uVizz, an innovative application for video sharing, could be the next big video sharing platform. It solves two problems for online advertisers. First, click through rates of advertising on social networks 
are notoriously low (0.8% on Facebook). So, while they have a high reach, people very rarely click on them. The reason for this, is most likely related to the second issue that uVizz solves — that the ads are not relevant to what the consumer is actually doing. They can certainly be targeted based on content or demographic/geographic information, but the consumer is not necessarily open to seeing them at that time they appear.
Below is my summary and thinking from my demo view of uVizz with the company’s Managing Partner, Matt Johnson.
About uVizz
In a nutshell, uVizz partners with companies who pay consumers to create and share viral videos. It’s a new way to engage users to help promote a company’s products.
How it works… if iPhone started a uVizz campaign, they would decide on an amount they are willing to pay when the video is viewed ($0.15 is the minimum, and I have used $0.20 below). Hopefully, some passionate consumers, would create a video (or any content, really) about the brand, submit it for approval to the company, and then it’s ready to become viral! The photo below, explains how this works.
For every unique video view (UVV) (1st view by a new person), the video creator gets 30%, the referral chain (everyone who helped refer the video) gets 20%, and the person (David) who passed the video onto the viewer (Christina) gets 20%. And, of course, uVizz gets their cut, at 30%. So, if the video gets 10,000 UVV, that all came through David (normally though, not all views would come through one person), iPhone would pay a total of $2,000, and the revenue share would be as follows:
- Video Creator – $600 (10,000 x $0.20 x 30%)
- Referral Chain – $400
- Referral Creator (David) – $400
- Video viewer (Christina) – $0
- uVizz – $600 (30% share)
When uVizz launches on June 15th, it will be available as an application in Facebook, Bebo, and Friendster. (it’s also available with Twitter, but is just link sharing that drives people to Facebook or uVizz. I’ll explain more about how it will work with Facebook, as that’s the most popular of these three sites. Basically, uVizz is an application that allows the company to set up the campaign, the video creator to upload their video, and the video to be shared. Everyone needs to add the uVizz application in order to view or forward on videos. The application tracks all the view information, allows the video creator to upload and manage their video, and allows everyone involved to see the money they have made. The videos spread virally, not only through people sending it to their friends, but also through optional wall posts.
Even more interesting, is the targeted nature of this. The company only pays when the video is viewed by someone who fits the demographic profile they have set. For example, Morningflake, one of uVizz’s first customers, is based in the UK. So for their campaign, they will only pay for UVV in the UK. In addition to location, companies can also target by age and gender (more criteria coming at some point). The Facebook application even tells people who of their friends fit the demographic target so they are aware before sending it to a friend.
Consumer perspective
This is a great concept from the consumer perspective. People who are passionate about brands like getting involved with them, and the fact is, that they are already creating their own content or spreading the word about the brands they love (for example, BzzScapes or BzzAgent). The benefit is obviously that they can get paid for doing what they are already doing.
I honestly don’t see any downsides for the video creators. The only potential consumer downside I see, is that it is encouraging people to push the content on others, in order to make money. It seems similar to some MLM (multi-level-marketing) schemes. However, what stops this from happening is the people themselves. If I keep sending annoying videos to my friends, they will eventually ask me to stop, or unfriend me on Facebook. So, just as with forwarding jokes via email, you have to use discretion, or you will eventually get ignored.
Company perspective
I think this is also a no-brainer for companies. It’s like PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns, where you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, yet it’s much more targeted. The biggest question these days with viral content is “what makes something viral?” Well, with uVizz, the advertiser doesn’t have to know that. They don’t have to spend tons of money trying to figure that out. If something takes off and they have a hit on their hands, only then do they pay.
The other benefit, as Matt Johnson told me, is that “it’s a way to engage the company’s consumers in their advertising, and get them to have a stake in the process.”
I also think that since these videos are user generated content, they can often times be so much more effective than ads created by a company. Believe me, I AM in favor of corporate marketing, given my background in it, but I think there’s something to be said for user-generated content.
My overall thoughts
Overall, I think this is a win-win for everyone involved. The advertisers get good content, the creators get paid, and people who pass it on get paid as well. I have a few concerns/questions:
- Although I do think consumers themselves will stop this from becoming spammy, I still think it’s possible. People are already getting burnt out on the games/quizzes on Facebook, so I worry if this is just one more thing to add to the list.
- uVizz primarily promotes itself for viral videos, but they also mention it can include other content (photos, blog posts, stories). I think creating a video can be overwhelming to some people, so the other forms of content could be more accessible to them. uVizz should stress this.
- As an advertiser, I would also want to know detailed information about how long people are watching the video for. As with anything where people can make money, there is always someone out there to scam the system. Will there be groups formed where people agree to watch each other’s videos so they all make money? Just click on it for a second, and you’ve “watched” it? uVizz should be sure they are thinking about these types of scams.
- uVizz is making 30% of the revenue share, which is equivalent to the video creator. That feels like too much to me. If I were the video creator, I would like to feel like I was making the most from this.
But, as I mentioned, overall, I LOVE this product.
Photo credit: No Spam, Camera
What do you think of this idea? Any concerns? Good idea?
You wouldn’t take a Coke ad that was specifically written for a Golf magazine and put it in Vogue, would you? No, because the audiences of each magazine are different and the brand’s message may be slightly different for each audience.
Given the above, if I cross-posted all my Twitter updates to Facebook, I would be doing a few things — I’m pushing my business stuff on my friends who probably have no interest in it, and I’m doing it at an overwhelming pace given the culture on Facebook. In addition, I’m using lingo that my Facebook friends don’t know, such as RT, @, #, etc. Why would I want to do that?? It’s blatently ignoring how people operate on Facebook, why they’re there, and overwhelming their stream with posts that they probably have no interest in. They have signed up to be my friend, not necessarily to hear about all of my business interests.
Facebook, or clicking the checkbox on LinkedIn to send you update to Twitter.
most interested in, I was still stuck in my old ways of researching a company… by looking at their website.
was eliminated in July, it was a complete surprise to me.
