• by Rob Manoff , November 4, 2011

For those of us who live and breathe online video advertising, it’s been really interesting to see which advertisers and industry sectors have been fastest to include the channel in their media plans. The recent annoucement from Yahoo and ABC News may be just the kick in the pants more cautious advertisers need to really believe the potential of digital video.

The partnership combines a news network’s global newsgathering organization with the reach of a portal, putting ABC News’ rich content in front of more than 100 million users every month.  It’s the latest salvo in the war on online media, and it spells opportunity for everyone.

For Advertisers: In essence, the expansion of online content via video should create more and higher-value inventory.  Today, one of the biggest problems with online video is the challenge to find and buy preferred inventory.  Deals like this provide advertisers with a proven vehicle to tap preferred, premium inventory to generate more audience views.

For Agencies: Just the fact that there’s more quality inventory available gives agencies more runway to be aggressive and creative with their digital ad buys.  In the case of ABC News/Yahoo News, they’ve now got a well-known portal with great content.  Agencies can run new video formats or create new ways to sponsor video and to display new, exciting advertising content. 

Video metrics are also gaining validity.  YouTube, for example, is now being tracked by comScore, giving media buyers real data to factor in to purchasing decisions.  They’ve now got the tools to convince brands that they need to be transitioning TV dollars online. 

For Publishers: Major publishers that are also content creators like National Geographic or USA Today now have a great example to demonstrate the value of video content to potential advertisers.  This partnership opens the door for publishers to realize the value of their video content through similar deals that allow them to leverage existing digital advertising networks to grow their brands. 

Users aren’t going to just one destination to view and watch video.  They’re expecting to see it wherever they go, on whatever site they’re on.  Video has become a companion to whatever they’re reading.  As a content creator, you need consumers to be able to view your content across a number of venues, not just your own site.