The tipping point

On the 26th May US based comScore Networks released a press release about the state of online video use. comScore based their findings on results from their new service Video Metrix. The service measures user participation in both advertising and content video materials.

Although the results were drawn from the US, they still highlight universal trends in digital media uptake. These trends are good news for those of us in the world of viral marketing; with comScore’s findings telling us that the number of minutes spent watching video had increased by 18% over the six month period between October 05 and March 06. CEO of comScore’s Media Metrix rightly states: “Video consumption on the web is rapidly approaching the tipping point for advertisers.”

The web has become a domain in which we are increasingly living our lives and the boom in broadband is offering us massively rich experiences which put the user in the driving seat. Burger King’s Subservient Chicken campaign is a perfect example of the internet’s power to reach consumers through interactive web-based video technology. So far the website has clocked 460 million visitors.

On demand entertainment is clearly far more rewarding than the linear and dictatorial nature of television and its advertising methods. This is evident when you look at the fact that visits to the top 10 online video sites have increased by 164% in the last three months.