Print Page 10/6/2009

NEW YORK: MediaVest, the ad agency that handles clients like Coca Cola, Kraft, CapitalOne, Wendy’s and Walmart is taking money out of broadcast and into the Internet. MediaVest said this week it cut its first large-scale, upfront deal based on targeted demographic mixes, moving “millions of broadcast dollars into the digital space.”

The deal involves moving several unnamed clients over to Hulu.com, the Web site that streams TV shows from ABC, NBC, Fox, PBS, as well as several cable networks and syndicators. Hulu is a joint venture of Disney, NBC Universal, News Corp. and Providence Equity Partners.

Hulu.com was the fourth most visited site for online video during August, according to ComScore. The Web site had 488,255 video views during the month. Google, which owns YouTube, was No. 1 with more than 10 million.

The arrangement with Hulu allows MediaVest to get a better handle on the efficacy of Web advertising.

“The MediaVest deal is the first agency-wide Hulu upfront that relies solely on demographic targeting mixes and holds the promise to deliver more precise audiences of consumer targets,” the ad firm said in its announcement. “It also looks to provide improved accountability compared to traditional online video metrics and move the industry closer to cross-platform buying and delivery.”

MediaVest executive Amanda Richman said, “Smarter targeting, expanded metrics, and the opportunity to test new ad experiences and their effectiveness--these are all critical ingredients for unlocking the full potential of online video and key drivers of this partnership.”

More on Hulu.com:
June 29, 2009: “Broadcasters Generate Half of Ad-Supported Online Video Revenues”
NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS, along with Hulu.com--co-owned by the first three, churned out 53 percent of the $448 million ad-supported online video market for 2008. The remaining revenues were generated by major sports leagues, traditional online portals, and direct services from other major channel groups and content owners.

May 28, 2009: “Video: Someone’s Got to Pay”
“In five years old guys like me will still call it ‘television,’ but it will come from anywhere, in many formats, via many distribution channels. Anything anywhere in increasing quality and quantity and decreasing costs. That’s the trend,” said Liberty Media Chairman John Malone.

April 14, 2009: “Broadcast TV Versus Online Shows”
Online video tracker OVGuide.com compared what people watch on broadcast TV versus network fare viewed on the Web. The overall result was logical--the so-called “reality” genre did better on TV, while scripted fare was preferred online. The gist is that reality loses its bite once the outcome is revealed.

February 23, 2009: “Hulu and CBS Spat”
CBS said it could stream its content anywhere it darn well pleased after online aggregator Hulu asserted otherwise. Hulu.com the online TV repurposer owned by News Corp and NBC Universal, last week pulled CBS shows licensed to Hulu from CBS’s own stream site, TV.com.   Print Page