Targeted Personalized Video
As I look to the future to predict what might be the “next big thing” in marketing and technology, live video is all the rage right now. I think the next logical step will be targeted, personalized video. It may not be as exciting as artificial intelligence (AI) bots, but we’re at a point where personalized video can go beyond being novel and creepy to be truly effective.
The last several Christmases we’ve used Portable North Pole to send personalized videos to our kids. They ask about the videos every year, and their faces still light up when Santa says their name. They love seeing their photo on the “good list,” and it really feels like “Christmas magic” to them (and me)! As a marketer, I love the tech behind the scenes. There are a lot of variables we can choose for each video: Santa can say their name, tell them if they’ve been good or bad, pull in their photos from my Facebook page, show where they live on a Google Map (including a street view of our house), mention what gift they are asking for, and more.
The ability to show a customized video based on information from a database or social media profile has been around for a while, but it’s been seen as creepy or novel. A few marketers have continued to test the waters,such as Nike+ and Cadbury (which saw a 65% click-through rate and a 33.6% conversion rate). Another recent article showed similar open and click-through rates in test campaigns recently run by one agency.
Earlier this year, Facebook introduced personalized “Friend Day” videos, which pulls user data and pictures to create a personalized, shareable video. It’s a great, safe, introduction to personalized video for the masses. Now that people have been introduced to these videos, I think there will be less apprehension when they start to see personalized videos from other sources.
With the some of the initial results seen above, I don’t think it will be long before we’ll start to see a lot more personalized video targeted at individuals. However, targeted banner ads were nearly that engaging when they were first developed. Eventually the novelty wore off and “banner blindness” kicked in. Now, a .5% click through rate is outstanding for banner ads. While I think targeted personalized videos will take off over the next year or two, it’s shelf-life will probably be limited. So start thinking about how you can use it creatively before its effectiveness fades and the next big thing comes along.
