November 7th, 2008
YouTube = AdTube. Why Not?
View Yellow Book ads here
You probably don’t go to YouTube at this point to amuse yourself with video clips from Rita’s Roofing on Long Island or the Living Sea Aquarium in Park Ridge, Ill.
But they’re coming.
YouTube earlier this week struck a deal with Yellow Book to carry videos from local merchants served by the directory publisher.
In the official release, Yellow Book’s chief new media officer, Pat Marshall, said:
“We’re pleased to be the first internet yellow pages publisher to offer YouTube as a distribution channel for our video advertisers. Video advertising on yellowbook.com and via YouTube distribution uniquely promotes Yellowbook’s advertisers to more potential customers than ever before.”
It’ll be interesting to see how YouTube sets up its AdTube. And whether, once they get used to the idea of their ads being posted on YouTube, local merchants try to bypass Yellow Book and upload their videos directly to YouTube.
If YouTube and Yellow Book manage this properly, though, AdTube could be a significant revenue stream. YouTube could become a nationwide venue for local advertisers, with customers coming to the site, tapping in their zip code and the kind of service they want, into the search bar and coming up with videos of the closest suppliers to watch.
Just as we used to turn to a big yellow book to find plumbers, carpenters and lawn services, we already turn to Google now. For video demonstrations of services, the first impulse likely will be to go to YouTube — if there’s a critical mass of easy to find videos to watch.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. Marshall may believe that local online video advertising is going to keep soaring. Yellow Book noted in its release that, in 2007, online video ad spending posted the highest year-over-year increase, up 89 percent to $775 million according to a recent report published by eMarketer. And Borrell Associates says streaming audio and video ads will gain another 65 percent next year — ever as all interactive advertising slows to just 9 percent growth.
YouTube’s roughly 60 million monthly visitors have shown they love to see entertaining clips without ads in them. Now, YouTube and Yellow Book will have to prove they’ll watch ads, with or without entertainment in them.
Just watch the Rita’s Roofing ad.
Tom Steinert-Threlkeld is editor-in-chief of Securities Industry News, as well as a long-time media, technology and business journalist. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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