Clearly one of the star speakers at the coming Malaysian Media Conference on April 2, Dean Donaldson is Global Director of Media Innovation for MediaMind advertising technology solutions. A dynamic public speaker, he has delivered presentations at over a 100 industry events across more than 30 countries around the world. With a creative background and futurist outlook, Dean is a recognised expert at navigating through the maze of emerging media and serves on many industry councils. He interviewed him over email for the coming Conference...

Is video the 'killer-app' for marketers going online?
Video is the bridge between on and offline in as much as where PC meets TV. Now broadband has well and truly allowed the ability to stream video en masse and consumers are accustomed to searching for contend from VOD to YouTube, along with a rise of homes connecting their TV's to the Internet, the blur between a TV screen and a PC screen are becoming ever more indistinguishable. This not only allows the free flow of TV assets porting to online, but the rise of tailored creative using video to carry on the story within the online environment, and with it the positive effects are seen across a variety of metrics when compared to ads without video.

What are the opportunities you see for marketers using a video strategy?
There is video within the banners on a web page, where the content can sync to allow some interesting creative stories to be carried through the page. There is linking InStream video that oftens carries a companion based creative allowing the user the ability to interact and explore the brand without leaving the page. The next stage will combine all this thinking and allow dual screen, where the companion device in your hand, such as a Smart Phone or Tablet to interact with the TV ad and carry on the story line and allow the user to have a deeper brand experience.

In the battle of 'screens', how do see marketing content colliding with news content?
This could be looked at from a sponsorship viewpoint, where as each product placement shown on a main screen could push a trigger to a secondary portable screen to discover more about the product in question. This actually allows a much more seamless interactive experience that doesn't have to be quite so intrusive. There is also the very fact that more and more news content is becoming video based online, and news tends to be content that is needed to be consumed in near real-time. The ability for targeting against such content will become increasingly more prevalent for time-sensitive offers, though news can often be sensitive in nature, so part of the dynamic creative can be in adjusting the messaging to take this into consideration.

You talk about an impending video explosion. Tell us briefly what you envisage?
The blur between TV and online excites digital marketers with the opportunity to value their worth with increased creative budgets. From the TV side, this means more effective usage data. More measurability often reveals how bad something actually performs and with it the question of ROI. The fact that the majority of media budgets are within the TV side of the business – 50% of the global media economy – we could take a predominantly brand focused medium down the path of Direct Response, and ultimately squeeze the margins of both agencies and broadcaster/publishers. The very fact that content producers are being targeted by a new wave of distributors, such as Google and YouTube, means the established TV companies need to look for new ways to maintain the premium value in a wave of consumers seeking alternative online methods for getting video entertainment more conveniently. There are huge challenges that media are about to address with many ramifications all the way around.

What is it that Malaysian marketers and media professionals can gain from your talk at MMC?
I will attempt to illustrate the amazing creative opportunities that now are at our disposal as we look to the next way of connected devices and video shifting across screens served over the Internet. Yet equally, we will look at the challenges that are ahead for marketers and content creators, or buyers and distributors alike. Technology doesn't stand still. Consumers are hungry for the next thing. We all pride ourselves on being innovative, but there are implications and questions that must be addressed to ensure the profitability and accountability are correctly maintained for the future growth of media.

The coming Malaysian Media Conference (MMC) 2012 is themed as 'Digital Disclosures'. MMC will attempt to unravel the issues in terms of understanding the new connected user, optimisation of current working processes (role of technology), managing client expectations and Big Data through these exciting times ahead. The Malaysian Media Conference will frame this scenario and the way forward for all thinking media practitioners... Email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to register your participation!