By Irfon Watkins, Founder & CEO, Coull
For online or mobile content, it is clear that video has become the consumer’s medium of choice, with many companies like Cisco predicting that online video viewing will increase 15 times as much as current levels in the next two years. Why is this? Well, the reason is simple: Video, with its audiovisual format, is simply more engaging than any other type of content. It’s a form of content that travels well and is easily consumable on a variety of devices. In short, video doesn’t ask much of the viewer, but gives a lot back in a short amount of time.
With competition for the consumer dollar in the retail industry growing more and more each day,video is now becoming a key part of any brand’s consumer reach. And 2014 will be the year that online retailers have to recognize the value of video as a fundamental sales channel.
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For brands and retailers, there’s two ways to go about utilizing video. The most common is a branding play, seeding online video advertising to promote brand awareness of products and offers.
While effective, this form of marketing often fails to deliver the direct response that drives sales. What is becoming more important is the role third-party video plays in consumer research journeys. Products previews, teasers, reviews and comparisons by trusted publishers are often the content that tips a consumer from interest to intent. After all, why read tons of articles on a specific product when you can watch a video that shows you everything you need to know?
If retailers can connect interested video viewers with their e-Commerce platforms when their purchase intent is triggered or reinforced, they can give consumers a direct way to take the natural next step in their customer journey.
Coull recently worked with a major British supermarket chain to integrate contextual advertisements for their tablet product within publisher video content on technology sites such as Techradar and T3. The campaign drove a click-through rate of 3.4% to their e-Commerce site, demonstrating the strength of contextual relevance in e-Commerce advertising.
The goal for retailers should be to target consumers at the point where their purchase intent is highest. Not by being retargeted five days or two weeks after someone has visited your web site, but while they are in the process of researching the product you sell. Advertisers need to give consumers a way to take the natural next step in their consumer journey, direct from trusted content to trusted retailers.
The possibilities are endless for retailers today, and we’re just now starting to see the results of interactive, video-driven advertising campaigns that have true, meaningful results.
Irfon Watkins created Coull because he believed that video was the next great marketing medium. However, Watkins believed passively watching content wasn’t good enough. He wanted to reach in and find out more about what was on screen from within the video itself. It was this idea that eventually came to life as Coull.
