Super Bowl Commercials Go Cross-Media in Record Numbers

This year’s Super Bowl commercials sported a distinctly digital theme. For starters, nearly half of the network TV ads were delivered digitally via the Extreme Reach platform. Also, a record number of Super Bowl commercials were introduced both on TV and online. And, during the game, most TV ads aimed to drive viewers to the Web.

The ad industry’s biggest event is an insightful indicator of advertising trends. This Marketing Land article points out some interesting cross-media trends among this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads. More than 80% of ads that aired during the Super Bowl featured an online call to action, driving TV viewers to Twitter, Facebook, or branded webpages. Almost all of these digital destinations featured interactive video content, taking the opportunity to directly engage with TV viewers once they made the jump online.

TV and online video advertising can be interconnected in a variety of ways that leverage the unique advantages of each medium while gaining new benefits from tying them together. Here’s an example of how stunning HD TV ads can now be instantly transformed into interactive ads for online video campaigns.

Extreme Reach Network Hits New Milestone

You’ve come a long way, baby.

It seems it was only a very short time ago that TV stations began receiving their ad content via the internet.  In the early days, they said it couldn’t be done. But now, it is arguably the preferred transmission method.

In December 2012, Extreme Reach achieved an amazing milestone: 99.9% of broadcast TV stations in North America now receive their commercials electronically via Extreme Reach.

We’d like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the broadcasters that have helped us achieve this milestone.  By doing so, they now receive their ad content in the most efficient manner possible. And according to WFFF/WVNY Operations Manager Ken Kasz, “Life is so much easier now. It’s clear that you guys have been doing this long enough to make it easy.”

It’s the cloud computing technology behind the Extreme Reach platform that enables advertisers and broadcasters such as WFFF/WVNY to work smarter, faster and much more efficiently.  This efficiency, speed and accessibility was paramount during our recent election year, and is an ongoing concern for broadcasters when they face inclement weather. Each year, severe storms bring standard shipping methods to a halt and adversely impact content delivered via satellite.

So, if you’ve been contemplating the move to file-based ad deliveries, it’s never too late.  Extreme Reach is here to make it easy.

Tom Falcone is the Vice President of Network Relations at Extreme Reach.

Digital Marketing Predictions for 2013

As 2012 comes to a close, many in the digital marketing industry are making their predictions on what’s in store for the new year.

CMO.com recently asked more than 80 industry insiders what they envisioned for 2013 – and the responses make for some thought-provoking perspectives on digital and video advertising.

Convergence in media, technology and analytics is a consistent theme, as well as the anticipation of more interactive content and greater targeting capabilities.

Extreme Reach CMO Robert Haskitt also chimes in with his new year’s prediction in this new article.

10 Reasons To Combine Your TV And Web Video Ad Campaigns

TV still makes up the vast majority of advertising media budgets, by far. But it’s no secret that today’s TV audience is also watching their favorite shows online. If you’re a marketer, you know that this is an important shift in viewer behavior that could impact the effectiveness of your TV campaigns. But you don’t know how it impacts your TV efforts or what you can do about it.

Now, there’s one way to find out: Manage and measure TV and online video together.

When you do this, numerous new synergies and opportunities will arise along with the answers. By measuring TV and online video advertising together, you’ll be able to see how TV actually works in concert with online video media. By managing your TV and Web campaigns together, you’ll be able to pull levers, blend screens and adjust your media plans to get the cross-media balance right for your business.

In this new Forbes article, I’ve called out 10 good reasons to manage and measure TV and Web video campaigns together.

Robert Haskitt is the CMO of Extreme Reach.

Cloud Computing West Recap: Paradigm Shift

The media and entertainment industry is undergoing a paradigm shift in the way that content and data is stored, processed, delivered and consumed.  Consumers demand an ever-increasing variety of channels to access content through a wide array of devices and services.  Media producers are managing vast catalogs of content and looking for new ways to engage their audience.  Advertisers and agencies are moving to a new world where their customer must be reached across multiple screens with the ability to optimize across all mediums.  These themes and many more were discussed at the Cloud Computing West Conference recently in Santa Monica.

I had the pleasure of participating as a panelist for two sessions at the conference.  The first session analyzed new cloud offerings for entertainment and the industry’s general direction in terms of cloud computing.  Some of the cloud-based technologies discussed included the virtually unlimited processing capabilities of cloud computing, vast media storage capabilities, accelerated file transfer tools and the social/collaboration/workflow tools that are becoming more available.  I discussed how Extreme Reach leverages these capabilities to deliver a state-of-the-art platform that combines unlimited capacity with “always on” reliability and constantly evolving capabilities.

I also participated in the closing session, which focused on the future of cloud computing for entertainment, telecom and investment.  This session delved into how these industries are evolving to take advantage of the many benefits that cloud computing offers.  We also discussed the concerns that have been voiced with cloud computing.  The clear consensus was that any perceived issues with cloud computing, such as security, bandwidth availability or governance, exist with any enterprise computing platform.  The answer in every case is a proper system architecture that ensures tight security, highly distributed and redundant infrastructure and thoroughly planned operational procedures and policies.

To learn more about the future of cloud computing and its impact on the industry, you can watch some of the panel highlights here:

Dan Brackett is the CTO of Extreme Reach.

CALM Down: Are You Prepared For The CALM Act?

It’s time to turn down the volume! In mid-December, content providers will face new challenges as they strive to comply with the CALM Act’s new audio level regulations for commercial advertisements. Fortunately, your team at Extreme Reach is here to help.

The FCC’s Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act takes effect December 13, 2012. Under this law, media uploaders and TV media must strive to tone down excessively loud commercials so that consistent audio levels are maintained from program to interstitial material. Content providers are already implementing new procedures and installing new monitoring equipment to prepare for these new regulations, as failure to comply with the CALM Act could result in significant fines.

To help you avoid these penalties, the Extreme Reach support team can offer suggestions and make recommendations to help you meet these new requirements.

The Extreme Reach platform and quality control capabilities will also be key in monitoring uploaded ads to see if they meet the CALM Act’s standards. If content does not conform to the new CALM specifications, the Extreme Reach team can normalize the file to meet the new loudness requirements. If the content is too far outside these requirements or cannot be normalized correctly, our support team can work with providers to re-submit content that meets the proper specifications.

The transition to these new regulations might seem challenging at first, but our team is here to guide you through this process. For more info on the CALM Act and how Extreme Reach can help you prepare for the December 13 deadline, check out this handy reference sheet or contact our support team.

Brian Kloeckner is the Director of Video Technology at Extreme Reach.

Extreme Reach Appoints Chip Scully as New VP of Online Video Advertising

We’d like to welcome ad industry veteran Chip Scully as our new Vice President of Online Video Advertising. Based in our Needham, MA headquarters, Chip will lead the Extreme Reach Online Video Advertising Sales & Service teams.

Prior to joining Extreme Reach, Chip was the Senior Director of Advanced TV and Online Video Sales at Microsoft. In that role, he started and led a team that launched Microsoft’s advanced TV marketplace. That marketplace grew to 32 cable networks with over 200+ advertising clients such as American Express, Kraft and General Motors.

Chip is one of twelve highly-regarded industry professionals that have recently left one of our competitors to join the Extreme Reach team.

You can read more about Chip and why he’s excited about his new role at Extreme Reach in this press announcement.

Cross-Media Solutions For A Multi-Screen World

There’s recently been a steady stream of cross-media research highlighting the impact of adding online video to TV campaigns. New statistics show that the TV audience is bigger, watches longer and is more effectively persuaded by advertising when they watch video on both traditional TV and the Web. There’s a lot said about the momentum of cross-media video advertising, but little mentioned about the process.

Rather than planning and executing TV in one box and Web video in another, brands and their agencies should consider unifying traditional and digital TV campaigns, processes and technology solutions. By bringing all video advertising together under a single, strategic discipline, brands can connect with viewers more effectively across screens and their agencies can eliminate costly steps and missteps.

In this new MediaPost article, I point out how and why forward-thinking brands and agencies are starting to unify traditional TV and Web video advertising workflows and centralize campaign execution for the “new TV”.

Robert Haskitt is the CMO of Extreme Reach.

Business Affairs Round Table Recap: Defining A Commercial

Recently, I had the pleasure of being a host at The Business Affairs Round Table in NYC, sponsored by Extreme Reach.

The venue was at capacity as Business Affairs, Casting and Production professionals discussed commercial production and union talent issues currently facing the industry.

I’d like to thank our keynote speaker, Stacy Marcus, an attorney in Reed Smith’s Advertising & Technology group. Stacy is well-known for her position as a negotiator for the ANA/4A’s Joint Policy Committee, which bargains the talent union contracts on behalf of the advertising industry. Her presentation, “To Be or Not To Be… A Commercial”, touched on some pressing topics.

Determining when branded videos fall under union contracts on the web isn’t easy. There is no hard and fast definition of an “internet commercial” in the SAG Commercials Contract — yet how we pay the performers and “real” people that appear in Web content depends on that contract’s language. And the difference in price can be substantial. As a result, this topic generated a wave of questions and numerous descriptions of the dilemmas industry professionals face on a regular basis. For example, length alone doesn’t define a commercial. Content that runs two minutes and 43 seconds can be considered a commercial. Content that’s 30 seconds may not be.

The discussion was lively, entertaining and illuminating. And I’ve barely touched the surface of what was covered.

Although this was just the inaugural event, I’m confident that future Business Affairs Round Table meetings will provide a great opportunity for our industry to share ideas and discover solutions. We’re looking forward to hosting these gatherings in New York, Chicago, LA and elsewhere on a regular basis. If you’re interested in learning about future events, or have suggestions for topics you’d like covered, contact us! We’d love to hear from you.

Jo Ann Kessler is the VP, Director of Business Affairs at Extreme Reach.

Advertising Week Recap: Connected TV Opportunities & Trends

What’s next for video advertising? Here are some highlights from the Wednesday & Thursday sessions at Advertising Week (#AWIX @AdvertisingWeek):

TV used to be defined by a few networks and local market stations. Then cable came along and significantly expanded the number of options and and opportunities for audiences and advertisers. Now, internet-delivered video content enables brands to connect with specific audiences across the globe on a variety of devices. This new expansion of TV highlights the need to have multiple versions of TV creative in order to effectively target and respond to an audience in order to tell an engaging story.

Creative for all screens. People value and demand high-quality, professionally produced video content. So how can brands and agencies maintain quality and variety, but also keep production costs down? There is agreement within the industry that “traditional” :15/:30 spots, both on traditional TV and as pre-roll ads, will continue to be valuable and impactful. But there is a great opportunity to augment those messages.

For example, in an earlier panel, one brand developed :30 TV spots, as well as :90 cinema trailers and a 4.5 minute web video. An agency recommended that the brand could utilize the video shoots for TV ads to produce these other efforts. If they planned ahead, they could use the time, talent, and equipment to capture additional shots or content to enhance and augment the video creative for specific audiences and devices.

Benefits & trends of Connected TV. Internet-connected TVs are gaining adoption in the market, although it may take a few years before they become the “home computer”. Brands and agencies are excited about connected TV because it could blend the way they buy media on traditional TV, while adding the digital benefits of delivering targeted content and measuring audience engagement. Most of the “Smart TV” manufacturers are already using IAB ad format standards (such as VAST) and HTML5 to support standardization and ease of use as these two mediums come together.

Dascha Bright is the Director of Digital Account Management at Extreme Reach.