Do advertisers buy in to VoD?

Video on demand remains difficult to monetise for various reasons – there is little traction, few hard or consistent numbers and a lack of investment in technology for advertisers – despite the fact that agencies are showing a growing interest in the platform.

This was the feeling coming out of MediaTel Group’s ‘The Internet Comes to TV’ event in London this morning, in association with Rovi.  However, Sarah Rose, Channel 4’s head of VoD & channel development, said the platform “delivers an incremental opportunity to advertisers – there is less clutter; less competition (as there are fewer ads); and brands get noticed.

“Advertisers certainly want to monetise the platform, although they have been slow off the mark when it comes to creating specific ads for this space.”  Although Rose admitted that the key issue is the lack of measurement.  “There are challenges but we’re not struggling for on-demand advertising… we are choosing not to over-supply to market as we want to maintain a premium for the spots … Advertising is now a critical part of 4oD’s business model,” she added.

Dan Saunders, head of content services at Samsung, agreed that the platform offers an opportunity to advertisers: “I am excited about it… VoD can offer more targeted and engaging ads,” he said, before adding – “it is still very early days though”.

However, informitv’s William Cooper feels that “broadcasters haven’t made enough investment in technology for advertisers… I think it will be a big job to move the industry on from where we are now,” he said.

“It is a chicken and egg situation,” Saunders added.  “The technology is not in place because there is not much demand for it.  Agencies are having to work harder for VoD revenue.”

Panellist Tom Wolfe, senior director, advanced advertising at Rovi, thinks the reason agencies have a hard job when it comes to VoD is because it is difficult to measure, especially when it comes to value.

“The biggest issue is that clients are looking for investment returns… they need engagement and exposure metrics, and they need purchase path data. As an industry we’re not doing enough to work together on this – everyone is operating in silos,” Simon Thomas, strategic systems director EMEA at MEC, agreed.

Also speaking from the audience, the IPA’s research director Lynne Robinson, said that she believed the problem is not a lack of interest from agencies but “there are issues around cost, measurement and availability”.  BARB currently measures on-demand viewing through TVs but watching via a laptop is a very different measurement.  “And of course there are restrictions because it is a sample survey,” Robinson added.  She also agreed that “the bigger VoD gets, the more accountable it will need to be”.

“There is a danger that the industry will end up with different stacks of data that no-one understands or can put together,” BARB’s Bjarne Thelin added, while calling on the manufacturers to be more co-operative with enabling research data to be collected.

Wolfe saw a more positive future despite the issues – “in the next one to two years time, it will be easier for advertisers to buy in to VoD.”

*Full coverage of this morning’s seminar will be available on Newsline tomorrow.