I mean that literally. HBO’s web series, set in an elevator, looks like it costs $5.00 per episode to produce. At that’s a good thing since this is what you get:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVVb70pe9b0&hl=en]
Via Tilzy I learned:
“When he signed on to Runawaybox, Tondorf wanted to create a series “impossibly simple” to produce, a locked-frame, one-take show that could deliver a fresh episode every day. “I thought that something from an elevator security camera might be a fun idea, seeing as we’re all trapped in a small box with people we don’t know for an amount of time, often dropping in on their conversations and having no idea what they’re talking about.”
Christ, people in the industry wonder why nobody is watching their content on the internet but they produce content that is so completely marginal and doesn’t look anything like the content they would offer on TV. It doesn’t even look as good as most of the UGC stuff out there.
Why bother, HBO?
Zadby.com is currently out in beta and joins the ranks of a number of other services out there that are trying to bring together independent video producers and brand marketers.
Here’s their pitch:
“Zadby is an online marketplace where advertisers, marketers, and brand managers can connect with freelance video producers to create innovative product placement videos for distribution through outlets like YouTube and MySpace. Advertisers define what they want in a campaign; video producers shoot the videos; and Zadby facilitates, tracking the views and paying the producer on a per-view basis. It’s a low-risk proposition for a brand since it is view based and video producers get bucks for what they are doing anyway.”
The process seems to be different from project to project with each potential sponsor setting the terms. For the most part, if you see a commission that appeals to you they want you to go off, make your video with the product placement, post the video and then they will decide if it qualifies for payment.
Payment seems to be CPM based. The current commission, from Polk Audio, is offering CPM rate of $12.80.
It’s definitely too soon to tell in terms of whether this sort of model can work but I do like seeing new ways for independent producers to cashify their efforts.
I love this post on AdRants about the latest “make our ad, win a prize” contest (this one’s sponsored by Budget). Probably due to the growing number of these sorts of contests the money is growing, with this contest offering a grand prize of $25,000.
Which drove AdRants to say:
“Come on people! This is easy money! Screw all those non-industry types trying to cash in on the user-generated content craze when we ad people are the ones who are supposed to be making this stuff…and getting paid for it. Don’t let consumers steal your job!”
Well, he’s got a point…
Ok, Judge Wapner is actually still alive but he’s definitely getting on in years.
The point is that The People’s Court (man, that show has been on forever!) has created a pretty neat little online version of the show called People’s Court Raw.
According to ReelPop:
“The site exhorts pairs of viewers to upload their arguments — my GF should pay for her own birth control, my office mate shouldn’t burp — which are reviewed by the site and, if accepted, published to the site for viewers to judge. Judging is open for a limited time (10, 20, or 30 days, depending on the site’s admins), at the conclusion of which a winner is decided by audience votes.”
I think this is a pretty great idea. Although not a way to solve serious legal conflicts this could be a great argument settler, assuming both parties agreed to abide by the decision of the random people who decide to vote on their case.
Either way, I think this is a smart way to engage viewers in this chestnut of a brand in a way that feels fresh and takes full advantage of the web.
This will be one to watch.
Mashable has word on a the latest entry into the video distribution game – WildScreen:
“Aimed at filmmakers, Wildscreen is also hoping to entice users in with the offering of full ownership of the channel, including 100% of the ad revenue going directly to that operator of the video channel. With no upload limitations or revenue splits, wilidscreen’s offering is just different enough to likely catch someone’s attention, as individuals are being presented with a number of experimental alternatives to the monetization of their online video content.”
I will totally be testing out the service and reporting back. My big question is if WildScreen is really going to give out 100% of ad revenue to posters where will they make their money?
There is a quick note over on AdRants about the latest UGC campaign:
“Step on over to Upromise’s Tuition Tales (great name) for a glimpse at videos created by students seeking $25,000 to cover college costs. Over the past 12 weeks, a field of hundreds has been narrowed to ten finalist. The winner will be chosen by public vote.”
Something has gone terribly wrong in this country when kids are posting videos explaining why they should be the ones given money to go to college so that the “general public” can pick their favorite.
Maybe this is how all college admissions should work – let the YouTube public decide who deserves to go to school and have it paid for. That way, we can keep out those kids who just aren’t ready for life in the digital age.
AdRants has a look at the continued success of Dove in their online campaigns. Their latest campaign, launched during the Academy Awards, asked women to make and rate their own commercials for Dove products.
As opposed to much of the younger-targeted UGC campaigns we’ve seen in the past, these ads retain much of the Dove brand’s feel. “In fact,” said AdRants, “it looks like a stock Dove commercial (and for WAY less money).“
“This suggests, at least to us, that user-generated content can effectively supplement a broader ad campaign (as opposed to replacing one entirely). And instead of using UGC to try appealing to a YouTube audience (Pizza Pops comes to mind), Dove instead encouraged audience members to meet its standards and reinforce its own cultivated brand message. Impressive.”
Watch the ad at DoveCreamOil.com.
There is a story over on Vallywag about the growing trend of Al-Queda “UGC” videos:
“Al-Qaeda’s propaganda wing, al-Sahab, produced 16 Web videos in 2006. Last year, that number jumped to 74. Now al-Queda is recruiting “geek jihadis“: adherents handy with portable generators, laptops, and video-editing software.”
This is a scary, if not particularly surprising trend. Every silver lining has a cloud. There is a longer story on the subject here.
So AdRants led me to this new contest being run by Schick razors. It’s basically yet another UGC campaign to get people to send in videos showing why they think this razor is great. There is a $25K prize.
While there is nothing especially noteworthy about this I was somewhat surprised to discover exactly TWO entries to the content, both of which sort of appear to be professionally produced or at least produced by professionals. Now, the contest has only been running a few days, but with so few entries and a pathetically low number of views for their promo (42,000) it might be a sign that this sort of campaign is just not gonna cut it any more.
Yahoo has relaunched their video site, Yahoo Video, with a combination of UGC and “exclusive” content that looks to be repurposed film and tv stuff.
Not sure what Yahoo hopes to achieve by this, um, move. It feels like YouTube has this world well in hand and unless Yahoo is planning to offer some sort of added benefits (promotion, revshare, editing, quality) I’m not sure why anyone would pay much attention to the site.
We’ll have to track the viewer numbers and see what kind of traffic it generates.
(via Mashable)
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June 16, 2008 2:26 pm | 
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