Implications 3 and 4
Time for quality?
It's a touchy subject, but when it comes to web video, there's no getting around the fact that the quality -- in terms of production value -- isn't on par with television or film. Little wonder there. Budgets for web video are still laughably small compared to television and film. But the rise of the iPad could change the quality of web video for the better, says Ryan Landels, founder of Land Elsewhere.
"The screen size makes the iPad a nice cross between a phone and a TV, so people will literally have a television in their pocket," Landels says. But, he cautions, the big question for brands and agencies down the road is whether that larger size and better quality will translate into real change in terms of what people choose to watch online.
"There's certainly the potential for longer, high-quality videos to become a bigger part of what's out there [in terms of web video]," Landels says. "But we'll still have to wait and see if consumers change their viewing habits."
If consumers take the bait, Landels expects to see a spike in quality video, with more brands turning to webisodes and other medium-length offerings that so far have generated a lot of buzz -- but not enough audience for most advertisers' appetites.
A second bite at the apple
No doubt about it. Traditional media hasn't exactly made the transition to digital with flying colors. Showing up late didn't help, and giving content away on the web -- while trying to sell it offline -- hasn't exactly done the trick. These days, there's a lot of talk about mixed models that combine advertising with subscription as a way to make professional-level, advertiser-friendly content sustainable and profitable on the web. The trouble is, consumers are already used to free content on their computers. But, says Steve Minichini, president of interactive marketing at TargetCast tcm, devices like the iPad stand a good chance of getting consumers back into a pay model for at least some media properties.
"[An] advantage of the iPad is that the consumer mindset may well be more accepting of a pay-for-content model that was previously not found within the web space," Minichini says.
That could be huge for content producers, but it could also be big for their advertisers.
"If sales continue to climb and consumers connect to the digital format of their favorite newspaper or magazine, the product and the platform could continue to breathe new life into marketing opportunities for both mediums," Minichini says. "Ad units can now be perfectly targeted to the consumer, delivering a marketing message with full sight, sound, and motion and offering the consumer a chance to interact with the marketing message."
