Cosmetics Firms Diving Into Web Advertising "In-Stream," YuMe Says
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
The beauty industry seems to have found a rewarding medium for targeting consumers with promotional material, judging by companies' aggressive spending on in-stream Internet ads through YuMe
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The beauty industry seems to have found a rewarding medium for targeting consumers with promotional material, judging by companies' aggressive spending on in-stream Internet ads through YuMe. According to Redwood City, Calif.-based YuMe, which bills itself as the Web's "largest dedicated video advertising network," the beauty industry led spending among all its clientele from January to September, accounting for 18.6 percent of in-stream ad dollars overall. YuMe's management platform helps marketers maximize their return on online ads. Unilever brands Dove (skin care), Degree (deodorants and antiperspirants) and Axe (men's grooming) were among the most avid users of in-stream ads within the cosmetics arena, according to YuMe. The household products industry was second in dollars spent (14.7 percent), followed by automobiles (10.3 percent) and food (10 percent), YuMe notes in a metrics report dated November 2009. The report monitored three billion ad impressions placed by YuMe between January and September 2009. The in-stream ads mostly consisted of pre-roll spots (those that play prior to an online program) but also included overlay ads - those running in a small window while the program plays - and banner ads. During an Oct. 30 interview with "The Rose Sheet," YuMe VP-Marketing Molly Glover Gallatin suggested several reasons why in-stream ads are so popular with cosmetics marketers. She noted that cosmetics companies already spend a lot relative to other industries on TV ads, so they have the assets and resources to transfer to an in-stream format. Additionally, by using a service such as YuMe, beauty marketers "can get better targeting and contextual relevance" since it "marries the best of both worlds - the sight, sound and motion of TV plus advanced targeting and measurement afforded by the Internet," the exec said. The targeted nature of Internet advertising may appeal particularly to cosmetics marketers because - unlike categories such as sports-related products and food - there are few TV programs dedicated solely to beauty. But with in-stream ads beauty brands can match their messages with similarly themed programming. For example, a program on how to apply makeup would be fitting for an in-stream ad promoting a cosmetic product. ScanScout is another provider of video ad management services. The firm recently spoke with "The Rose Sheet" about its "interactive" Super Pre-Roll ads, which it says improve the pre-roll experience by actively engaging consumers (1 (Also see "Unilever/Vaseline Ups Ante In Web Marketing With Interactive Pre-Roll Ads" - HBW Insight, 19 Oct, 2009.)). Meeting Customers Where They Browse YuMe says it finds the best Web pages for advertising online by matching marketers' products with appropriate programming, choosing space from among 400 online publishers including NBC, MSN and Fox. The company also uses a "behavioral targeting" program that tracks the browsing habits of viewers and their search histories to identify "highly qualified audiences based on purchase intent," according to the firm. Thus, YuMe "delivers relevant content to consumers who are already in the market for a particular product or service," it says. For example, auto manufacturers can target video ads only to viewers who recently compared car prices online or searched for a specific make or model, YuMe says. YuMe then tracks the campaign to keep marketers informed about how an ad is performing, specifically the click-through rate, how many people saw the ad, which tabs are being activated, etc. ScanScout performs a similar function. "At the end of the day we'll see what is working and what's not working," said YuMe's Glover Gallatin. YuMe also gives clients the ability to track their own campaigns through its AdMe technology. With AdMe, marketers can "centrally measure and manage" their ad initiatives from a desktop to determine which of their ad placements are live the day a campaign launches, assess how a campaign is pacing against delivery goals and receive alerts when a campaign is underperforming, YuMe said. In addition to proposing ways to make online promotional efforts more effective for advertisers, YuMe also is continually seeking methods to make the in-stream ad experience more enjoyable for viewers, Glover Gallatin noted. Conscious that many viewers dislike the idea of ads incorporated into their viewing experience, Glover Gallatin says the key to acceptance is choosing the right ads for the right content and audience. Ad length is an important consideration, she said. "A 30-second spot should not be placed before a one-minute programming clip, whereas if you put a 30-second spot in front of a 30-minute TV program, it is worth it to the viewer to sit through the ad." The viewer also is less likely to be repelled by an ad featuring content closely related to the program he or she set out to view. "If the viewer is looking at a video on fashion and entertainment, it makes sense to them to see an ad by L'Oreal," she reasoned. Glover Gallatin said the average video completion rate for the company's clients' ads is about 70 percent. In-Stream Vs. Traditional Banner While banner ads will likely be around for the foreseeable future, YuMe maintains that in-stream advertising is the wave of the future in online marketing. In-stream ads are considerably more successful than traditional banner ads, YuMe said, citing data indicating that the click-through rate for in-stream ads is about 0.74 percent, while the rate for non-video ads is roughly 0.09 percent. - Eileen Francis ( 2 [email protected] ) |