Digital video: Next big marketing opportunity

By Surajit Agarwal Why this Kolaveri di made Internet history when it released in November 2011. The funky song racked up 1.5 million views in its first week. Kriti, a short film, racked up close to 3 million views since its launch four days ago. Yet that number is not a big deal for the film’s female lead Radhika Apte. Radhika has acted in a number of short films with multi-million views, including Ahalya and The Day After. She is not the only one to rack up such numbers. A search on YouTube for Indian short movies will throw up a wide variety of movies created by well known directors to unknown film makers armed with a camera and an idea. A number of these films have views in the millions, some even in the tens of millions. Comedy, sports (especially cricket), songs, web-only serials are other popular formats that rack in millions of views. India, like the rest of the world, is embracing video on the web, making it the single most popular form of content online. Cisco estimates that video traffic will account for 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic by 2020. Close to 70 percent this traffic will come via mobile or wireless devices. The mobile opportunity is not lost on the major players video platforms. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced a live stream feature for its native mobile app at the recently concluded Vidcon 2016. YouTube also launched YouTube Director, a video ad-creation tool aimed at SMBs that allows them to film professional video ads from their phone. The tool is currently available only on the iOS platform, though an Android release is expected soon. Facebook too announced a couple of enhancements to Facebook live at Vidcon. The first one allows for two people to stream from two different locations, like an interview, and the other is a waiting room that lets users hang out before the live stream begins. While Periscope, owned by Twitter, did not have any big announcements at Vidcon it grabbed headlines when Democrats, in the House of Representatives, used the app to live stream their protest against Republicans for not bringing gun control legislation up for a vote after the mass shooting in Orlando. The Republicans, who control the house, cut the video feed, but the protesting Democrats turned to Periscope and later Facebook live to get details of the protest out. All this creates the next big marketing opportunity, that of digital video advertising. Digital advertising accounts for around Rs 7300 crore of the Rs 57,000 crore ad spends across different platforms in 2016. While it is the fastest growing ad medium, growing 45% this year, overall it lags behind TV and prints in terms of total ad spend. However, the growing viewership of digital video creates opportunities that do not exist on other platforms. Ajay Chhabra, Chief Digital Officer of Digital Media Agency BGV Digital says “We will see a lot more of interactive videos. Video on web allows brands to create content beyond simple advertising. Stuff like explainer videos, product demos, service videos etc will become more easily accessible on digital platforms.” Ashok Lalla, Digital and Marketing Advisor, while optimistic of the growth of digital video says “though 4G will help deliver video content more easily, the number of people accessing content via 4G will be limited in the near term. Unreliable and slow net connections will remain for some time. Content creators need to be more imaginative in how they develop and deliver the content. Shorter videos are one way to use the medium without sucking up bandwidth or frustrating users with endless buffering.” While the growth of digital video consumption is a huge opportunity, the challenges of making the most of this medium remain. Digital Marketing experts say there are three key hurdles that need to be overcome. Cost and Quality of Content: Yuzdi Badhniwalla, Founder of Digital Agency Dimaag, says “cost of content creation is a challenge. There is also a dearth of talent, especially outside the big movie making hubs. A bad text or visual ad is not nearly as harmful as a badly made video. I tell my clients that if they can’t afford to get it right it’s better to stick to images and text. Speed of Execution and Integration: Ashok Lalla says the biggest challenge is “creating quality content quickly. The ability to include video into various digital user streams seamlessly is not consistent across all marketers. Finally, the issue of bandwidth access affects the use of digital video across India. Traditional Mindset: Despite the consistent growth of digital ad spends, Ajay Chhabra says “the biggest challenge is getting media planners to give up their traditional mindsets and look at innovation and new platforms like digital video. Eventually the decision to move to digital video will come down to ROI. Given current ad spend levels on digital video, companies that move first can get the advantage of lower rates and increased ROIs. A study by marketing consultancy firm Data2Decisions found online video delivers almost 50% greater ROI than TV advertising. Case closed. The author blogs about digital marketing.