Advertising 2.0: Crystal ball, anyone?

Ad:Tech, underway since yesterday in NYC, proudly touts it “pre-registered” 12,000 attendees, and it feels like they all showed up! 

The conference-expo-launch pad-party circuit is billed as an “Inclusive Look at How the Intersection of Marketing and Technology is Shaping the Future of Brand.”

So many “looks” have been included, in fact, that the future shape of Advertising 2.0 appears to be anyone’s (different) guess. Even individual panelists put forth seemingly contradictory views.

In this morning’s panel entitled “The Future of Online Advertising,” Peter Naylor, Senior VP Digital Media Sales, NBC Universal, noted that the entire advertiser-media-agency ecosystem has been turned topsy-turvy: 

Major corporations are creating content, NBC is asked to act as an advertising agency in leveraging assets…advertisers become content providers, we are becoming an agency…

At the beginning of his remarks, Naylor expressly put forth an anti video pre-roll pitch. In exhorting not to go the “30 second spot” route, he underscored that if an ad is made to “fit the environment,” audiences will be more accepting of it.

Naylor acknowledged the about face NBC did regarding the SNL “Lazy Sunday” video clip uploaded by fans to YouTube earlier in the year. Shortly after demanding YouTube take down the clips for unauthorized copyright infringement, NBC entered into a cross-promotional deal with YouTube:

A partnership that will combine NBC’s quality programming with YouTube’s vast audience to enhance the entertainment experience on YouTube while engaging viewers in innovative new ways to promote NBC’s Fall program lineup and other preferred shows over the next year. The agreement also includes an integrated, cross-promotional advertising relationship on the YouTube service and significant on-air promotion provided by NBC.

As a result, NBC created an official NBC Channel on YouTube to house its Fall Preview area with exclusive clips to promote NBC’s "The Office." In addition, over the next year, NBC will upload several video presentations and longform promos per week to the NBC Channel on YouTube from primetime and late-night programs like "Saturday Night Live," "The Office," and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." YouTube will also promote NBC’s videos throughout the site.

At the recent OMMA conference in NYC, Beth Comstock, President, Digital Media and Market Development, NBC Universal, touted the NBC-YouTube cross promos.

I asked Comstock during the OMMA Q & A if any money is changing hands between NBC and YouTube:

Does NBC get paid from YouTube for the right to use its copyright content?
Does YouTube get paid for the promotions it does for NBC?

Comstock replied that the NBC-YouTube arrangement is purely a “promotional” one, no money changes hands between the two companies.

At today’s Ad:Tech Q & A, I asked Naylor:

YouTube’s ownership is to change hands, will NBC be requiring that the new owner, Google, provide monetary compensation to NBC for the use of its content?

Naylor replied that the current cross-promotional arrangement is a stand-alone deal. He also indicated that any possible future syndication of content would be a separate, possibly pre-roll advertising deal.

Naylor’s talk of possible future pre-roll ads on NBC video content at YouTube appears to be in  contradiction with his opening anti video pre-roll commentary.

Suzie Reider, CMO, YouTube, spoke to YouTube’s advertising philosophies at the prior panel and underscored that marketers ought not “mess up” the YouTube experience, as I recount in YouTube on marketers: Won’t be ‘messing it up’.

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