MarketingInsideOut.com

Watching online videos is no longer cutting edge news, but rather a way of life as evidenced by stats released in a recent Pew study that showed 57% of adults online have watched online videos.

But an annual report on YouTube? That’s a fairly new concept, yet a great idea and some high-profile public companies are opting to use video to give their shareholder communications a little more pizazz.

I happen to pick up a CFO magazine while in the waiting room at the Doctors office today (why they had a CFO magazine in the waiting room, I don’t know), but I stumbled on an article that I just reread again tonight about the move by some innovative companies towards video annual reports in lieu of the printed version.

And it’s not just companies in the tech sector. Companies like Sealy Corp., California Pizza Kitchen and Ruth’s Chris Steak House Inc. have moved to this video format for their annual reports.

According to CFO Magazine:

The Hollywood approach isn’t just about image, however: a graphics-intense annual report can ultimately cost a large-cap company $1 million to produce and mail. A video report, in contrast, may run $20,000.

The embrace of video is part of a larger movement away from printed shareholder communications, a trend the Securities and Exchange Commission heartily endorses. In fact, the SEC has taken several steps to streamline the delivery of all proxy-related materials. In December, the commission tentatively approved a plan to allow Web-only versions of Schedule 14A proxy statements, Schedule 14C information statements, and annual reports to suffice.

The SEC’s proposal, which took effect on a voluntary basis in July, will ease that paper jam by making Internet delivery the de facto setting which will likely increase this video trend.

CFO.com quotes one observer this way:

In five years, a printed annual report will be a collector’s item.

And I’ll be less guilt-ridden for pitching the stacks right into the recycle bin.

Too funny! So many parodies. So little time.

Zune Balmer…Steve Ballmer presents the Zunephone…ZunePhone Ad…and this one. You’ll get the humor in this one if you’ve seen this popular one .

Occasionally you meet someone with a really great, fun and out-there idea that’s unique and timely. Like Linda, who created the concept for mypoliticalpets.com where you can register your pet and vote for your favorite candidate. She wanted to get people involved in the political process in a fun way while also helping to raise money for the Second Chance Animal Shelter in Killeen, TX as well as shelters around the country.

I’m a total animal nut…who has 4 rescued cats and one dog and I’m pretty interested in seeing change happen to improve our political process. So the idea appealed to me right away.

On the site, you create a profile and register your pet with a political party. I didn’t have to think at all when I registered my cat Baxter. He’s democrat through and through. I also have two cats that are clearly republican and another that would probably advocate for a monarchy if given that option (with her as queen of course).

As it gets closer to the election, you’ll be able to cast your pet vote for one of the candidates running for President. It’s truly politics gone to the dogs…and cats…and birds…

It’ll be interesting to see if our pets’ votes can predict the next President.

Great idea. I wish I’d thought of it.

YouTube started placing ads in videos this week, but is shunning the typical pre-roll concept and instead casting its lot with semitransparent “overlay” ads at the bottom of selected video clips. These flash-animated placements appear on the bottom of the screen while videos play. The ad disappears after about 10 seconds if the viewer does nothing; the featured clip automatically pauses if the viewer clicks on the overlay to launch the full pitch.Users can click on the ads to pause the clips and watch commercials without leaving YouTube.

Shashi Seth, a YouTube group product manager said that a 15-second spot placed before YouTube videos resulted in a 75 percent drop-off, while the overlay style generated just a 10 percent drop-off. In a test, Google said the ads got click rates of 1-2 percent, with 75 percent of clickers watching the message all the way through. In shunning pre-rolls for targeted ad invitations, Google is borrowing a page from several startups, including VideoEgg and ScanScout, which have tried overlay video ad features.

Warner Music Group is one of the first group of 1,000 “content partners” whose videos will get advertisements. Pictured below is an advertisement placed on a video for “What I’ve Done” by Linkin Park. Check out how the new YouTube ads work.

The initial cost for advertisers will be $20 per 1,000 views (whether or not the user clicks on the ad). Revenue will be split between the website and the content provider. The pictured Linkin Park video has been viewed over 19 million times. At $20 per 1,000 views, WMG’s share would be just over $190,000. Not bad. And basically found money.

Image from GoogleBlogoscope

To this point, Google has simply aggregated and indexed news, but the latest roll out is an experimental feature that lets people or organizations who are part of a news story add a comment to the news that will then be visible on the search results. After being verified and approved, the comments will then be listed right under the story.

On one hand it enables a comment or other point of view that may not have been adequately covered in the story. On the other hand, it could dilute or even negate the story.

Read Steve Rubel’s POV on the new feature.

I have absolutely no idea what this is about, but in 13 days, 8hr and 45 minutes I’m going to go back and check it out. After all, I spent an hour last night playing around on the site. So now I’m invested. I’m sure that was the goal of this thing.

After only a couple minutes it caught the attention of my husband who overhead the sexy voice and phrases coming from my computer and had to come check it out. He thought it was something pornographic. Which made me laugh and say that unless Philips had some type of major business reorganization that the news media missed, I kind of doubted that they would be in that game (and certainly wouldn’t promote it if they were). But this teaser is all about seduction. I’ll be so pissed if I find out it’s just some tease for a new kind of light bulb.

How do you get drunks to avoid getting behind the wheel? Well…in Germany they came up with The Piss-Screen – a peeing game that involves a video driving simulation that makes its point and encourages drunk urinaters to take a cab. The video game screen above each urinal starts playing as soon as someone begins to pee. Swing your stream right, and the car goes right, swing left….you get the idea. The more blasted you are, the slower your response, reinforcing the effects of alcohol to the gamer. The game ends in a horrific crash-sequence, emphasizing the point.

Great idea.

Created by Saatchi & Saatchi, Germany

Created to promote Sky Movies’ Star Wars vs Star Trek season – showing all 6 star wars and 10 star trek films, in one weekend, this really cool video is not some computer generated special effect product, but instead was created using cameras set to long time exposure and writing with flash lights on the landscape.

Tonight while having a glass of wine with a friend, we happened to glance at the TV during a commercial, and she proceeded to rant about how the spot was a total crock. It was one of those “Life Takes VISA” spots where the world of commerce is proceeding at a smooth clip until one customer in line pulls out cash — or heaven forbid — a check. Then the music goes off key, other customers in line gawk and smooth is interrupted with awkward.

Sam was ticked and ranted that the spot was condescending. I argued that it was insightful and, while a bit dramatic and over the top, it is based on a kernel of something many customers experience. Including me.

Recently in a check out line at Target, I was behind a women who wrote a check. And she didn’t start writing it (she didn’t even get her checkbook out of her purse) until the checker had completely finished ringing up everything. So I stood there and waited. And waited. And waited some more as the women neatly put her wallet and checkbook back in her purse. Blocking the POS machine. Meanwhile the checker had almost finished my order and was giving me that eye roll look. And the women was still standing there organizing her purse. And while I didn’t go as far as tapping my foot or anything, I’m pretty sure I gave my husband that “how annoying” look as well. And I definitely remember complaining as we left the store about how some people are soooooo slow.

Until tonight I never gave the campaign much thought because I inherently got and connected with the … “because money shouldn’t slow you down” premise. (I’m a very impatient person.) Yet the thought that Visa has the audacity to claim it has become “better money” because of convenience and security… and saying that using cash is inferior is…well arrogant.

So Sam, chalk one up to you for pointing it out. But next time, I pick the wine.

I’ve been out a while, taking some much appreciated (and needed) down time. And yes, I really went fishing. In Northern Minnesota. And I caught one (lots)…this big (luckily you can’t see my hands).

This was not a cushy trip. It was the kind of experience at a simple (read very rustic) fishing resort where the smell of fish guts in the pails at the fish filleting shack will make your eyes burn and make you run for the door. Where air conditioning in the cabins is non-existent. Where mosquitoes descend at dusk like a fog.

The kind of place with no internet connectivity and the only way to get even a single bar on your cell phone was to treck a few miles yonder to the highway and stand on the hill.

And it was awesome! On day 1, I felt a bit guilty being so out of touch. Day 2 brought withdrawals. Day 3 and beyond brought elation. Fishing by day. Sometimes a little adrenaline rush on the jet ski or a peaceful float on an air mattress.

Sitting around a bonfire at night, making s’mores and reading book after book after book. Trash fiction I picked up at Sam’s as well as an autobiography that had at least some redeeming social value.

I plowed through every book I brought with me including the new Harry Potter book I had purchased at Mall of America the day it was released (it’s so heavy you almost need a book stand). Desperately out of books toward the end of the trip, I ended up reading one my 15 year old daughter brought with her. By far the most disturbing yet soulful of my consumed reading material. A book called “Uglies”. The premise of this future world is that to avoid the harsh judgments, prejudices, and discrimination brought about simply because of the way people look, society devised a plan that you were an “ugly” until 16 at which time you had major reconstructive surgery to become a perfectly symmetrical “pretty”, conforming to an ideal standard of beauty. There were “new pretties”, “mid pretties” and “crunchys”. Strange yet compelling story to it.

For a while I completely got away from it all. And it felt great. I got my fill of beer-battered walleye, wrestling frisky northern pike who were determined to break my line and really saw the beauty of the sun rise and set more than I had in years.

Now it’s back to the world of marketing. As soon as they ship the rest of my brain back from Minnesota.