Hulu: Video & Effective Advertising
Hulu is one of several online video services. The site offers full-length movies and television shows on demand at no cost to the viewer. Hulu earns revenue through advertising presented in an effective yet un-intrusive way.
Win/Win for Multiple Parties
It’s always interesting when a company uses technology in a win/win way. Win/win in the case of Hulu means:
- Viewers get free content, with minimal ads.
- Ads are presented in a way that respects the viewer’s time. A countdown indicator shows how much longer the ad will last.
- Advertisers get a chance to market products before a known & segmented audience.
- Content creators get a portion of Hulu’s revenue (royalties/licenses).
- Hulu earns revenue so they can continue to grow their business.
Ads With a Countdown Bar
Let’s face it: Television advertising is an interruption that we were forced to endure in pre-DVR days. Today, most people use a DVR for TV time-shifting. We skip commercials altogether.
Hulu shows ads, but they are presented with a countdown clock indicating the number of seconds remaining in the ad. It’s one thing to be interrupted. But if the duration of the interruption is known in advance, the intrusion is more bearable.
Ads With Links
What if the advertiser is offering something that the viewer wants right now? In our instant-gratification-driven culture, a smart entrepreneur will capitalize on that impulse. Therefore Hulu lets advertisers place hyperlinks within their ads.
Rate the Ad
If you’re running a large company and spending millions of dollars on advertising, you might like to know which ads are most effective. Viewers can give advertisers this information if there’s a built-in way to collect the info. Hulu includes thumbs up/down buttons so viewers can rate ads while they are viewing them. More important, asking for feedback may induce the viewer to pay closer attention to the ad, something every advertiser wants.
Room for Improvement
Now… here’s where Hulu could really improve: Since shows are offered on demand, they could tailor the ads to the individual viewer. If males between the ages of 18 and 34 are targeted with car commercials, show convertables in Southern California and SUVs in Northern Canada. Affluent people could be shown investment ads during the same show. The more demographics Hulu collects, the better they can tailor the advertising. Ads are less intrusive when they are relevant to the viewer. They might even be helpful.
If Hulu isn’t tailoring their ads to the viewer right now, it’s only a matter of time before they do.
What About You?
Is your site leveraging web technologies? Or do you have a simple online brochure?