Video Contest Hub
The Intersection of
Video & Opportunity

There is a huge amount of funding and investment being made in producing and distributing video content for advertising and entertainment - from Gemstar to Prada.  $100M announced this week . . .

The Hollywood Reporter announced today that Providence Equity will invest $100 million for a 10% stake as well as a board seat in the still-unnamed NBC Universal/News Corp. joint online video venture. 

Announced in March, the JV will bring News Corp., NBC Uni and other video content to heavily trafficked portals, including News Corp.’s MySpace, Time Warner’s AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft, and also will have a separate stand-alone site. The company also counts Comcast, CNET and Gemstar-TV Guide among its partners.  Providence also has investments in MGM, Warner Music Group, Univision and the YES Network.

The WSJ also reported that luxury brands are using video to glam up their online images.  Improvements in online video and the growing prevalence of broadband access are encouraging luxury brands to create glossy new Web sites that better reflect their elite appeal on a medium that can make things look equal.

A January 2007 survey by market research firm Luxury Institute found that 99% of those 21 years and older with a minimum household income of $150,000 had Internet access at home — and 94% said they used broadband connections, which are amenable for video viewing. Similarly high numbers were reported for the use of the Internet in researching products and shopping. Naturally, as high-end consumers have gone on the Web, more luxury brands and high-end retailers have opened up online flagships. 

Miu Miu relaunched its site earlier this month, replacing a relatively simple design with one that includes stylized videos and “behind the scenes” access to photo shoots.  Streaming video is a type of “three-dimensional branding” that adds life to the product and its message in a way not possible with “flat” advertising in magazines. 

“People have this real emotional connection with video, much more than still images.  A woman looking at the video says, ‘I need that bag.’”  Prada.com’s site, designed by celebrity architect Rem Koolhaas’s OMA firm, showcases nearly 20 short films on the production process.  “We’re now experimenting with ways to make video a much bigger part of sites with products.”

Video is a fantastic medium for reaching people with complex emotive messages - are only the biggest spenders going to benefit from this effect?

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