Leveraging video for brand building

Video advertising has emerged as a crucial platform in the digital advertising space

Let's look at some numbers to begin with. India's online video consumption has doubled to 3.7 billion views per month in the last two years, according to Comscore. The report adds that the total online video audience in India has grown by 74 per cent to 54 million viewers per month, as of last year.

Additionally, the mobile TV ecosystem, the new 'primetime', has grown from 1 million users in the last quarter of 2012 to 10 million users in the last quarter of 2013. All these figures point to one fact: Video cannot be ignored as the tool of choice to boost brand recognition.

For reaching a fragmented audience and engaging them, video is obviously the most effective brand builder. Its ability to cultivate brand awareness and drive recall makes it one of the most promising formats in this scheme of things. But while digital does pack a punch, its five fingers are not created equal.

So, how can brands leverage video?
Location, location, location: Like location in real estate, the most important decision in the case of video is its content publishers. Where and how to distribute the video is an important question when it comes to leveraging the medium for building brand identity.

Platforms are important too: Mobile video-on-demand is rapidly catching up via various apps that have come up. We see high engagement and ROI on mobile apps like Colors 'Comedy Night with Kapil', 'Bigg Boss' and 'DID' and online sports sites. Brands which build on both TV and online strategies have consistently witnessed higher brand recall and a more defined brand perception, as measured by Nielsen.

ROI real-time: For example, Youtube is the 11th largest channel when put in perspective with TV. A Vdopia IPL or T20 World Cup package sees brands place ads across key premium sports properties. So, instead of having ads on one site, we allow brands to go across sites, manage the impressions and re-allocate the ad to sites that do well in real time.

Make it beautiful: With the consumer at the heart of the digital experience, brands can be innovative and try multiple options. From the standard pre-roll to the video takeovers, skinning to interactive videos, video allows consumers to connect back with the brands by combining the disciplines of direct and brand marketing to deliver accountable 'brand response' approach.

Connect the dots: Online video audience can be defined as upscale, 75 per cent is less than the age of 35 years and tech savvy. Brands can connect via different styles of videos which cut across culture, literacy and language. For example, an FMCG brand wanted to test user perception of its launch product. They added a simple interactive survey at the end of the video advertisement and got feedback that helped drive branding. Video can help brands get a deep understanding of their consumers by responding to or predicting behaviours. While brands may find it challenging to leverage emerging platforms, they must understand consumers' video consumption behaviours and the pattern of device usage.

Preetesh Chouhan, VP, APAC, Vdopia