The future of video advertising and search on the Net?

by on April 12, 2007

Imagine this. You’re watching a Pop!Tech video, like we are right now (we’re watching Ask a Ninja’s Kent Nichols talk to the crowd about podcasting and how Ask a Ninja came about). But, instead of doing advertising at the beginning of the video (like Pop!Tech has thanks to a sponsorship) there’s a set of Google ads along the side.

But, as you watch the video the Google ads change. And don’t change randomly, but change in reaction to what Kent is talking on stage about. He says “camcorder” and the ads change to a set of camcorders that you could buy — all without interrupting the video playing.

Anyway, this future is really much closer to happening thanks to Nexidia. Drew Lanham, Senior Vice President came out and demoed Nexidia’s system for me recently.

This technology also enables video search. In the demo Drew shows off a TV station, Channel 11 Alive, where you can search the video.

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/04/PID_010897/Podtech_Nexidia_demo.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/scobleshow/technology/1442/demo-of-contextual-advertising-on-video-streams&totalTime=280000&breadcrumb=5bbc7ea1-7b73-4749-994e-ed67643a4e4c]

Here’s an interview with further info about how the system works and what else it could be used for.

[podtech content=http://media1.podtech.net/media/2007/04/PID_010896/Podtech_Nexidia_interview.flv&postURL=http://www.podtech.net/scobleshow/technology/1441/making-video-searchable-with-nexidia-executive&totalTime=787000&breadcrumb=04c4c1e4-6cff-48c6-b63a-9f2c7f874090]

  • I totally stand behind the statement that marketers need to put out exceptional video content in order for their marketing efforts to be effective. Not only that, but they need to be diligent in distributing their video advertising across various video networks.
  • photar
    What worries me about this is the homeland security aspects that he was talking about.
  • More effective video advertising is essential to the production and distribution of original content. From Hollywood to the basements of the nation, everyone will benifit from technology like this.
  • Ian Camarillo
    This is inevitable and great idea! I had a similar idea but its way down the line and purely conceptual right now:
    http://iancamarillo3.blogspot.com/2007/03/produ...
  • This isn't technology, this is just how powerful I am as a speaker. :P
  • #7: the video doesn't need to stop when you click something. Ever hear of AJAX?
  • Sounds great in theory, but ask any ad agency and they'll laugh at the idea. People don't click on ads during videos... period.

    Think about it - if you click the link, the video stops playing. And your eyes aren't over there anyway.

    Video ads in videos (before or after content) create a captive audience. Text ads can never compete with that.
  • My question is who looks at these ads. I've never clicked a Google ad in my life. I don't even glance at them. They don't register in my field of view. Most seem pretty silly. Just because he's talking about camcorders doesn't mean I want to buy one.
  • This phonetic pattern search approach looks really promising, the index speed is extraordinary and it looks like Nexidia knows where their added value is: content. It is multilingual - due to the phoneme analysis - so this can have huge impact.
  • Truly extraordinary - and I love the low-key way Drew presents it. His zero-hype pitch style makes it even more remarkable.
  • Justin: I think there'll be a lot of experimentation in video.

    Mostly this technology is really about search. It's just that that enables a new kind of advertising that'll pop up along the video.

    And, many videos you watch will be able to accurately predict the kinds of things you might be interested in buying.

    A parenting video? Diapers, cameras, baby food, cribs, child safety seats, etc.

    A Ruby on Rails video? Computers, hard drives, development tools like Adobe's CS3 suite, etc.
  • This may be a step in the right direction, or it may not. What it feels like is yet another way to push more "contextual" ads in my face when I have zero interest in the subject being discussed.

    I know this is must be rocket science, but if I have to watch an ad to support a free video, can I not tell the site what types of ads I want to see? Why must advertising forever be about guessing what people MIGHT want to watch? Aren't we beyond that in this permission-based era?
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