Unicast

As you know, we recently welcomed MediaMind Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of integrated digital advertising solutions and the EyeWonder video and rich media advertising unit to the DG family. We share DG’s excitement in broadening our team and scope. Unicast has been a pioneer of innovation in the interactive space, working with the world’s largest publishers on a global scale. Together with MediaMind and EyeWonder, we will further expand our interactive capabilities and the strong service-orientation DG has already established over the years.

The combination of MediaMind, Unicast, and EyeWonder brings together a highly qualified roster of professionals, a complementary footprint of offices worldwide, along with innovative technologies to connect advertisers and agencies with the most desirable audiences on a global basis.

While we integrate with MediaMind and EyeWonder under the MediaMind brand, we encourage you to continue follow our news updates at http://creativezone.mediamind.com/Blog/ or click here to subscribe.

We are proud to announce the results of our Q1 2011 US Analytics Benchmark Report, which provides a performance analysis of the most popular ad formats across multiple industries. This is the fifth straight quarter that a video-related format has been at the top of Unicast’s performance list for interaction rate.

“Unicast’s benchmark analysis program allows us to evaluate and better provide insights on multiple ad formats and creative executions to key publishers, agencies and advertisers” said James Dillon, General Manager for Unicast. “It’s no surprise to us that video-related formats continue to perform so well. The In-Stream format, specifically, is a staple of our business and a format we leverage on behalf of clients globally.”

Key Findings Include:

•  Unicast Expandable Units, ranked second highest in interaction rate while Over-the-Page Units ranked second highest in average engagement time

•  In-Stream Branded Canvas ad formats, which are custom interactive units positioned within full-episode video players, continue their leading performance producing the highest interaction rates and the highest average video view time

•  CPG/Food (59 seconds), Consumer Electronics (48 seconds), and Internet/Services (37 seconds) returned the highest average engagement times of all verticals

Unicast Q1 2011 Analytics Benchmark Report

We are proud to announce the results of our Q4 2010 US Analytics Benchmark Report, which provides a performance analysis of the 12 most popular ad formats across 24 vertical industries. For the fourth straight quarter, video-related formats topped the performance list for interaction rate, with videos that included menu bars featuring expanded options performing best.

Key Findings Include:

•  For the first time in 2010, the home improvement category emerged as the top interactive ad performer. This was fueled by a rise in consumer sentiment, disposable incomes and housing markets in Q4. According to IBISWorld, the value of homeowner improvements was on track to top $177.6 billion in 2010, largely in part to boomers renovating homes to be fully functional and accessible as they ease into retirement as well as an increase in Gen Y home purchases, many of which include renovations for energy efficiencies.

•  Following home improvement, the transportation/shipping and retail verticals led the pack for performance and used IM formats to produce the longest average interaction times of 88 and 66 seconds, respectively. The shipping and retail markets were driven by a strong holiday season that started before Thanksgiving paired with aggressive retail holiday promotions. According to Bloomberg, retailers’ 2010 holiday sales jumped 5.5 percent for the best performance in five years.

•  In-stream branded canvas ad formats, which are custom interactive units positioned within full-episode video players, continued to produce the highest interaction rates and the highest average video view time.

•  For the second straight quarter, Unicast messenger units ranked highest in average engagement time at 104 seconds. As IM continues to evolve beyond basic chat to include features such as voice, video, and social media, this market is projected to grow at an increasingly fast pace. According to IDC, the smartphone market is expected to increase 24.5 percent in 2011, which will lead to more opportunities with mobile IM.

•  Campaigns with the highest interaction rates included trivia games, co-branded content, and creative activities like “painting” the page to keep users engaged for longer periods of time.

Unicast Q4 2010 Analytics Benchmark Report

In 2010, sales figures for the iPhone, Android and iPad continued to grow at a rapid pace and in 2011 I expect the mobile market to create more waves, apps will continue to evolve and social media integration will take full flight.

Only a few days into the New Year and the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is now in full effect and already the news industry is buzzing with the introduction of several new tablet computers, mobile devices and operating systems. Apple announced the release of their new Mac App Store, which brings apps full circle through all of their product lines. Before the year ended, Google also announced the release of their app store which is based solely for their web browser, Chrome. All of these additions are causing drastic shifts in the way consumers go about their daily lives in the simplest ways.

2010 was no doubt the year of the social media boom, hence why Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was named person of the year in 2010. Facebook alone is growing at a rate of about 700,000 people per day and has merged with almost every social fabric around the world. Facebook and Twitter both will continue to become more embedded into corporate websites, which in turn will make it easier for brands to reach their target demographics and higher exposure rates. Location based services, which allow consumers to check-in to a destination once they have arrived, will see more satisfying interactive features such as coupons, special rates and even giveaways. This is an area that has yet to reach its full potential and throughout the year we will see how things pan out.

With the rise of the mobile market we are already starting to see the struggle as to how we access our information. Whether we are on our personal computers, smartphones, tablets or netbooks, the market is being flooded with different media for us to access the information we need. Consumers can now download applications to their smartphones, computers, browsers, and tablets or they can view mobile websites that do not require a software download or regular updating. If none of these options apply to you then perhaps you go with the more traditional approach by visiting the Internet and viewing a “standard” website. All of this begs the question; will we start to see a standard format that will stretch across all platforms? And will we see it this year? Clearly Apple is making a move in that direction by adding the Mac App Store to the mix and making apps accessible in all their products.

More studies are starting to show that if given the choice, users would rather support watching free ad-supported content then paying for it, leaving a huge window of opportunity for ad agencies. By continuing to monitor and use these new platforms, advertisers will find new creative ways to get their message across and generate higher brand exposure.

With 2010 in the rearview mirror, we can be sure that 2011 will bring more exciting news to the digital realm and the advertising industry.

The Unicast Business Intelligence team has compiled general benchmarks related to campaigns served in the US during Q3 of 2010. These benchmarks are assessed across all Unicast tagged campaigns and are tracked across individual formats and verticals. This report provides a summary of the engagement and interaction performance of 24 different vertical industries and 12 online ad formats.

Key Findings Include:

•Branded canvas ad formats, which are fully custom interactive units positioned within full-episode video players, continue their leading performance, producing the highest interaction rates and the highest average video view time.

•Unicast messenger units, which are served in instant messaging platforms, ranked second highest in interaction rate and highest in average engagement time.

•Unicast branded canvas and messenger units have been the top performing formats to date in 2010.

•The retail vertical used branded canvas and messenger formats to produce the longest average interaction time at 77 seconds.

•Restaurants used branded canvas and messenger formats to have the second-highest engagement time of 52 seconds.

•Beverage/Spirits and Finance/Insurance verticals produced the highest average interaction rate for all ads served across verticals.

Unicast Q3 2010 Analytics Benchmark Report

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a panel at the Online Video Platform Summit at Streaming Media West discussing video analytics and the state of measurement. The primary theme centered around what key metrics should advertisers and content providers focus on when using video. The opinions varied but there was consensus around one thing, there are no clear definitions of success that can be broadly applied to all video. Each video is unique and its purpose could be anything from entertainment, to education to commerce and the measurement strategy needs to mirror these objectives. Key metrics need to be dialed up or down depending on the objectives but overall the key metrics are still some of the tried and true measurements like time spent, engagement and completion rates.

A secondary topic was how to use the key metrics and the performance model to drive change and optimize the video. Layering in additional knowledge on the user such as geo-location and profile data can enable customization of the content to ensure interest and action. This leads into dynamic content capabilities and bringing the potential to tailor the video experience at the user level. Dynamic content is not a new concept but applying it in the video space is a key advancement for the industry and a great victory for the business intelligence community to be such an integral part of the creative process.

The concept of tracking everything is giving way to focusing on a few metrics and leveraging those to make improvements. The panel left me thinking that really we should be equally concerned with what not only what we are measuring but also what we are doing with those key metrics to make our campaigns and content better.

The Unicast Business Intelligence team has compiled general benchmarks related to campaigns served in the US during Q2 of 2010. These benchmarks are assessed across all Unicast tagged campaigns and are tracked across individual formats and verticals. This report provides a summary of the engagement and interaction performance of 24 different vertical industries and 12 online ad formats.

Key Findings Include:

•Instant Messenger continues to be a top performing platform, ranking second highest in interaction rate at 9.04% and highest in average engagement time at 68 seconds.

•Technology, Home Improvement and Restaurants used pushdown formats to produce the longest average engagement times at 42 seconds, 38 seconds and 27 seconds, respectfully.

•The Restaurant vertical produced the highest average interaction rate with 24.94%, followed by Health Care/Beauty with 16.33% and Beverage/Spirits with 12.80%.

Unicast Q2 2010 Analytics Benchmark Report

I wrote a blog post earlier this year about Google getting into the ISP space and providing ultra high speed connections for ultra low prices. For me, this was/is a shot across the bow of the cable companies to let them know that they aren’t the only game in town and that a provider with increased speed could really disrupt the marketplace on many levels. A higher speed connection paves the way for streaming HD content to your computer or any other network enabled device. The trend toward streaming content is happening right now and if the recent data from comScore is any indicator, it is only going to continue.

At present, what is missing is the content. While I love watching The Owl Cam, the depth of content is pretty shallow at present. Building an ad supported model will significantly help spur this trend along. Once advertisers and publishers can see value and profits, we will see a dramatic shift toward more streaming content and viewing models. Those who want to subscribe to specific content can but the majority will opt for the ad supported free model.

The audience is growing and waiting and it will be interesting to see who is bold enough to take the lead in this new space.

According to a recent AdAge article, the FTC looks to be recommending the creation of a “Do not track” list in favor of full blown legislation to address the topic of behavioral targeting online. This list will work in a similar fashion to the “Do not call” list in that if you sign up, your online behavior will not be collected by websites or advertisers for use in behavioral targeting. Behavioral targeting is what allows advertisers and publishers to recommend products or serve ads based on your previous behavior. Like the outdoors? Here is an ad for the latest kayak. Like golf? Here is the club that hits the ball straight every time. The anonymous collection of online behavior and feeding that information to a recommendation engine is a great advancement for online advertisers and publishers. It allows each to establish a better connection with the user. Changing how these publishers use this data could eventually mean a decrease in commerce, site visitors and ad dollars should this “do not track” list really take hold.

I’m not too worried about the advertisers and publishers but what concerns me is that this list could have a major impact on your overall web experience. Put yourself on this list and websites using behavioral targeting to learn from your activity will no longer be able to do so. Like the outdoors? Here is an ad for toothpaste. Like golf? Here’s a book on the therapeutic benefits of knitting.

The idea of this list may make some sleep better at night knowing that they are not being tracked and I get that, but when they wake up in the morning they shouldn’t complain about their “new” web experience which will be one of limited product recommendations, broad based advertising and an overall “middle-of-the-road” experience. Personally, that doesn’t sound all that great to me.

Giving users the choice to opt out is probably the right thing to do. Hopefully few will do it and the industry can continue making advancements and tailoring your web experience to fit you.

At the current time, the general model for successful internet marketing and revenue generation consists of engaging users with brand messages and ultimately persuading them to take a call to action to purchase a good or service, either online or off. However, emerging technologies, increasing internet traffic, and the growing popularity of social networking has opened the door to a $5.5 billion dollar virtual commerce industry that could possibly have large ramifications to the future of online marketing and product sales.

For those unfamiliar with virtual commerce, it is described as the exchange of virtual goods or “gifts” as they are most popularly known amongst Facebook users. In other words, virtual commerce is the exchange of pixels for fake money (which must be bought with real money). Americans spent roughly $400 million on virtual goods last year, and this number is only expected to increase, especially following this week’s news of Facebook fostering a partnership with Malaysia-based MOL Global, a company specializing in virtual currencies. The entire industry is only two years old with much of the revenue and research coming out of Asia, but current trends seem to follow real world trends for consumer products, the laws of supply and demand, and the “Invisible Hand” of economics if you will.

For example, a luxury “out of production” Golden Halo, which can be worn by characters in the online world of Gaia Online, recently sold for $6,000 on eBay. To say that virtual goods will continue to follow these trends is probably jumping the gun, but it will be interesting to see how this online community develops in regards to security and how currencies can be exchanged across social networking platforms, dating sites, and other areas of the internet.

As virtual goods become more popular and user friendly, it is only a matter of time before advertisements with an immediate call to purchase within an ad unit emerge. For example, an ad featuring a virtual good with all of the necessary purchasing fields and a “Buy Now” button is a conceivable option. For now the virtual goods industry is still in it’s infancy, and not capable of making waves in the larger pool of digital marketing, but if people are willing to pay $400 million for “products” that cost a company virtually nothing, you better believe developers will be willing to spend money on game changing ways to market them online.