July 2015 | Page 11 of 17

Nailing Down the Perfect Length For Video Content

July 14, 2015, 12:00AM

Online video has come a long way over the years, moving into “prime time” territory and generating a large viewership amongst adults and kids alike, especially on mobile. However, there are certain things to consider when it comes to producing quality video content – and length plays a big part.

A new article posted by Ad Age points out four considerations that need to be taken when it comes to determining the right amount of length for video content. “Viewers are seeing video content in more places by more brands than ever before,” says the article. “And because of this, their attention spans are getting shorter and their expectations are becoming greater. Marketers have just 10 seconds to capture and engage an audience before they continue to scroll down or click away; and engagement drops off significantly beyond that. If you have not fully engaged your audience after the first 30 seconds, you’ve likely lost 33 percent of viewers; and after one minute, 45 percent of viewers have stopped watching.

Obviously there are some examples where video is more eye-catching. For instance, yesterday, Warner Bros. released the first trailer for next year’s anti-superhero movie Suicide Squad, based on the DC Comics property of the same name. It’s generated millions of views over the last 24 hours, proving that attention can be kept with the right kind of video.

That said, Ad Age broke down the four key factors for companies to consider when it comes to nailing down the right video length. These can be found below.

What type of content are you offering
“Great content comes in all forms and lengths, and a good video library includes a variety of content types,” says the article. “For example, a fun, entertaining video is best in a shorter, easily digestible length, while documentary-style branded content can be longer (upwards of two minutes). And don’t shy away from those long-form videos. A TED Talk-style presentation can be great for those really engaged on a topic or brand. For longer stories, consider breaking them up in a way that makes sense to create several episodes.”

How and where is the audience viewing the video
Says the article, “The device and platform on which your content is delivered is one of the most important considerations when determining how long your video should be. When sharing on social, keep it short. Facebook’s auto-playback feature makes 30 to 45-second videos optimal; while Vine and Instagram have fueled the demand for less-engineered, ‘micro-videos’ that are 15 seconds or less.

“In terms of video hosts, if you house your content on YouTube or Vimeo, viewers are open to watching longer, more stylized videos. Each platform has benefits and considerations, such as ads or competing content, that play an important role in the need for a good user experience in your video marketing.”

What expectations does your audience have
“The appetite and attention span of viewers vary depending what they expect from your video,” said the article. “Cues like titles and image previews set these expectations, and ultimately determine how long a viewer is willing to watch. A more formal title leads the viewer to assume the video is longer and more comprehensive, while a short leads the audience to think that the brevity of the title will carry over to the length of the video. The image a viewer sees when they click on a video is also important. Consider these points when selecting a preview image:

An image of a person or people: This implies to the viewer that they’re getting something fun and light — and likely short.
An image of a product: Images of products tend to see a lower click-through rate. Use these types of images for customers who already know your brand and want to spend time with you.
Screen text: If the feature image is text, the viewer likely assumes he or she will be learning something, therefore spending more time engaged.”

What action do you want the viewer to take
Finally, the article pointed out, “What you want the viewer to do or take away from your content will also help determine the right length – as well as how to structure the calls to action within your video. The hallmark of good video content is a well-designed user experience. To figure this out, ask these questions to help you deduce how much time they’ll invest with your video:

Do I want to simply entertain the viewer
Do I want them to take an action (sign up for an email list, purchase a product, share this content, etc.)
Do I want to educate this consumer or prospect

“Let this also determine at what point in the video to insert a call to action. When you want a viewer to take action, don’t wait until the end – put it in the first 10 seconds,” it said.

“And finally, use analytics to monitor how your content is being received. Determine which videos users are engaging with most, what platforms are seeing the highest amount of viewers, and at what point in your video viewers are dropping off. Set KPIs and use learnings to continue to tweak and elevate your video content performance.”

Android Vs. iOS Battle Heats Up In China

BY Peter Warman

July 14, 2015, 12:00AM

China’s mobile games market will reach $6.5 billion in revenues this year, more than one fifth of the $30.1 billion generated worldwide. This positions China as the world’s biggest market for smartphone and tablet games, ahead of the US with an anticipated $6.0 billion in revenues this year. China is on the strategic radar of every global game company, but many Western publishers are still seeking the best strategy to penetrate this extremely dynamic market. Until now, the market lacked a single source of data on the Chinese mobile landscape covering both the iOS and Android ecosystem. Today, market analytics firm Newzoo and TalkingData, China’s leading provider of mobile intelligence, announce a world-first monthly report that covers performance of all device brands, app stores, games, genres and publishers: The China Mobile Games Monitor.

Local Chinese Android Stores Take 12 percent of The Global Market
Globally, Google Play will take 38 percent of the pie, while other Android app stores will account for 18 percent of total revenues. Most impressively, local Android app stores in China alone will generate revenues of $3.6 billion in 2015, or 12 percent of the global mobile games market. Globally, iOS will account for 42 percent of worldwide revenues, or $12.5Bn, of which $2.3Bn will come from China. The remaining $600 million from China’s mobile games market is generated by Google Play and feature phones. The seemingly fragmented Android ecosystem in China makes many developers reluctant to tap into the enormous revenues generated outside Google Play and iOS. However, a data-driven app store strategy, including penetration, usage and crossover of stores, is necessary to optimize monetization and maximize reach with minimum effort and resources. In fact, the China Mobile Games Monitor shows that more than half of Chinese mobile gamers can be reached by focusing on three to four local stores out of the list of more than 20. Thus, this dynamic app store ecosystem is becoming less fragmented and more inviting than ever for publishers.

Apple Gains Market Share in China as Active iOS Devices Surpass 250 million
With 257 million active devices and a 32 percent coverage rate in China in May 2015, Apple is China’s top brand in devices used. Samsung and Xiaiomi, China’s second and third brands, both have less than half of Apple’s usage numbers. Newzoo’s recent financial analysis also revealed that Apple generated more than $37 billion in China in 2014, making it the top technology brand in China by revenues. As a reference, Apple’s turnover was double that of Huawei and Lenovo and almost three times that of Tencent and Xiaomi in their home market. According to the China Mobile Games Monitor, the iPhone 6 surpassed the iPhone 5s just this May as the most used iOS device in China. Illustrative of Apple’s successful move to bigger screens is the fact that the iPhone 6 Plus took third position following a month-on-month jump of 27 percent, or an astounding additional 10 million devices used, compared to April. These recent developments will most probably lead to an upward adjustment of projected iOS game revenues for China.

Tencent #1 Publisher in China by Revenues; Blizzard Climbs The Ranks
Tencent, the world’s number one company by game revenues, is the unchallenged top grossing publisher in China on both iOS and Android. The China Mobile Games Monitor shows that in May 2015, Tencent published 29 of the top 100 grossing Android games and 59 of the top 100 grossing iOS games. Additionally, Tencent’s Myapp surpassed 360 Mobile Assistant as the number one app store by installs in China in May 2015, with its store installed on 26 percent of Android devices and used by close to 20 percent of all Android users in that month. NetEase generated the second highest revenues in iOS in May 2015, driven by the mobile version of its blockbuster RPG Meng Huan Xi You (Fantasy Westward Journey) while in Android, iDreamSky is runner-up to Tencent. Western publishers also saw success; Blizzard jumped five spots to become the ninth grossing iOS publisher while Supercell has held the number five position for the last few months. As the popularity of Minecraft has exploded this year in China, Mojang is the most successful Western company that publishes directly into the Android app stores.

The China Mobile Games Monitor; A Newzoo/TalkingData Joint Product
The China Mobile Games Monitor is a new service developed by market analyst Newzoo and Chinese mobile intelligence leader TalkingData. The report is the world’s first single source of data on the complete Chinese mobile landscape, covering all operating systems, device brands, app stores, game genres, games and publishers month-on-month performance. The monthly report aims to be the ultimate resource for companies that want to enter the Chinese mobile games market, prioritize and optimize local sales and marketing for those already active in China, as well as benchmark performance with competitors in terms of revenues, channels and in-game metrics. The service consists of a basic report available for $17,990 for 12 months and a premium service priced at $47,990 for a full year.

About TalkingData
TalkingData is China’s largest independent Big Data service platform with focus on the mobile Internet. TalkingData offers the best-in-class Big Data products and services varying from mobile app analytics, mobile ad tracking, mobile game analytics, mobile market intelligence, DMP (Data Management Platform), industry consulting, etc. Today, 80 percent of the Top 50 developers in China rely on TalkingData to track their app metrics, analyze user data points, and optimize monetization. Industry giants such as China Merchants Bank, Citic Bank, Ping An Group also rely on TalkingData’s enterprise Big Data solution to build their core data infrastructure towards the mobile era.

Contact
Grace Meng
Global Business Manager
yuanyuan.meng@tendcloud.com

About Newzoo
Newzoo is an innovative global market research and predictive analytics firm with a primary focus on games. Newzoo provides its clients with a mix of market trends, financial analysis, revenue projections, consumer insights, data modelling solutions and predictive analytics services across all continents, screens and business models. Newzoo works for the majority of top 25 public companies by game revenue globally, many independent game developers as well as leading global hardware and media companies. Newzoo is headquartered in Amsterdam with international offices in Shanghai and San Francisco.

Contact
Emma McDonald
PR & Marketing Manager
emma@newzoo.com

ESPN Tracks the Growth of eSports

BY Robert Workman

July 13, 2015, 12:00AM

We’ve discussed eSports at great lengths in the past, whether it was their landmark television debut with ESPN’s Heroes of the Dorm and increased attention from publishers. But some new statistics indicate that they’re about to grow to even bigger heights.

ESPN recently published an article in its magazine (and online) discussing the growth of eSports over the years, broken down through a series of charts, which you can find below.

“Some 205 million people watched or played eSports in 2014, according to market research firm Newzoo — meaning that if the eSports nation were actually a nation, it would be the fifth largest in the world,” explains the article. “And while eSports have long been biggest in Asia, especially gaming-mad Korea, North America and Europe now claim 28 million eSports fans and the number is growing by 21 percent a year.”

As you can see from this chart, the time spent watching eSports has increased dramatically, to 3.7 billion hours last year, across an audience of 89 million fans. That’s nearly three times over what numbers reported back in 2012.

Twitch, the streaming channel purchased by Amazon late last year for $970 million, has also played a huge part in the eSports game, as we previously reported.

As you can see from this chart, the site registers 16 billion gaming minutes watched per month, with 11 million broadcasts per month. A lot of that traffic comes from eSports-driven athletes, as well as titles that are popular amongst that spectrum, including DOTA 2 and League of Legends.

Males continue to be a big part of the eSports audience, with the biggest group coming from ages 21-35, making up 35 percent of that group. However, ladies aren’t being left out, as they take up a strong percentage in their own right, indicating that they enjoy it just as much as the boys.

Then there’s viewership of eSports activities. As you can see, nothing can come close to the Super Bowl — at least, not yet, although League of Legends based tournaments have gotten 27 million viewers, with DOTA 2 not far behind with 20 million. That’s more than most sporting events, including the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals and the World Series.

YouTube followship has also seen a tremendous increase in gaming fans over the years. In fact, only music has the lead with 85 million viewers, while gaming is close behind with 79 million — more than movies, TV shows and Spotlight content combined.

ESPN’s final chart shows that there’s money to be made in the world of eSports. All the members of team Newbee managed to make over $5 million from winning the title at the DOTA 2 International tournament last year.

Speaking of the International, this year’s prize pool has managed to set a new record, according to eSports Nation. Valve has managed to raise a whopping $15 million in prizes for this year’s event. As you can see from the chart below, that’s a huge bump over last year’s $10 million offering, and far more than other tournaments have recently offered.

SuperData Research also provided a number of additional statistics revolving around eSports, which can be found below.

In this chart, you can see the indirect and direct revenue generated by eSports enthusiasts â€“ and it’s big business. $111 million alone comes from corporate sponsorships, while the rest is attributed to prize pool contributions, merchandise and ticket sales, totaling well over $140 million for North America.

Breaking each market down by region, North America is a small second place compared to Asia, which has a total of $374 million generation from the worldwide market of eSports. Europe is in third with $72 million, while other regions total $24 million.Â

eSports is continuing its amazing growth â€“ and it’s not about to stop anytime soon, especially with The International right around the corner.

A New Battle For Facebook News Feed Prominence Begins

BY Robert Workman

July 13, 2015, 12:00AM

Brands are literally pinning the hopes of ad sales on Facebook around a new feature that the company has introduced, enabling users to “pin” favorite messages on their feed not only from friends, but also from key companies.

Through a new post on its Newsroom page, Facebook has detailed how users can customize their News Feed, using a personalized stream of stories built from the people and pages that users connect to on its social site. “The goal of News Feed is to show you the stories that matter most to you,” says the post. “To do this, we use ranking to order stories based on how interesting we believe they are to you: specifically, whom you tend to interact with, and what kinds of content you tend to like and comment on.”

And the thought that users could do more than “like” a company’s page – and instead make them a favorite on their feed – could be a dream come true for certain brands, according to a story from Ad Age. With this, it “gives hope to marketing executives who felt burned by an overcrowded news feed that meant even fans rarely saw their updates,” per the article.

Facebook previously offered an advertising tool to companies where their pages could be advertised in the user’s side news feed, giving them the opportunity to increase “likes”. With this new feature, though, they’ll have to go the extra mile to remain relevant in users’ news feeds.

Any news pages designated as vital to that user will enable them to “see any new stories they’ve shared since your last visit to Facebook at the top of News Feed, with a star in the top right of their post so you know why they’re at the top,” says Facebook in its post. “You can scroll down to see the rest of your News Feed normally.”

https://player.vimeo.com/video/132961281

However, this change doesn’t have everyone convinced, according to Nate Elliott, an analyst for Forrester Research. “In 2007, Facebook said, ‘Buy ads from us so that people will like your page, and you can deliver your message to them,’ and then they slowly whittled away that bargain. Now, in 2015, they’re going back to marketers and saying, ‘Buy ads so you can get your message to them.’ We’ve heard this promise before.”

Speaking with the New York Times, the site explained that companies will “get the chance to persuade those fans to add them to the ‘see first’ list so they don’t miss a thing.”

Brian Blau, an analyst for Gartner, added, “Businesses are going to be able to understand what kinds of people are the most passionate about them, and that’s a really good signal for them to have.”

Whether it will be a success in the long run has yet to be seen. But that isn’t stopping Facebook from working on its other business venues, including an increase in video presence and other advertising models.

Disney Making Games a Big Part Of D23 Expo

BY Robert Workman

July 13, 2015, 12:00AM

Disney’s annual D23 Expo is set to kick off next month at the Anaheim Convention Center, and it will celebrate everything about the company, including forthcoming films like Disney/Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and various products based on popular brands, including Marvel and Star Wars. However, this year’s event will also feature a huge focus on video games.

Disney Interactive has announced that a number of video games will be included in a special presentation both in the Hall D23 theatre and the pavilion on the show floor, where attendees can try out forthcoming titles.

Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition, which features various characters and events from the Star Wars universe as well as sets based on the box office hit Inside Out and Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, will take primary focus. Attendees will be able to check out a number of sets available within the game, as well as try out its new toy Box modes. In addition, a variety of figurines for Disney Infinity 3.0 will be given out, including a show exclusive. (Last year, Mickey’s Apprentice figurine was handed to attendees before becoming publicly available early this year.)

Other Star Wars games will take presence at the event as well. EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront, which was introduced to the public for the first time during the Star Wars Celebration in April, will be on hand with a new multiplayer demo, similar to the ones presented during the Electronic Entertainment Expo and San Diego Comic-Con, with up to 40 players being able to jump into the fight. Bandai Namco will also feature its recently released Star Wars Battle Pod arcade game, with a unique dome-like shooting experience. The trailer below shows Battle Pod in action.

Other games will be featured at the event as well. Square Enix’s forthcoming Kingdom Hearts III – which combines role-playing elements with characters and locales from the Disney universe – will be presented, along with a number of mobile games, including Star Wars: Commander and Frozen: Free Fall, should attendees feel the need to take a break.

Even though they’ve been on the show floor in the past, video games seem to be taking a larger presence at this year’s D23 Expo – and considering the popular buzz behind Disney Infinity 3.0 (which releases next month for various consoles) and Battlefront (which arrives on November 17th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC) – that’s a good thing.

For more information on the event, be sure to check out the official D23 Expo page.

Google Captures the Beauty of the Moment Through Mobile

BY Robert Workman

July 13, 2015, 12:00AM

It’s funny how quickly life can pass by – but according to Google, it’s not the time that we should be taking notice of. It’s the moments.

The company recently posted a lengthy article on its Think With Google page explaining the power of the moment. “Mobile has forever changed the way we live, and it’s forever changed what we expect of brands,” it explains in the article. “It’s fractured the consumer journey into hundreds of real-time, intent-driven micro-moments. Each one is a critical opportunity for brands to shape our decisions and preferences.”

The video below opens the article, which then breaks down into a number of statistics and side stories, explaining what can happen in one of these micro-moments.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=GtQJEpHzFRw

Among the statistics reported, there’s a lot for companies to learn…

82 percent of smartphone users turn to their phone to influence a purchase decision while in a store. This is highlighted with Giana’s story below, where she conducts a search on what medicine is best for a sore.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bbWqHfLMmiU

62 percent of smartphone users are more likely to take action right away towards solving an unexpected problem or new task because they have a smartphone. Cathy’s story, where she talks about replacing a broken dish.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cPpCaK4BP88

90 percent of smartphone users have used their phone to make progress toward a long-term goal or multi-step process while “out and about”. Marlhon’s story, seen below, how people pursue big goals in small moments.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6RTUWVEb1TY

91 percent of smartphone users turn to their phone for ideas while doing a given task. Mabel’s story explains how people try new things in routine moments.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ue7pVcoqtgU

Google also provided five unique ideas when it comes to making these moments happen – and companies may want to make note.

Make a moments map. Identify a set of moments you want to win or can’t afford to lose. Examine all phases of the consumer journey to map moments when people want to find inspiration, learn about your products, make a quick purchase, or anything in between.
Understand customer needs in-the-moment. For each moment you want to win, put yourself in the consumer’s shoes. Ask “What would make this easier or faster What content or features would be most helpful for this moment ”
Use context to deliver the right experience. Leverage contextual signals like location and time of day to deliver experiences and messages that feel tailor-made for the moment. For example, let customers searching nearby your stores know when the products they’re looking for are in-stock or available for pickup in-store.
Optimize across the journey. People move seamlessly across screens and channels. Does your brand deliver seamlessly in return Don’t let competing objectives or department silos stand in the way. To account for today’s complex, fractured journeys, anchor completely on the consumer and organize around moments.
Measure every moment that matters. You cannot afford to under-serve your customers while you’re dealing with measurement gaps. While the return on investment for certain moments may not yet be directly measurable, train your team to use credible estimates to ensure nothing’s falling through the cracks.

5 Questions With Jim Louderback

BY Lauren Arevalo-Downes

July 13, 2015, 12:00AM

With a new role at Social Starts and VidCon coming up next week Jim Louderback has been busy. Taking on the task of editorial director for VidCon’s industry track, the industry badges are looking like they’ll sell out today for the popular event. On August 19th, Jim will also be interviewing Dan Altmann, CEO and co-founder of Naritiv about brands on Snapchat at [a]list Video summit.

We caught up with Jim to discuss what’s changing for VidCon’s industry track this year.

What’s different about VidCon this year?

Many things, first on the industry side we have a track dedicated to seminars from experts that are focused on real, tangible strategies that can be put in place on Monday – from making better thumbnails to driving more viewership via Twitter and Facebook. Second, we have a demo track where we’ve invited the top new platforms and technologies to show off their stuff – including VR, analytics tools and new platforms. Finally, we’ve got 14 fireside chats that will blow everyone away. Oh, and there’s a new Creator track that’s chock full of great content and the show is taking over the entire convention center.

What are you most excited about in the industry track?

I’m excited about everything, but I’m definitely going to be watching when Katie Couric talks with Ze Frank about the future of narrative content.

What are some brands doing the most interesting work in the video space in your mind?

We’ve got Marriott and Purina participating in a panel about brands becoming content creators. Secret Deodorant and Mountain Dew are presenting case studies about how they’ve worked with influencers on campaigns. Those four for sure.

Can you tell us a little bit about your new role at Social Starts?

Sure, I’m helping the leading seed investment group find new investments in media, Internet Of Things, mobile and analytics. These guys are somewhat under the radar, but they’ve made 180 investments in the last 4 years and have one of the strongest track record of success of any fund.

What are you thoughts on vertical video?

It makes me want to get up and dance!

Why ViralNova Chose To Go With Zealot

BY Lauren Arevalo-Downes

July 13, 2015, 12:00AM

by Todd Longwell

For Sean Beckner and his company ViralNova, it’s a case of good things come to those who wait. For a more than a year, he had been spurning investors looking to buy in to the digital publisher, which specializes in highly-shareable videos and listicles with titles like “What This Widower Was Handed After Dinner Left Me in Tears” and “Do You Ever Wonder If Horses Love Big Bouncy Balls.” Then, after a seven-month courtship, he finally sold the company to Zealot Networks this week in a deal combining cash, stock and earn-out that is reportedly worth $100 million.

It’s been a quick, steep climb for ViralNova. The site was launched in May 2013 by Ohio-based web designer and SEO consultant Scott DeLong. By November of that year, it was claiming more than 100 million unique monthly visits, putting it in league with top viral content purveyors BuzzFeed and Upworthy, which respectively reported 130 million and 87 million unique visits during the same period.

There were rumors that DeLong was looking for a big cash-out. Instead, he brought on Beckner as the majority partner in March 2014. With Beckner as CEO, ViralNova moved its operations to Midtown Manhattan and expanded its staff from two to twenty-four, while repeatedly turning down offers from venture capitalists and other interested parties.

It was a risky move, given the volatility of the viral content space, where fortunes can change with a tweak of Facebook’s algorithms. But it paid off.

Beckner spoke with VideoInk about the future of ViralNova and why he chose to sell to Zealot, the cash-rich company co-founded by former Maker Studios CEO Danny Zappin.

Read the interview…

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.