Cross-Platform Videos: Your Consumers Want It But What Exactly Is It?

From bricks & mortar to big box brands, everyone – news outlets included – appears to be jumping on the video content bandwagon. More people are watching videos, with 55 per cent watching videos online everyday, a figure set to jump to a staggering 79 per cent by 2018. What's more, experts suggest 90 per cent of web traffic will be generated from video content by 2019. The dramatic influx in demand for cross-platform video content to drive offers, calls to action and consumer engagement has come as no surprise.

With 3.6 billion unique mobile users in the world and shoppers on their desktops as often as they are watching television, brands can look to cross-platform responsive video content to engage. This strategy only works, however, if content is designed for the screen upon which they are viewed. A one-size-fits-all approach will not suffice with broadcast, web, mobile and apps each having their own requirements for embedding a video properly, creating the greatest possible visual impact.

But brands be warned: product is king in the creation of branded-content, with video holding no exception. If your spot hasn't captured the attention of the viewer within eight seconds, they will get bored and move on and your efforts and money have been wasted. With video's value as the key driver of consumer engagement projected to increase from 13 per cent to 61 per cent, brands allowing creative vision to lead costs and logistics will yield exponential return long-term.

The good news? In a cloud-based data-sharing era, gone are the days of shipping tapes back and fourth from producer and brand, making long-drawn edits before arriving to the final product. Now, brands from anywhere in the world can tap experts and expect draft spots within 24 hours of shipping product to studio. Time and money are saved in exchange for high-quality, cross-platform video content delivered at record speed. This is what shoppers want. So do it right - and make it fun!

Vanessa Haltrecht, Vice President and General Manager, Kingstar Direct Media Elizabeth Nielsen, Creative Director of Sales, Kingstar Direct Media