AdGenesis: An Open Letter to Every Brand - Richard Smullen

"Since the founding of the internet, Brands which have tried to embrace the tantalizing potential of online advertising have consistently been disappointed by the reality of poor and declining results, especially for online display and video advertising. And this is true, even today"

Dear Brand,

I am sure it feels really good to be told that the internet is laced with imagery and videos of you and thankfully for pixel tracking, you kinda believe it.

Well, I wanted to use this opportunity to tell you about a few realities of the online advertising space and what's really happening. Much of what I am about to tell you may contradict what you have been told or are lead to believe but, it's better to learn this now than when it's too late.

First of all, the internet is a 'click and learn' environment. Simply put, everything and anything is accessible with a click. And a click is so valuable. Clicks are a phenomenal way to test whether your message is of interest to those seeing it. When you are told your video or banner's Click Through Rate (CTR) is very low, that is because of two reasons and two reasons only:

1. Very few people saw your video/ad or

2. It was so badly targeted that those that did see it had no interest in it.

We believe that if your ad spend is really being effective, then at least one of every 50displays of your ad should be clicked on ie. 2%. Anything more is excellent performance and very good value.

Secondly, contextual targeting engines make many assumptions. And then fortunately or unfortunately for the user (and you), ads are targeted based on those assumptions. So, if I was looking for an iPad case, and happened to search for one, many ads going forward will be iPad case ads. That's great when I am still looking for one, but not so great once I have bought one. Brand, it is such a waste of money to be displayed in front of someone who is not in the market anymore!

Thirdly, and this is video specific, when you insert an ad as a pre-roll into a video stream, you are appearing to the viewer as a barrier to the content they actually want to watch. In theory, it's a good idea but in reality and because the internet is so 'interactive', it actually annoys consumers. Not quite sure you want to be the brand that 'annoys' consumers.

Fourth, and video specific again, a completed view DOES NOT mean that a consumer paid attention to or even watched it. All it means is that the video played and a pixel fired at the end of the view. One of the best pay for performance units, CPV (Cost per View) could be a waste of money if you have no proof the viewer actually PAID ATTENTION. In all likelihood and judging by the CTR on video, your 'viewer' was actually tweeting, bbm'ing, surfing, facebooking, dozing or day dreaming while your video was playing.

Truth be told Brand, I could go on and on. Technology has meant that any and every tactic has been developed to avoid ads.

The internet is much more intelligent than television and so the art of the science is utilizing this intelligence to deliver video in a more measured, calculated and effective way.

My recommendation to you Brand would be to:

1. Insist from your media planners that the inventory they are securing for your video is targeted at consumers who want your message. This will ensure better Click Through Rates.

2. Then, I would insist on video 'brand lift' studies to see if your video is having a positive or negative brand efficacy.

3. I would then look for video ad networks that make your video the content as opposed to it being the 'obstacle' to the content and lastly and

4. Most importantly, I would look for platforms that GUARANTEE consumers paid full attention to your video. This will not only ensure your message was viewed and absorbedby someone who it was of particular interest to but, it will also provide the same effectas a four or five frequencies of an ad impression.

Now Brand, that would be smart and guaranteed ROI spending on online video.

Regards,

A huge video proponent who believes the internet can deliver unprecedented performance if technology is utilized properly

Richard Smullen (rsmullen@adgenesis.com), is Co-Founder and CEO of AdGenesis LLC, a Video Ad Network that has solved the problem of ads not being viewed by consumers. Utilizing opt-in information from consumers who join the AdGenesis network, AdGenesis matches brands to consumers and delivers them a video experience on their mobiles or the web. This match-making takes place through a number of patent-pending processes that map advertising against a consumer’s “interest graphs” ie. the intersection between social and search that details what consumers are actually interested in. Further unique and patent-pending IP confirms to advertisers whether consumers viewed the video with full attention. And advertisers are only billed if they do.

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