adapts the video stream to the constantly varying bandwidth of carrier and Wi-Fi networks.
Android app
Our recently updated Vuclip android app now offers a highly personalized mobile video viewing experience through a new sophisticated recommendation engine and exciting social features. The app also offers a compelling offline viewing feature that empowers consumers to view high quality videos at their leisure. It offers a buffer-free experience on any Android smartphone and on any network.
True brand metrics on mobile for the first time
Vuclip has revolutionised measurement on the mobile platform by partnering with leading global research agency Millward Brown. Now Vuclip offers an AdIndex Advertising Effectiveness Study which helps brand advertisers understand the effectiveness of their mobile campaign beyond just the click through rates, illustrating key brand metrics like brand awareness, brand familiarity, mobile ad awareness, brand favourability, and purchase intent.
Vuclip powers the video section of Airtel’s Re 1 Store
Vuclip is the mobile video media partner responsible for the technology, product, analytics, and content aggregation engine for the video section of the Airtel Entertainment Store and others like it that help democratize access to mobile for the masses. The video section allows Airtel customers across India to enjoy thousands of premium content videos starting at just Re. 1 per video.
Similarly, we have partnered with 20 leading carriers to bring mobile videos to the masses in South East Asia, Middle East and India, through many such innovative strategies.
MediAvataar: Tell us about your recent mobile video campaigns on Vuclip
Meera: Vuclip has worked with over 150 leading brands from across verticals including FMCG, fast food, consumer electronics, handset manufacturers, banking and telecom as well as digital agencies. This includes Mountain Dew, Pepsi, HUL, P&G brands, GlaxoSmith Kline, HP, Olx, Canon, Dominos, Panasonic, Airtel, Cadbury’s Perk and many more.
MediAvataar: How can one strike perfect engagement using mobile advertising?
Meera: I would say three things and these also touch on some earlier points:
1.Connect to consumers through their love of compelling mobile video content
2.Ensure that you brand campaign is on a platform that is able to target the right audience with an amazing unbuffered, immersive video experience
3.Think beyond banner ads or a one-off ad and consider broader sponsorships for consumer mindshare
Consumers today have a shorter attention span than ever before therefore you really have to do all three of this in a seamless way. We believe we bring the best combination of all of these capabilities to the innovative brands out there today that recognize the incredible power of mobile video advertising.