VideoEgg has been exceptionally good at thinking ahead in their business and changing strategies when it made sense.
They launched in September 2005 as a way to publish video to the web from mobile and other devices. Soon they were allowing people to publish videos directly on the site, like YouTube. And they then aggressively pursued partnership deals to power the video feature on social networks and other sites. Today, they power video on 14 of the 20 largest social networks. And they also monetize those videos with a number of innovative ad units, sharing the revenue with partners.
Today VideoEgg is powering 680 million video plays per month, from 23 million unique users. They’ve built a large ad sales team to sell into those videos with flash pop-up ads that don’t disrupt video play but get in front of the viewer.
That ad sales team now wants more inventory. And so VideoEgg has morphed yet again. Their video business remains in place. But now they are leveraging that ad sales team to sell their flash ads directly into Facebook applications.
EggNetwork, A Facebook Ad Network
There are already at least three advertising networks aimed at Facebook applications - Lookery, fbExchange and a RockYou product. VideoEgg now jumps in the mix with EggNetwork, and they have an immediate and distinct advantage: a huge ad sales team with experience selling into big brand advertisers.
They’ve been quietly active for weeks, testing the platform and gathering data. The Flash ad units (example) don’t do much until you mouse over it, and then text is displayed along with a video clip or interactive game of some sort. CEO Matt Sanchez says that they are selling at above $10 CPM. And they will split revenue from the ads 60/40 with the application providers (60% to the application).
These ads will eventually be targeted demographically based on user data. For now, though, Facebook has put a use of most of this user information on hold as it figures out its strategy. When Lookery launched they had one set of rules in place in their terms of service. Now, they are taking a hard look at what data can be used by ad networks for free, and what should be used at all.
EggNetwork is clearly going to be an attractive option for larger application providers who don’t want to sell ads themself. VideoEgg already has a bunch of them using the service: Rock You, J. Squared Media, Graffitii, Renkoo and Flixster have all incorprated the ads into their applications. Early advertisers include Discovery Networks, Electronic Arts, Fox Searchlight, FX Channel, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures.
App-Camp 2007
VideoEgg is also hosting an event, called App-Camp2007, in San Francisco in late October. They’re promising a fun and informative environment for people to learn about application creation and monetization, and will be bringing in marketers and venture capitalists to make connections and provide further device.
I don’t understand. Facebook allows third parties to sell ads on their site?
I am working on a new video sharing site and spent some time researching videoegg. I think they have a very bright future and would love to know what sort of returns publishers who use them are getting from their inbuilt ads
interesting if facebook continue like that, where they r planing to reach with their advertising system?
regards,
jean
http://www.jean.ghalo.com
Smart stuff for sure. Let’s see where they reach with all this.
http://www.webgameawards.com/
@Jesse:
Third parties developers can show what they want in their applications’ pages. Third party ad networks can be used to try to monetize the applications.
It seems more accurate to me to say they’ve added a Facebook business line rather than saying that the whole company has morphed. IMO Facebook is one channel that a Web business should look at. Anyone who bets their whole business on Facebook is taking a very risky gamble.
Umm, I’m pretty sure that’s not the real Mark Zuckerberg above.
If you’re thinking about deploying an advertising campaign in Facebook, you should really understand the whole tool to build a strategy
Check out this Facebook strategy post, which will get you started
http://www.web-strategist.com/.....-facebook/
Isn’t it “Suddenly There’s A Facebook Ad Network”?
This Mark Zuckerberg comment is on every single Facebook-related entry on TechCrunch. It’s a bit annoying.
till,
i think it’s funny actually. he does that to poke fun at the fact that 1/3 of the posts on TechCrunch are about Facebook.
Yes, but TechFaceCrunchBook, the history of these types of comments stretches back a long way here on this site. I’ve seen the same basic post directed at the Google founders. They’re clearly written by someone with a grudge against Internet whiz kids and the “easy” money that can get made. They’re posted by someone who for some reason doesn’t think there’s enough money to go around. I find them annoying and childish, and wish Michael would delete them (maybe he does).
From the Facebook Terms of Service (http://developer.facebook.com/terms.php):
You can’t show any ads or web search functionality on user profiles, but this restriction doesn’t apply on application “canvas” pages. The Facebook Platform Application Guidelines have more details.
I surprised there is nothing illegal about publishing a comment on a website using somebody else’s name. I actually saw this posting and thought, “Wow!! Mark Zuckenberg actually posted something here.” Then I read it and realized that it’s obviously not legitimate.
Check out my living textbook: http://www.pass-ed.com/Living-Textbook.html (Send it’s link to a teacher that you know.)
Good move! If you want to go big you team up with the big boys. The future will definitely bring good stuff for them.
Check out Userplane now as well. You might know them as a Flash based chat platform but are also a major Facebook ad network. And you don’t even need to use their chat API to publish ads from their network.
I must give credit to Mark Zuckerberg for sheer ambition. Becoming the Google of social networks does sound grandiose though considering that the source code got leaked. Michael Arrington though wants to get on the Facebook bandwagon which is why a lot of posts are about the company. That is fine. I also share his contempt for those 40 year has beens with mcjobs in the old economy.
Respect to Mark Zuckerberg, though I’m sure that’s not the real Mark Zuckerberg above. The future looks bright for him.
I’m sure this is what Facebook user’s want… Their profiles completely marooned by contextual ads that generate 0.04% click through rates per 1.4 million impressions and lots of other garbage.
There are much more effective and innovative ways to monetize facebook applications, and contextual ads are ultimately a waste of time.
Read more: http://www.ajaxninja.com/?p=86
will it be the mighty facebook when web 3.0 comes out?
well will it?????
prob not….theres always somethin new….
http://www.techfiends.com
The way I see ad networks and all the ad apps developing, there is a method to the madness in Google’s acquisition binge( which will continue). Even the mighty Google will see it’s revenue diminish with every ad network and ad app. Lots of changes forthcoming with Web 3.0. None of this will look the same in less than a year. I will also predict that in 6-8 months FB will not be the force it is now. What goes around, comes around.
Hey all, i am newbie here.
@2
For your professionalism stop spamming. I’m tired reading same old shit. You are wasting my time read same stuff over and over again.
Whather you are real Mark or Not. Stop spamming!!!
Go send spam at Harvard University. Geeze.
Has anybody heard anything on any of the other video ad networks? A year or two ago they were all being hyped, have any others done much?
I’m telling you if you keep spamming like that manifasto. Businesses, Corporation, and People will get angry. They hate reading that article. They will do anything to destory your repulation.
They could look through your IP, personal information, etc… Please stop spamming. For last time…
STOP IT!!!!
From a technology standpoint, ScanScout is actually further ahead than VideoEgg in the online video advertising vertical. ScanScout provides a three way, metadata, speech and visual recognition, tagging and filtering system—it is the only company in the online video ad vertical that has this technology. VideoEgg was primary started to work with content creators, not advertisers or publishers. It is interesting that they are now singing a different tune.
Nor is VideoEgg the only platform that shares revenue, don’t most of the topline online advertising companies have a revenue sharing model? Every time ad creative is viewed ScanScout splits the advertising fees with its publishers creating an incremental revenue stream for its network partners. I tend to agree with Dominin, things are going to look very different in less than a year. Technology is simply moving too quickly, with too many participants in the space to be declaring any winners yet.
@The Gore Years
I have no issue with Google, or Facebook, or Digg. I just found this comment annoying because “his” comments always start with a five paragraph (disclaimer: slightly exaggerated) story about what Facebook is. I stopped reading them, but anyway - I like how some comments are short and bring across a statement which aids discussion. Not that your comment did (not) help.
For @2…. Wait for this article 80 years.
This is time machine article.
You wait to grow Grey hair and went to Harvard. I think it’s good idea for you to look back same previous manifesto article you wrote at @2. This is how Harvard University expelled you.
Note: Harvard University does not teach bright student how to write business manifesto and use foul language. You can either get D- or F
TechCrunch! All of those damn ads on the site is pissing me off. Loading time is horrible now. I’m also getting redirected to some broken page while i’m viewing the frontpage. It’s horrible!
I like this place, but jeez, im gonna start looking at other tech news sites now…hopefully i’ll come back.
PEACE!
22, 24, 27, 28 - You are an idiot. I’m not sure what the hell you are even talking about or how it’s related to this article.
Since you appear to have the comprehension and writing skills of an 8 year old, let me repeat: you are an idiot. Buzz off.
I would think people are looking for fewer ads cluttering up precious Web space, especially on social networking sites. That’s the problem with services like VideoEgg—they tie you into their brand, their ad serving network. It’s more important that video becomes an extension of the site. And if advertising is part of it, then the creator should be able to work with the ad server of their choice.
Fliqz is the only company I know of that does this right now, where the video works in harmony with whatever site the creator chooses. That seems like a more effective way of driving revenue and building your brand than yet another ad platform.
What hast become of thy comment threads?
At once they percolated with lively convivial startup chat, by competitive yet friendly startup foundees.
But now hast thy let SockPuppetry and Spam overrun thee?
Oh TechCrunch, what hast become of thee?
- TC Web 1.5 reader
A video ad network is very well, but how will they differentiate from the many ad networks out there? The mediocre targeting of user-gen destinations doesnt help things.
In any event, from agency perpsective you’d wait for it to be integrated with your eyeblaster or your tangozebra, there’s no sense in working with each publisher seperately.
D.
I think you have OCD. You have repeated same @2 message many times.
Why do you look up techcrunch search at Facebook?
How many times did you spam the same message?
Why are you tell us that stupid that post for?
why can’t you write article more business professional?
It is good that some startups are working hard to re-invent themself and turnaround from their road to the deadpool.
nitsuj (#23),
Many of the “video ad networks” have been acquired by players like DoubleClick or Advertising.com. Others have gone out of business for a lack of sales or the funding needed to pay for the bandwidth. Many others are content sites who could take advantage of EggNetwork’s sales efforts while focusing on building more content & page views.
Where the EggNetwork stands out is in those sales efforts. Just like Weblogs Inc. made actual cash by grabbing a slice of corporate/agency media buys, VideoEgg stands to do the same thing. Agency planners base their buys on how closely a site or network indexes to their target audience, and they’ll put in plenty of effort to find sites that index high and their competitors haven’t found yet.
I think the crux of it for the EggNetwork isn’t in the sales but in signing up enough page views to keep the network growing. That means either:
1) Finding narrow-audience sites with that haven’t already put their inventory in the hands of bigger players. For example: Facebook has signed their impressions over to Microsoft recently, thus EggNetwork’s targeting of Facebook App publishers and their large number of page views.
-or-
2) Attracting a huge number of small sites and then accurately indexing their content so page views are targeted enough to generate enough CPM to pay the bandwidth on video. For example: AdSense’s targeting produced high CPM for blogs that couldn’t get anything but low CPM ads from traditional networks who targeted based on category.
If they fail to do either, then odds are they’ll fade away or be acquired cheaply like Daren (#32) suggests. If they manage to do either of those they’ll be a sizable network who will get picked up at a premium, like Right Media, or become a strong stand-alone network. In the latter case, agencies will simply have to look at online a lot more like they do at print newspaper & magazine buying - and hire a lot of planners to deal with a lot of distinct publishers (online networks in this case).
—
Discl. These views are my own. I work for a Publicis Groupe company.
I’ve always been impressed with VideoEgg’s marketing and ad sales strategy. Their claim to have innovated the ad format that YouTube is now using is true, they were the first to use it in large release. However, like YouTube, much of VideoEgg’s video content is very low quality UGV, with no great way to assure advertisers what type of content their ads will run on. Will brand advertisers be willing to make the leap of faith?