For years, consumers have been viewing the majority of video – advertising and content – on the screen of their television. We’ve watched screens get smaller and portable, then larger, lighter and flatter, and finally completely mobile. Today, screens come in virtually every shape and size, from conventional to not so conventional. An LCD screen embedded on a page of Marie Claire magazine featured a 45 second video promoting a Dolce & Gabanna fragrance. And there’s more changing than the screens. Consumer’s viewing patterns are changing. Audiences will now consume video content in a way that’s most convenient at the moment. According to MillardBrown.com, consumers take just 1/20th of a second to make decisions on the appeal of digital stimuli. Their data suggests that just one appealing visual is enough to attract attention in digital ads. This should open the eyes of marketers everywhere and should change not only the way we create video content, but also the way we think about it.

1. Instead of separating the pile of money set aside for video into one for television and one for digital, we need to use our video advertising dollars to create content that is effective to viewers, no matter how and where they view content.
2. Video messages must work well for all screens, no matter where the consumer finds them. For example, the same graphics that read well on a full size monitor may become more difficult to read on a mobile device. And based on the way the graphic is created, the opposite may also be true. Clean, simple design with short bits of copy tends to work across different visual media. Always test across a variety of screen sizes before you give a green light.
3. Adaptations must be built into the marketing plan to differentiate video content based on the intended audience – which by the way we must get better at defining.
4. Advertisers will not live on video alone. No matter how much the consumer loves mobile, the most effective advertising will create synergy between screen and non-screen media. Print and POS materials will build market and support brand messaging.

In the end, advertisers need to tear down the media-centric silos that affect the way we budget our media buys. With this mindset, we can integrate our branding and promotional messages to play well across multiple media channels. When we do this, we optimize our ad buy to generate greater reach and significantly more frequency for our customers. At HenkinSchultz we know how to think outside the silo, the box, the norm, the trend, to make your advertising successful across all channels. And we create amazing video content that gets attention and increases conversion rates. We explain it all. Just give us a call.