Viral Ad Network

Having explained the Why? and the How? of pitching a video to your brand client, we now get to the distribution stage. When pitching a video it is important to set realistic expectation on its ROI.

Although online video has the potential to organically generate massive engagement and millions of views, this is definitely not guaranteed. Setting a realistic expectation of return is something that is vital, but often missed when pitching the idea of branded video to a client.

There is the potential of free views! By uploading content to multiple video networks like Youtube or Vimeo you can achieve some free views. The bonus of this is that it’s quick and easy to do and in some cases, where the content is highly shareable and the brand is lucky enough to strike the right chord at the right time, it can be very successful.

However, with the growing mass of videos out there, this is becoming an increasingly risky tactic for distribution as your video may never even be discovered. Making a video, uploading it to youtube and then just sitting back and waiting for views to roll in is a common mistake, and one that often results in an unhappy client!

You can eliminate the risk of that awkward client meeting by including paid seeding in your proposal. This will not only raise your chances of a viral smash, but will also give a safety net of returns for your client.

The chart below show the rough costs and returns of a small video campaign with and without an included media spend.

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	No Media Spend	Media Spend
Asset Production	-£5K	-£5K
Media Spend	-£0.00	-£5K
Total Cost	-£5K	-£10K
Organic Views(Worst case)	100	100
Organic Views(Best case)	100,000	100,000
Bought Views	0	35,000
Total Views (Best case)	100,000	135,000
Total Views (Worst case)	100	35,100
Cost Per View (Best case)	-£0.05	-£0.07
Cost Per View (Worst case)	-£50	-£0.28

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As you can see, the bought media takes the risk out of the campaign. It also means you can set your clients an agreed minimum return for their money, which in turn makes it much easier for them to buy it from you. WIN – WIN

In part 4 – see how you can use video as an ongoing communication channel for your brand client, and an ongoing revenue stream for you.

(Disclaimer: these numbers are estimated and may not necessarily reflect real-life results, which will depend on individual campaigns)

Part 1 identified why you should consider online video as part of your client pitch. Here we offer some useful tips to consider when commissioning the video.

a) Create a campaign with a focus on making people want to spread the word. Keep abreast of the latest trends and social memes by keeping an eye on New Media Age’s Viral Chart.

b) You don’t need fancy cameras to make a great online video. You might be better off buying half a day more off your scriptwriter.

c) People like characters. Think about who might become your ‘viral star’, the face of your campaign. There’s no guarantees of course (except with VAN’s seeding service ) but check out how Roger Federer recently sparked this Gillette campaign into life, as an example of how it can work.

d) Like all advertising, it’s about giving the audience something they want, rather than something you want to say. Corporate and viral don’t sit well together. A stupid costume doesn’t make your corporate blurb any more interesting.

Check out our article How to Make a Killer Viral Marketing Video for our 5 top tips, and stay tuned for part 3 on how to manage your client expectations.