TodSacerdoti.com

After a few weeks of heads down work, I am happy to announce the launch of the new BrightRoll.com corporate site.

We hope this new site does a better job explaining who we are, what we do, how we do it and who we do it with.  As with every site launch, we are anxious to hear feedback from users / visitors, so please feel free to drop us a note.

The site was designed by Bill Tani, of Tani Design,  and the technical / video work was done by the amazing BrightRoll engineering team.  Videos were sourced from proprietary BrightRoll video campaigns or from Revostock, which is the best stock video provider in the country.

ComScore today released worldwide search statistics showing 15B monthly searches in North America, following up on their recent report showing 9.8B monthly U.S. core searches. As a video advertising executive, these numbers seemed surprisingly small given that search represents 50% of all online advertising revenue and the core revenue engine of Google and other large online players.

When comparing these numbers to ComScore’s own video impression data, the vulnerability of search as the core online advertising medium becomes instantly clear. ComScore shows 7B U.S. video impressions in March, 8.3B in May, and 9.1B in July.

So, what does this mean?

1. U.S. video impressions will pass core search impressions in the next three months
2. U.S. video impressions will pass expanded search (meaning including Amazon, eBay, etc.) in the next twelve months.
3. Video advertising spend is being underestimated by analysts (eMarketer currently estimates video will grow from 10% to 25% of search revenue, and from 5% to 12% of total online ad spend, over the next five years)

As with all audience shifts, such as network television to cable television or television to the Internet, ad dollars will follow the audience. However, it does take time, as the network to cable transition took 5+ years and we are still in the midst of the spend movement from television to the Internet.

My bet? I estimate that video advertising will be 50% of search revenue within the next five years and will be larger than the entire search advertising business in the next ten years.

Note: If you include rich media banner units that include video in these statistics, you will find that there are both significantly more video impressions and video ad spend than currently being reported.

I am excited to be co-chairing the host committee for Macy’s Passport Fashion Show. The fashion show is a charity event that raises money for AIDS research and is one of my favorite events of the year.

Tickets include an opening party with appetizers, the full fashion show and the after-party with the models at SLIDE. The pre-party includes local cuisine and cocktails, and music spun by DJ Donovan. The fashion show features collections including Calvin Klein, Marc Ecko, Levi’s, Calvin Klein Underwear and much more. The post-party is at SLIDE with resident DJs Solomon and Chris Clause

Macy’s Passport Opening Night
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Fort Mason Center, Festival Pavilion
6:00 pm Pre-Party
8:00 pm Show
11:00 pm Post-Party

Invitation - http://www1.macys.com/campaign/passport/index.jsp
Buy Tickets - http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/834445
See Who’s Coming - http://www.socializr.com/event/513086233

Featured Collections will include Calvin Klein, Via Spiga, Marc Ecko, Epic Threads, Levi’s, Academy of Art and Calvin Klein Underwear. This spectacular show will conclude with an epic silver finale with one of a kind pieces from world class designers.

Hosted by: Auren Hoffman, Brendan Coen, Christina Spaulding, DJ Donovan, Don Davis, Elizabeth Johnson, George Karpaty, Irene Hernandez-Feiks, Jessica Mullens, Jonathan Abrams, Kim Wilsey, Kirsten Bartok, Letitia Kim, Lucy Jacobs, Michael Kim, Missy Cohan, Nate Valentine, Nina Oestlien, Rebecca Sacerdoti, Rob Bailey, Todd Palmerton, Tod Sacerdoti, Trevor Hewitt, Zaw Thet

Matt Marshall wrote on VentureBeat:

Advertisers in UK yank ads from Facebook when they realize the ads are posted next to the group page of a far-right-wing political party. Slowly but surely, advertisers are beginning to realize how dangerous it is to run campaigns in social networking sites. Tod M. Sacerdoti, founder of BrightRoll, which inserts advertising into videos for clients, told us recently he has all but abandoned serving social network sites, after seeing multiple examples of advertising networks exposing major advertising brands to lewd, quasi-porn video content.

The question remains, “Is placing your brand next to social networking / user generated content a good idea?”  I believe the answer is clear, it depends.  Put simply, if your brand is sensitive to adjacent placement and even a .1% chance that you end up next to an inappropriate image, video or political opinion, than it is NOT a good idea.  If your brand is adjacent placement resistant, such as a piece of entertainment content, AXE Body Spray or otherwise more edgy brand, than it can be a good idea.

I was forwarded a link last week to a video on the site Heavy.com.   To me, this was the most recent, and perhaps most glaring, example where adjacent ad placement is definitely questionable.  Here are the three screenshots I took and I ask the simple question, “Is this good for your brand?”  I think, in this case, the answer is crystal clear.