VideoRetailer.org - Exploring the Intersection of Video and e-Commerce.

Wine videos: watch and taste!

Despite the general economic slowdown, the global wine market is growing. Every year more people drink more wine and they start to spend more on each bottle. It is estimated that the global wine market is worth some 240 Billion USD, with the US being the biggest consumer market.  France comes second.  China is growing more quickly than any other country (in 2008, China generated total revenues of $5.8 Billion). In terms of production, more than 60% of all wine is still made in Europe; with France, Italy and Spain as the leading wine producers.

Although wine distribution, marketing and communication varies A LOT from country to country and consumer behavior is often driven by social and cultural factors, there is one common trend: the Internet has become central to marketing and selling wine as online sales grow. A study by the Bordeaux Management School in France found online wine sales grew 30% in the last year alone in that country.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find reliable numbers on how much wine is sold online every year overall, but since France alone saw a 30% increase in web sales from 2008 to 2009, the overall volume seems important enough to dedicate some thoughts on the future relevance of video for online wine retailing.

I looked at some of the most important online wine retailers to see if and how they use video in their online strategy and found the outcome disappointing. Video marketing is still a rare discipline in the online wine retailing business it seems although there are a couple of extraordinary success stories, like Gary Vaynerchuk’s WineLibrary.tv or the German wine shop TVino.de

Gary Vaynerchuk, one of Internet’s hottest retail celebrities has created a business of $70 million based partly on the success of his daily video wine-tasting show at WineLibrary.TV. Wine entrepreneur and social media star, he is an early adopter of online video marketing. He published more than 840 episodes, presenting 3 different wines every day for almost 3 years. Vaynerchuk has perfectly understood the value and the power of online video in order to create a brand and broaden his potential customer base to ultimately sell his products over the Internet. But most of all he has shown a great understanding for what drives online buying processes in general and decision making when it comes to wine and wine-related products in particular.

Think about it for a moment: wine is just not like any other product you shop for off or online. It is not a standard product. There are millions of different producers and brands and quality can differ from year to year depending where it comes from. So, wine is a typical “prescription” product. Most likely, you would rather listen to an expert, a vendor, a waiter or a wine-literate friend than risk 20 Euros just because you like the label. Generally speaking and for most people, wine shopping is a rather sensual experience. You want to touch the bottle, feel the label, see the color, get some expert advise on what to eat with it and most of all you want to know how it tastes before you buy it. So either you are lucky enough to taste the wine yourself before you decide or you need somebody knowledgeable to describe the taste to you.

As more expensive wines became mainstream consumer goods, sharing wine knowledge also became a vehicle for communicating social status.  In addition, being able to select a decent wine has required specialized knowledge. Consumers that know about wine represent a broader consumer group called called “the professional consumer.”  Professional consumers are people who actually want to know stuff about the product they are consuming.  They want to learn about it - especially when it comes to food and its origin - and then they want to share that knowledge within their social network.

Video content in the form of wine-tasting shows -check out the examples of WineLibrary, TVino (Germany), Majestic Wine (UK) or Wein&Co (Austria)- have great potential as they provide marketing and communication elements so crucial to the online decison making process.

Watching an entertaining and informative 5 minute video that compares 3 different Riojas, Chardonnays or Pinot Noirs can be a much more interesting experience than shopping for wine in the aisles of a supermarket. Getting an expert description of taste and comparing prices before actually ordering a case is an extremely useful and user-friendly decision making tool for online shoppers. Also, these kind of videos are relatively easy and low cost to produce since merchants don’t need complicated settings or sophisticated post-production. All that’s needed is a credible presenter or host who connects with the audience, a camera operator, and a video editor.  In many cases that can be one person.

Wine online retailers who use good video content and wine-tasting shows will have a competitive advantage compared to text-based shops since they offer entertainment and education, something that many wine shoppers are actually looking for.

How video players could (or should) look like to deliver great user experience.

Video works for e-retailers. In 2010, we already know that landing pages and product sites with video convert better than those without. But the mayority of thoses sites follow a simple presentation formula: product pages including a (more or less sophisticated) video player that reproduces relevant content about the product in question.

In the service sector (banking, education, telecoms, etc.) we are starting to see different techniques of integrating video, with navigation concepts entirely based on and around video content. That means that the core elements of the site’s architecture is audiovisual content and animation (mostly in flash) that cover most part of the page but without using the “standard click-to-play video player” we are used to from video sharing sites or most of the e-retailer product pages.

Let’s see a first good example from the banking sector: Chase Blueprint, a personal financial tracking&tracing service offered to Chase clients.

Kaplan Academy of California also uses video hosts that cover more than 50% of the homepage to help different target users to navigate through the site.

AT&T’s video host explains the advantages of the 3G MicroCell wifi modem right from the living room. The format chosen is a kind of video catalogue that guides the user through the product’s features and advantages.

In my opinion, these sort of video integration makes special sense for home and landing pages. Videos become a “natural” part of the online navigation and it is an effective way to focuses the user’s attention to the main features on the site, simplifying the navigation and reducing the number of clicks to get to key contents.

Nevertheless, there are a few important things to consider using videos that don’t come in standard players.

1) Costs: production costs for these videos are likely to be higher. To look great they need to be shot in a studio, with perfect lightening, a croma key or an infinite white box; it also requires a professional postproduction to combine the human presenters with the rest of the elements and the animation.

2) Autoplay or press to play? Don’t forget that the user needs to be in control of the reproduction; that includes a play, stop and a sound-off option; one option is to autoplay the video when the user first comes to the page and make it “press-to-play” when the user returns.
3) Include triggers. Make sure the user knows how and where to start the video. Be as direct as possible and avoid a simple “play video”; try to reveal what’s behind the content; scroll up to the Kaplan example and you will know what I mean.

4) Don’t forget your Call To Action.
Set up Blueprint (example Chase), Request more information (example Kaplan) , Availability Checker (example AT&T) are effective examples to include Calls For Action. If the goal of the video is to convert, the clip needs persuasive Calls For Action, clearly visible throughout the running time of the clip.

Zappos.com: the biggest video retailer in 2010?

Online shoe and fashion accessory retailer Zappos has started to integrate Overlay.tv’s video technology, a simple and user-friendly “clickable” video interface that allows the user to interact with the content, widely referred to as video widgets.

Here a few impressive statistics on Zappos’ online video use:

• In 2010 Zappos plans to offer some 50,000 product videos on their website which will make it the biggest video retailer on the web!
• Zappos’ existing video content on product pages has been able to increase sales (compared to product sites without video) by between 6 to 30%!
• The Las Vegas-based online retailer currently counts with 6 video studios to produce their own content and is planning to run 4 more studios by the end of 2010.

That’s makes them the innovation champion in video retailing 2009-2010, and that’s why

Do you heart Zappos, too?

“Videos we’re loving” - Lonely Planet’s video email marketing strategy.

The volume of email and newsletter marketing is soaring during the current Christmas season and we are seeing good examples of video and rich media implementations from retailers and online shops.

Take Lonely Planet, the most popular travel guide, for example. A couple of years ago they already started to use video on their website; they also started experimenting in a very early stage with user-generated video content allowing travelers to share their amateur clips with other users, integrating these videos very naturally in the community section of the web. Today, professional video content is a key to promote almost any destination at Lonely Planet’s sites.

The brand also understood that short videos help to curb relatively low conversion rates of email and newsletter campaigns, a format that has become less attractive, for some users even intrusive, especially in times when users prefer pull marketing in form of RSS subscription or social recommendations via Facebook or Twitter.

All week, Lonely Planet newsletters include at least 2-3 short video clips, like these from their latest newsletter on top Christmas travel destinations for example.

If you have video content think about if and how it could be used in your email and online promotion strategy because it it can help to make a good old newsletter look attractive again. A study of MarketingSherpa said already back in June 2008 that embedded video in emails have the potential to increase conversion rates up to 50%!

Burn it, smash it, blend it: really simple product videos that put it to the extreme.

Product videos account for a large part of commercial video content on the web. Most of these videos are part of the product site or description and at best they are informative but never too entertaining, right?  But that’s ok because their key function is to be relevant and useful for users who needs to get a better understanding of the characteristics of the product or service offered. But that’s also why only a very small part of those videos make it out to the web and go viral.

A “good” viral product video should produce more than a fleeting spike in views on YouTube. It should be able to create a certain (desired) brand effect and in the best case drive traffic to the brand’s or product’s site, raising online conversion rate.

Here are 3 great and extreme examples of how brands from different industries have been able to raise brand / product awareness through very simple viral videos.

1. The chemical group DuPont presents a new fire fighter protection suit that beats everything else on the market and gives almost 100% burn protection for fire fighters in extreme conditions. The spectacular clip went viral after video blogger Amanda Congdo put it on her favorite video list. Click on the image to go to the video.

2. Another great example is “catapulting chairs” stress test video that shows the indestructible design of Emeco aluminum chairs. The test object, Emeco navy chair, is catapulted against a brick wall. See what happens to the chair:

3. You might remember the launch of the IOSafe Drive at this year’s CES in Las Vegas. The video of the burning and drowning but disaster-proof data case of its hard drive made it around the globe. IOSafe kindly remarks, “Don’t try this at home with your normal hard drive!”

If you think about producing a product video for the web make sure you are able to visualize the unique value proposition of your product first. What is it that makes your product or service really different from all the others?  What’s the best way to prove this to your prospective customers? After thinking about the characteristics of your product, you may consider using a video that puts the product through extreme testing - remember the simple but effective video campaign by “Will It Blend?”

Still, one should never forget that extreme footage isn’t for every product.  Don’t force the “extreme” element into your videos just because it’s sensational.  Such approaches can damage the brand, and when this style is forced onto a product that doesn’t fit the “extreme” mold, it actually can turn potential clients away.

When does branded web.tv make strategic sense?

Video has become part of corporate Internet content strategies and online marketers who don’t pay attention to that, are wholeheartedly ignoring YouTube as the second most important search engine behind Google. “To YouTube” is “to Google” and for brands there is no way to get around that. Having said that, there are many different strategies and ways to use video; a YouTube channel to communicate with your clients is just one of many formulas.

One option - and without any doubt the most challenging in terms of strategy, implementation and maintenance - is to set up a branded web tv. In the last 12 months we have seen how difficult it can be to keep a branded web tv alive. Bud.tv (Budweiser Beer) closed. “Jen and Barb mom life” , originally sponsored by Kraft Food, had to downsize its activities drastically and instead of talking about food and health they now talk about connected living as Kraft Food dropped out and Verizon Wireless came in as a new sponsor.

But let’s look at some branded web TV success stories: take Mercedes Benz TV, a Web TV platform of the German carmaker with films and stories about cars, motorsport, lifestyle and music. The idea is simple: using entertaining contents to present the innovative drive of the brand.

Or enter at Vacacions Canada TV, a great example of how to sell online while entertaining the audience / users. The site is based on video content and they way it’s done seems so natural. All that Canada has to offer as a vacation destination is intelligently packed into short episodes which relate to holiday offers that can be booked online through the site. All video content can be e-mailed, shared, embedded and downloaded.

On the other hand there are example of brands like Nestlé Spain that have launched their idea of web.tv. But unfortunately there is nothing “webby” about the site’s value proposition. But let’s be fair: At least, Nestlé Spain at least calls the thing by its real name: “Nestlé online television”. Take a quick look and you will see what I mean. This is TV content (including Nestlé’s outdated TV spots) made available online without any obvious relation to strategic marketing objectives.

So, when does branded web tv = entertainment that helps to persue a specific online marketing strategy, make sense in the first place? In my opinion, branded web tv can be a powerful marketing tool…

1. … if you are able to produce and offer useful and unique contents that are not available elsewhere. Sometimes it feels that brands think of web tv as a channel to recycle their tv spots.

2. … if the site is part of a bigger online strategy and related to branding, converting and ultimately selling you product or service.

3. … if you can create community around the contents and target it to o users / customers with specific needs and/or interests.

4. … if you provide an interface / player that allows the user to truely interact with the content.

5. … if you are aware of the resources necessary to maintain the site alive and know how to distribute the content on the web. Those are costly projects which need to produce ROI at some stage, through cross-selling with other site of the brand or affiliated sites.

Poor use of video marketing in the best European Business School

School is back and thousands of students and adult learners are about to decide where to invest their time and money to get the adequate education. More then ever Internet is the first and most important source of information for students of all ages to select a college, a university or a business school and check out their offers. Schools’ web site, home and landing page designs are crucial for converting a user into a lead or potential student. Since video content is playing a critical role in the online brand experience I have taken a look at how the top 4 European Business Schools - according to the 2008 Financial Time’s Ranking - use video to attract, inform and convert users online.

Therefore I tried to find out 2 simple things: 1. Do the schools use professionally created videos on the homepage (no embedded third party content from sharing sites), and 2. Do they include videos to sell their MBA programs. To evaluated the quality of the integration I also checked on the number of clicks necessary to find video content entering through the site’s home page and on the “web 2.0 character” of the content.

Talking about the who-is-who in higher executive business education, the findings leave a lot to be desired.

1. HEC / Paris
At the home page of the French icon of higher education we find a summery of a speach Bill Gates gave at HEC some while ago. It’s an embedded video from HEC’s YouTube channel. Click on the link “videos” and you are redirected to a news page that features a series of videos - the most recent from January 2009 - which are resumes of conferences or talks held at the university. Nothing too exciting and probably not too useful for someone who looks for information about programs. But with just 3 clicks from the home page you get to what is called “MBA stories”, a micro-site that hosts some 20 videos, basically testimonials of alumni (between 1 and 2 minutes long), where MBA graduates share their experience and memories and talk about the quality of the program. The video site has very basic sharing options: send the page to a friend and link it to Facebook or LinkedIn. No embed, no comment or video sharing options, though.

Conclusion: HEC’s home page clearly fails to impact on potentially new students - no video that explains briefly the advantages, the USP or the offer of the school. The MBA page includes a video mini-site but it lacks proper integration with the product site and the offer, no cross-selling, no call-to-action and a very basic player without sharing options.

2. London Business School
You won’t find a video at the home page of London Business School (LBS), but at least there a link to a “Dean Welcome Film” which leads to page with 6 videos about the core competences of the institution. The player is basic and the list of videos does not use thumbnails. Looking for further information on MBA programs, we find a text-based site on MBA contents, method, targets and alumni - no video either! Nevertheless, on the right we find a link to a content section called MBA TV that features 13 episodes about campus life, the program, students, etc. But the clips are presented as a list and you need to scroll down; but the worst of all: no thumbnails are include to quickly identify what the content is about. There is a download option but no way to embed, share or comment the content.

Conclusion: The idea to include a MBA TV is great, contents might be interesting for potential new students but integration is poor. There is no clear segmentation and so it’s impossible to know which content is interesting and / or useful for a specific user. Again, no sharing options are available to make the content go viral.

3. INSEAD
The second French School in the ranking, INSEAD does not use video on their home page either. 2 more clicks away from the home we find a 6 minute “MBA programme video, based on several interviews with alumni and students, sharing their personal experiences. At least, there are sharing options to export the page to Facebook or LinkedIn for example. All the rest of the information is text based.

Conclusion: Total lack of video marketing strategy.

4. IE
IE, the Madrid-based International Institute specialised in Business education and post-graduate programs includes a video window called “IE Media Campus” that features interviews with teachers, students and alumni. Although the content is institutional rather than promotional, it’s the only home page out of four that welcomes the user with a video. The player includes a scrollable list of other related clips. 2 more clicks away from the home page we find more video-base information about the International MBA program. The player does not reproduce the way users are used to - before starting the clip the user has to choose between image, podcast or video format - but offers a scroll to see other clips with practical information on admission procedure, program content and campus life.

Conclusion: Home and MBA product pages both offer videos. There is an associated site called “IE Media Campus” with more video content (student stories, practical info, financial issues, etc.) which helps the user make a decision whether IE is the right place to get a degree. There, users find the most common sharing options, including forwarding, linking, embedding and rating.

General conclusion:
1. 3 out of 4 sites analyzed have no clear video marketing strategy.
2. 3 out of 4 lack of the typical web 2.0 tools to distribute the content on the web.
3. None of the school uses innovative storytelling.
4. Contents are not designed to engage or convert the user. There is a lack of commercial and promotional intention in the implementation of video.
5. 3 of 4 do not use videos on their home page and fail to create a strong visual impact for first-time users.

Content creation for video marketing - think different!

This is the first post of a series about what video marketing really is, which we started at VideoRetailer last Friday. So this is chapter (1) and I will analyze basic aspects about the nature of online marketing video content.

Many potential clients, at least in Spain where I am writing from, still believe that creating video contents for their online marketing mix is expensive, or too expensive for them. They imagine a film crew of 20 shooting a high production value 30 seconds’ commercial that costs a fortune and creates negative ROI (= high cost, low real impact, difficult to measure). It will take us some more time to “educate” the market about what video marketing really is. Maybe this year’s tighter budgets will trigger the learning curve, although I see video marketing more as a new opportunity for SME rather than a online substitute for offline advertising of the big brands.

However, I think there are a couple of things we should be able to transmit to our clients and especially to their intermediaries, their online agencies. First, forget TV commercials and its costly production processes. Video marketing is simpler and cheaper and if it’s well executed, it’s more effective but above all: measurable. Second, think differently about the contents. TV advertising contents tend to picture a fantasy world that most consumers cannot relate to and more important, they cannot react to the message because it is closed away in a unidirectional TV set.

So, what are some of the basic rules designing and producing online video contents regardless of the nature of your business or your sector?

1) Be specific and segment your audience. On the web 2.0, most people still look for answers (only a fraction really contributes). So, make sure your clips resolve the doubts or questions of the users, especially for products and services with a complicated presale phase. There are many good examples around, let me just mention 2 examples. TV Trip and Caja Navarra, a Spanish Savings Bank. TV Trip is a video based hotel guide and booking site where all listed hotels come with their respective clip, allowing to check out the rooms and the location around. The videos have a rather low production value and are not too original but they are of great complementary value because they help to choose the right place for your stay. I love the mash-up with the Google map below. It makes online booking really easy. Caja Navarra has a female video guide on the home page and on interior sites, she pilots you through the different services the bank offers. Simple and nicely executed and of great help to first time bank users or online clients.

2) Adapt the content to the medium. Or said differently, make your content really easy to watch and share. Divide the contents logically and make sure you show the right clip at the right moment. There is nothing more annoying than having to watch a 5 minute video when the useful information shows up in the last 15 seconds. Offer streaming and download versions in easy-to-control players and without any doubt it’s worth thinking about all those who connect to the web via iPhones, Blackberries or other video-enabled phones.  Then, make sure that important text information or subtitles come in legible sizes.

3) Use real people and a documental style. Whenever it’s possible we try to shoot with people who are somehow related to the company or organization. If you are a furniture manufacturer, let your designers speak about their creations. If you are a retailer, bring your satisfied customers in front of the camera.  Another possibility is to find a passionate amateur who love to talk about gardening, recycling, cooking, cars, shoes, travelling, whatever… you name it. Don’t search for complicated locations, involves your camera-loving employees, clients, providers or fans and let them send the message about your product, service or brand.

4) Think big and produce small. Make sure you don’t run out of contents too soon because it won’t be cost efficient to shoot one clip every once in a while. Think ahead about the contents you need and invest time into preproduction to make the actual shooting as easy and smooth as possible. To my experience, you might need between 2 to 6 people in these kind of production processes depending on the briefing, of course. That can include script writer, camera man, photography and/or lighting technician, cutter and maybe a graphic effect designer. Depending on project’s requirement and scope sometimes even 2 people - camera man and cutter - can do the job.

Video Commerce Chronicles Episode 3: The importance of a good content strategy

In this episode of the Video Commerce Chronicles, we cover the importance of having a good strategy for acquiring video commerce content:

1. Why is it important?
2. Types of content
3. Sources of content
4. Content acquisition Costs
5. Content acquisition Processes

Enjoy and feel free to drop a comment.