Strategy: AdHoc launch
Verdict: 3 out of 5
Blinkx could be on to a good thing launching AdHoc, its dedicated video advertising platform. We've seen the power of video and audio on the internet, we've also seen the value attached to this power with the purchase of YouTube by advertising giant Google. So Blinkx's move into advertising looks like a great strategic decision - and one that could make it lots of money.
However, agency types like me would like to see potential issues addressed before fully subscribing to the idea of video advertising. The first and probably the most obvious is the selection criteria. Can brands and agencies control and select the sites in the same way that we allow the search engines to choose the content in which their ad appears - as is possible on Google's network? For obvious reasons, some brands will want to be selective about where their ads are displayed.
A second potential issue relates to language. How good is the Blinkx platform at matching dialogue and narrative to exact meaning? For example, how many times have we read words such as "what a brilliant service" as a great third-party endorsement only to realise it was actually meant sarcastically.
As an industry, we have enough trouble matching our ads on search engines, where phrases are much shorter and more precise.
If I were representing a large brand, eBay for example, I would want to be in control or at the very least be totally assured of the controls within the engine. Without such controls, nothing stands in the way of the feckless few looking to have some fun with all that user-generated content. It may be the start of a new wave of great virals focused on the advertisers that fuel and fund the growth of platforms such as Blinkx.
It is here now and no doubt will be massively valuable to advertisers.
One only has to look at dwelling times on video content sites to realise this. Just don't tell me it's moderated.
- Review by Matt Mills, director of search marketing, Unite (part of the Equi=Media Group).
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