Our recent partnership with Maker Studios to create mobile apps out of their various YouTube channels has gotten off to an incredible start.
The first app we made for them, a mobile version of the popular Epic Rap Battles of History channel, is a massive hit. Reviews of the Android app on the Google Play store received a whopping 499 5-star ratings, out of 573 ratings overall. The iPhone version is doing similarly well, with 125 5-star reviews from a total of 152.
That’s a fantastic response. Epic Rap Battles is a hugely popular brand with a dedicated and loyal following. It’s one of the most-viewed series in YouTube’s history, with more than 1.2 billion combined views and more than 5.6 million subscribers, according to YouTube stats as of this month. So to see the community embrace the mobile extension of the series they already love so much is incredibly gratifying and, frankly, a bit humbling.
Plenty more Maker Studios mobile apps are on the way, so stay tuned.
Beachfront CEO Frank Sinton has been pretty vocal lately on the various topics affecting the video ad and app space. In the last week, his thoughts have been printed in four different publications, spanning a variety of topics–including advice for brands interested in entering the video market, tips on ad buying, predictions on Twitter’s Vine app, and an analysis on real time bidding for video ad networks. Here’s a quick sampling:
Real Time Bidding: Ploy or Panacea? (ClickZ)
Summary: As part of a regular monthly column for the well-read digital advertising publication, Frank examines the supply-and-demand factors contributing to falling video ad rates and discusses the various solutions emerging to address it, starting with the growing popularity of real-time bidding exchanges.
Analysis Paralysis and Mobile Advertising (Business2Community)
Summary: Frank suggests a “just do it” strategy for brands and advertisers stuck on the fence over employing video ads. While video, and particularly mobile video, advertising can be a confusing space, the low costs involved compared to other types of mobile and online advertising allows for cheaper experimentation than ever before and as such should be embraced, not avoided.
How Can Vine’s 6-Second Video Window Earn Big Bucks for Twitter (AdAge)
Summary: Vine is a hit with users, but can it deliver revenues? In this piece, Frank details the various strategies and tactics that Twitter can take to monetize this momentum, and what that means for both users and brands alike.
Seven Steps You Can Take to Capitalize on the Mobile Video Viewing Shift (MarketingProfs.com)
Summary: Today’s brands are more than just advertisers. They’re content publishers as well. So how can they best play this role in the mobile video space and capture the attention of the growing number of viewers watching video on mobile devices? Frank lists seven simple steps–from website optimization to mobile app strategies–that will help any business asking themselves this exact question.
We’re pleased to announce the launch of Beachfront.iO, the ultra-fast mobile video advertising platform designed to give app developers the ability to monetize their applications with video advertising.
Beachfront.iO allows developers to quickly and efficiently monetize their apps with video ads. Once Beachfront.iO is integrated into an app, you immediately start serving the highest paying ads available from all ad sources. Beachfront.iO’s unique video ad mediation platform puts developers in control of their video advertising — pull video advertising from many of your own ad sources, as well as through Beachfront’s demand sources.
Knowing speed and performance is of utmost importance to today’s mobile consumer, Beachfront.iO’s patent-pending technology is able to optimize at sub-millisecond response times and deliver the appropriate video ad with advanced targeting precision.
Built on Google’s new Go programming language and proprietary in-memory technology, Beachfront.iO delivers ultra-fast video ad serving, access to real time data, and a lightweight SDK integration. Beachfront.iO helps developers achieve premium eCPMs, fast fill and low latency rates as well as deliver a real-time view of their advertising performance across devices.
Today, Beachfront.iO focuses solely on video. Video advertising today is one of the most effective brand engagement mediums. Since mobile consumers are more engaged with video than desktop users, video ads are a perfect fit for mobile devices. iO allows brands to focus on that user engagement, with a flexible, targeted and measurable platform dedicated solely to video ads.
Video advertising is at the core of our DNA here at Beachfront Media. When we launched Beachfront Builder, we built in a turnkey solution for analytics, app development, ad delivery and more. We’ve split off iO as a standalone product from that platform for those developers looking for just an ad mediation platform and nothing else. But it’s worth noting that all of iO’s features are accessible through Beachfront Builder as well, allowing developers to take an integrated approach to both app development and monetization.
Today, iO is available to everyone. You can register for an account at beachfront.io, and get started immediately. There are no costs involved to begin monetizing your apps with video ads.
Beachfront CEO Frank Sinton is a regular contributor to Clickz, with new columns appearing monthly. The latest is “Real-Time Bidding: Ploy or Panacea?” which examines the increasing interest in RTB as the latest effort to monetize unused ad inventory more effectively.
The problem is that as more video content is created for online and mobile channels, the ad inventory around them is also increasing, but the available advertising is slow to respond. As such, ad rates are falling, making it more difficult to drive revenue from this content.
His takeaway is that while any effort to fill unused inventory more effectively is a good one, RTB is not the end-all-be-all solution. Other efforts like digital upfronts and native ads for mobile are equally worth considering. And there won’t be one winner, but rather several attempts that collectively could solve the problem.
Frank Sinton, CEO of Beachfront Media, shares his thoughts in this AdAge guest post about how Twitter’s Vine video app could generate revenue for both Vine and it’s users. Here’s an excerpt:
Vine is interesting for advertising because it sits at the intersection of three areas of great potential — video, mobile and advertising. Vine could prove a huge win for Twitter if it can crack the mobile-advertising nut. The massive user base and traffic that Twitter and other social media have built and extended into the mobile sphere are already starting to threaten the early mobile-advertising pioneers.
Some of the most successful implementations of mobile video are bite-sized clips designed to entertain viewers while going about their day–waiting in a line, sitting in a lobby, etc.
So it was only natural for CollegeHumor to bring their Webby Award-winning videos to Android mobile phones using the Beachfront platform. The free app updates with new video daily for fans to watch, discover new videso, and share them on Facebook, Twitter and email.
CollegeHumor’s famous Sketch comedy, Jake and Amir, Hardly Working, Very Mary Kate, funny Batman and our hilarious animations, celebrity videos and the best music video parodies are all included.
Eytan Elbaz is one of Beachfront Media’s most active members of our Advisory Board. His vision and advice have proved invaluable resources to the continued growth of our company, and in this guest post he’s written for AllThingsD, you can see why.
As the founder of Applied Semantics–acquired by Google 10 years ago to form what is now the AdSense network–Eytan knows his way around the digital advertising business as well as the realities of running a lean and successful startup. He’s now the co-founder and chief strategy officer of the mobile entertainment network Scopely.
Both roles are huge assets to us at Beachfront Media, and we look forward to his continued involvement.
Today, we’re pleased to announce a new partnership with YouTube media and talent firm Big Frame, who has selected Beachfront Media’s video app platform to distribute its content across all platforms—mobile, tablet and Connected TV.
The early fruits of this relationship quietly emerged earlier this month with the launch of Big Frame’s urban lifestyle channel Forefront.tv and YouTube star Tyler Oakley, and soon will include the launch of a new channel designed for women called Wonderly.
Big Frame’s story is a familiar one. It’s found great success signing new talent and developing original programming for viewers online. But they also know that viewers want to view this content on devices other than their computers. So they turned to Beachfront Builder to power native apps for these different platforms.
Frank Sinton, CEO of Beachfront Media, shares his thoughts on Business 2 Community how location context relates to mobile strategy. His takes the position that a smart mobile content/advertising strategy requires thinking about where these devices are being used, rather than just what they’re being used for.
The piece focuses on the bedroom, car and kitchen, among others, and references Motorola Mobility’s study and research firm IHS’ stats on demand for mobile video and other applications. A quick excerpt:
The takeaway from all this is that there’s an opportunity when developing video apps for mobile and tablet devices to consider where viewers might be interacting with that app, and ensure that your optimizing the experience for that environment. Think road-trip apps, cooking apps, alarm apps and so on. Or even interactive apps designed for multiple viewers, not just a single user. The list can only grow from here.
NAB’s Smith: Broadcasters Must Seize the Wireless Future (MultiChannel News)
Summary: NAB president Gordon Smith in his convention keynote said the future of TV relies on broadcasters’ “willingness to embrace new platforms, and go where our viewers want to go.” Those viewers are going mobile, and as such broadcasters need to compete there on par w/ their wireless industry rivals. Also worth noting this Billboard panel summary on startups that are helping advertisers better target new customers.
