10ton

We tell stories, with film, on the web and tv.

Archive for April, 2007


Get Engaged Quickly

April 27th, 2007
by Lee Semel  |  10ton

Today we’re releasing a new campaign, called Get Engaged Quickly. In it, we’re advertising ourselves, and the idea of engaging people online. It’s a lot of fun and hopefully will give you a few moments of entertainment. Just a warning, it’s a strong PG-13, so don’t watch it if the boss is around. You can watch it here: www.getengagedquickly.com

Free Branding with Click-To-Play Video Ads

April 24th, 2007
by Matt Semel  |  Ad Formats, Ad Platforms, Branding

Google now offers click-to-play video ads.   The ads show a still image which the user can click on to cause the video to play.  .  It’s important to design the initial stills so that they’re interesting enough to grab the user’s attention and inspire them to watch the videos.

Here’s what’s really amazing about the program: Google doesn’t charge the advertiser to show the first image, and then they don’t charge to play the video!  They only charge once the user has clicked through to the advertiser’s website.

This is great for advertisers because they can get away with free branding.  It’s worthwhile even if the user doesn’t click through to the corresponding website.

It’s like paying for an ad on network television only if people visit the company’s website after viewing the ad!  With this great benefit in mind, it’s important to make that initial still image as compelling as possible.

Branded Content

April 4th, 2007
by Chris Chang  |  Ad Formats, Branding, Stuff We Like

At 10ton, we have become fans of a particular form of advertising that has a great deal of potential online: branded content. Branded content is an ad that draws your attention to the product, but provides an experience that’s more like entertainment. What makes branded content different?

  • It may be in an ad, but it’s not a commercial. It something you want to watch, rather than an interruption that you try to avoid.
  • It’s not in-your-face about the fact that it’s promoting a product, but it doesn’t try to hide it, either.
  • It’s a destination of its own, but can link back to the sponsoring brand’s main site to tell more of the product’s story.
  • People can pass it along to their friends. The current buzzword for this phenomenon, a term which we’re not too enamored with, is going viral. The best way to improve the odds of this happening is to make your ad as entertaining as possible.

What does branded content look like? It can be anything from a short video to a whole online TV network. Your Perfect Girl is branded content, promoting a dating site. Bud.tv is a whole network of branded content, consisting of online shows designed to appeal to beer drinkers. A new site, Get the Glass is a 3d milk themed video game for kids.

In my next post I will go further into why branded content works, and why the Internet is the perfect venue for this hybrid form of advertising.