NMA had the pleasure of receiving a letter from me which they published in the magazine - here it is incase you missed it!

Jack Flanagan’s fascinating article (Analyst Speak NMA 17.04.08) highlighted the growing popularity of online video viewing, (now the third most popular online activity in the UK behind search and retail and just ahead of social networking); however he omitted to consider the impact of this ‘online video invasion’ upon online marketing.

As he pointed out online video is already attracting impressive levels of engagement compared to other types of online activity; in the UK alone 28.7m people watched over 3 bn videos online, averaging five and a half hours per viewer for the month.

Shouldn’t brands be capitalising on this voracious appetite for online video by providing their own high quality content? Some pioneers are already producing their own TV quality editorial content and placing it on sites where their target audience is likely to be.

That approach is innovative since it is not intrusive, and does not seem like advertising to the consumer, which means that they are more receptive to the presented content which entertains, informs and instructs.