SHOOT’s new publication, iSPOT, a weekly digital HTML newspaper to be distributed via email Wednesdays, will cover broadband video advertising, an important segment of Internet marketing that is growing, well, broadly.
You’ve seen the eMarketer statistics that start with the growing penetration of broadband video viewing before projecting the major dollars that will be spent by broadband video advertisers. Those numbers always end with the year 2010, suggesting that we’ll have to wait a few years for the big bucks to kick in.
That may be true, but in the meantime we get to see an industry develop, from the early campaigns at the major portals to the subsequent executions at the niche sites, like Heavy.com; the transformation of creative executions, from pre-roll ads direct from TV to innovative new broadband formats, like the Splenda webisodes and EggNetwork’s tickers; the introduction of ad-supported video portals like Brightcove, that will enable small sites to monetize their content; and the rise of user generated content, which is struggling for commercial viability now but will undoubtedly grow in the aftermath of Google’s purchase of Youtube, and open up the industry to everyone.
These subjects and more will be covered in iSPOT, as we report the latest breaking news, show you examples of the best work from the leading interactive agencies and discuss the key issues with industry leaders.
I invite you to contact me with comments on iSPOT’s coverage and ideas for new stories, which we’ll be quick to report since we’re a weekly. We’re also interested in announcements of personnel changes, so please notify us of any that occur at your companies and ad agencies. We will be introducing several additional columns and features in the coming months so stay tuned. We’re on the look out for especially creative broadband video advertising and of course for breaking news.
Here’s to the first issue of iSPOT, which we launch on the day before Thanksgiving … inviting you to gobble up all the content with enthusiasm!
Ken Liebeskind, iSPOT Senior Editor, kliebeskind@shootonline.com, 203-227-1699, ext.17 www.shootonline.com/go/ispot
