Posts tagged video
Taking an Augmented Reality check
Aug 19th
Bruce Townsend of ecommerce software specialist, Actinic.
While on holiday in Dorset recently, my family and I visited the Fleet Air Arm Museum and went round its ‘Aircraft Carrier Experience’. This uses tricks with sound, light, video and robotics to try to reproduce the feeling of being on an aircraft carrier, in what’s basically a large hangar. It was good fun and quite interesting – certainly worth the visit.
But was it actually anything like the real thing? I sincerely doubt it.
It reminded me somewhat of a sexy new medium that’s attracting a lot of attention at the moment – ‘Augmented Reality’. The term describes the use of technology to add digital information to a real-life experience. Perhaps the most familiar example is the heads-up display used in aircraft and some higher-end cars.
What’s more interesting is the recent introduction of more down-to-earth uses. When you see adverts overlaid on a pitch during a soccer match broadcast, for example, that’s Augmented Reality. Other uses are beginning to appear on mobile phones. For example, install the Layar app and point your phone camera at a location or venue, and the image will be overlaid with information about it. Or install Shazam and point your phone at any music broadcast, and the software will tell you what track is playing and who it’s by.
It all sounds very promising from a marketing point of view, but maybe we need an Augmented Reality Check here. The technology is still quite limited, and the user experience on everyday hardware is pretty poor. Do you really want to view the world through a 4” mobile screen?
The camera app is a clever gimmick, but it doesn’t really offer any advantage over Google Maps in terms of the information it provides. The level of adoption is dramatically lower, and likely to remain so.
Five years ago, the prediction was that every business would be able to advertise on the red button within five years. That great hope hasn’t materialised yet. So we probably shouldn’t get too excited about this new one, either. Marketing efforts are best targeted towards widely used media, without being distracted into new avenues that may turn out to be blind alleys.
Twitter still evolving and experimenting with digital media ad space
Jul 27th
Twitter has unveiled a whole host of new features over the past six months, but could this new surprise be the icing on the cake?
Remember about a year ago when Twitter co-founder and CEO Biz Stone said that 2010 would be the micro-blogging site’s revenue year?
Finally the site has delivered something compelling enough that could see that wish, I mean, assertion, come to fruition.
The social site has just added a new feature that will allow Twitter users to upload videos and other media to their tweets. That also could mean video advertising…
‘Tweet Media’, is: “By default, you’ll only see images and videos shared by people you’re following, and reveal those by people you’re not. Check this box to see media from everyone on Twitter,” describes Twitter.
The feature will enable the embedding of multimedia into the stream. It comes after a string of other innovations this year such as Promoted Tweets – which is already earning the site much need advertising revenues.
The ‘media’ approach is though contrary to the ethos of the site. Adding embeddable media to the stream has the potential to complicate the traditionally simple, 140-characters-of-text aesthetic of the network. This may have something to do with why Twitter has now removed the feature.
Mashable unearthered ‘Tweet Media’ earlier today. But when we went poking around we discovered the feature no longer existed.
Here’s the line from Twitter (from Mashable) “We’re constantly exploring features and settings. What you saw was a small test of a potential consumption setting for inline media.”
Twitter also notes that this feature is already a part of both the official apps for iPhone and Android, as well as for certain third-party Twitter apps.
But it’s worth remembering that many users already share photos and videos – either via TwitPic or their other more ‘social’ networks such as Facebook. However, it could be a golden opportunity for advertisers looking for cut-through on the site.
Does the Twitter feed need media? Or, an even better question is, who is still using Twitter anyway?
With so many users, Twitter needs to do something more compelling not just to attract revenues, but to attract creative ads that get people to stop and watch.
Make your own Google ad
Apr 14th
Following the huge success of its ‘Parisian Love’ campaign (which also played during the Superbowl this year), Google has launched a video creation tool that will allow web users to create similar videos.
The search engine giant has said that it is humbled by how much people liked the ad and although making videos out of Google searches isn’t exactly on par with Hollywood film-making, it can end up being just as entertaining.
On its official blog, Google explains: “All you need to do is type in your Google searches, pick some music and — presto! — you’ve got your very own Search Story to share with your friends or showcase on our YouTube channel.
“And who knows, if people really like your Search Story, it may end up in a place you never dreamed.”
Here’s a video ‘how to’ guide:
Absolut caught out by ‘I’m Here’ online film fans
Apr 9th
Vodka company Absolut had an idea. That brainwave may have come in the sauna (with the company being Swedish). Or perhaps during a roll in the snow.
But it was a very good idea. The idea was to work with acclaimed film director, Spike Jonze, and the result was a 30-minute robot love story film entitled, ‘I’m Here’.
It was released in January 2010, at imheremovie.com but unfortunately – or perhaps more fortunately – has been an overwhelming success.
According to the vodka folks ‘I’m Here’ is screened every two hours on imheremovie.com, limited to just 5,000 viewers per day, the capacity of the site is now to be expanded to 12,000 a day.
In it’s first weekend of release the online movie theatre apparently clocked up 230,000 unique visitors alone.
“’I’m Here’ marks an evolution of our commitment to creativity, and I’m very happy about the great interest in this film. It is a beautiful story and a fantastic piece of art,” said Vice President Global Marketing at The Absolut Company, Anna Malmhake.
Seen in the worst light, it could be just a load of spin from Absolut. But there are widen implications.
It’s a reflection of just how viewing habits online are growing. In fact as we’ve already reported on UTalkMarketing, Online video is medium of choice for marketers in 2010
Why? Well it’s all down to the growth of broadband across the UK.
Absolut obviously knew the film was going to be popular. Otherwise they’d never have commissioned it in the first place.
They’ve also been driving traffic by integrating the project on Facebook, making it possible for social networkers to see the film together with friends.
But it looks like they underestimated just how popular it might be.
Lessons to be learnt?
Marketers should never underestimate the potential appeal of online video
Get it right and 230,000 unique visitors could be engaging with your brand over just one weekend too.
With the costs of video production falling too, there are no excuses for not making the leap into digital celluloid.
We’ve even got some top tips on How to produce video that delivers on a tight marketing budget here
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