According to Rowan Polovin, CEO of MyVideo, the site was launched in as South Africa’s first online video platform, enabling the South African market to watch, share and create videos. “MyVideo encourages South African content and we regard this as a key differentiator of the globally oriented video sharing websites.”
align=justifyThe company says that with online video consumption proving to be a hugely successful way to spread brand messages, international brands have leveraged significant gains in awareness through the integrated use of online video in their marketing mix. “MyVideo’s South African focus allows local brands to do the same among South African consumers,” says Polovin.
align=justifyThe star of the online video arena is undoubtedly YouTube. While figures vary widely and statistics are hard to come by, YouTube revealed that over 100 million videos were being watched every day in 2006, and 2.5 billion videos were viewed in June of that year alone. Fans of the forum added 50,000 videos a day in May 2006, increasing to 65,000 by July.
align=justifyAn August 2006 Wall Street Journal article said YouTube was using somewhere in the vicinity of 45 terabytes of storage space to host around 6.1 million videos. With over 500,000 user accounts, video views reached 1.73 billion. As of 9 April 2008, a YouTube search returns about 83.4 million videos and 3.75 million user channels.
align=justifyA recent press release from MyVideo says brand channels can also be extended onto a brand’s current website. Kick Off has made use of the offering, with the magazine’s online business manager Nick Said saying: “Not only has our website grown to include videos we have posted online through MyVideo, but we now have another avenue to touch our readers through a different media form.”
align=justifyTristan Owen, MyVideo’s marketing officer, says that while local brands have traditionally used TV commercials as their only form of consumer-focused video content, the rise of online on-demand video has created an opportunity for video content that both entertains and communicates a brand message.
align=justifyWhile the last two years – and the October 2006 buyout of YouTube by Google – have probably seen a considerable rise in reported figures, YT is not noted for its desire to publish stats. But one statistic that may make the format an attractive proposition: Between the time of its launch in February 2005 and the Wall Street Journal article 18 months later, viewers had spent a total of 9,305 years watching footage.
align=justifyNo doubt MyVideo and the brands that have opted to use the medium have taken note.
