Brightcove Provides Turnkey Video Solution for IDG TechNetwork Publishers
International Data Group (IDG) is the world’s largest technology media, research, and event management company. As a trusted source for advice and insight into technology news and trends around the world, IDG has grown into a multi-billion dollar company, reaching technology audiences in more than 90 countries. Approximately 200 magazines and newspapers and 460 websites are in the IDG world family. Through its media properties and worldwide events, IDG provides approximately 270 million people with information one or more times each month. IDG’s diverse product and service portfolio spans six key areas: online media, events and conferences, print publishing, lead-generation services, global marketing solutions and market research.
Prior to Video Cloud, we did not have a reliable, high-quality way to serve pre-roll video, so we were reluctant to do it,” Koosman said. “Our website partners are looking for quality above all else, and now we can provide the best video advertising opportunities in our marketplace.”
Video Product Manager for IDG TechNetwork
IDG TechNetwork is the premier online advertising network designed for technology marketers and agencies who create high-impact branding, product launch, and lead generation programs. By providing advertisers and sponsors with the largest and most influential audience of enterprise, consumer, small-medium businesses, and gaming technology buyers, the IDG TechNetwork enables marketers to address specific technology markets with targeted communications to accelerate program success and improve ROI.
IDG TechNetwork is a subsidiary of IDG, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Situation
With a syndicated advertising network of more than 460 independent websites, IDG TechNetwork sought a productive online video solution that expanded its service offerings to include video. With an increasing number of its marketing clients asking for a video advertising solution, IDG TechNetwork wanted to provide a quality web-content environment for those customers and create additional revenue for publishers and the IDG TechNetwork. Finding a platform robust enough to manage content across dozens of websites, while maintaining a simplified content management system (CMS), was key to IDG TechNetwork’s search for the best platform.
Solution
Brightcove Video Cloud Online Platform – January 2011
ROI
- Provided turnkey content management
- Simplified distribution across large network of websites
- Increased revenue opportunities
- Improved quality of video content displayed
- Increased video views by 260%
Brightcove Attributes
Integrated, Simple, Professional
Professional Quality Improves Content Management
IDG TechNetwork has recognized the increasing market demand for technology-focused video reports and advertising around them. Technology and gaming advertisers were finding few opportunities to place their pre-roll ads around credible technology video content. IDG TechNetwork selects video reports from IDG news sources worldwide, which includes video that appears in popular websites such as pcworld.com, computerworld.com, and cio.com.
Advertisers immediately recognized that IDG TechNetwork’s combination of professionally-produced video with the scale of an ad network was instrumental in meeting their needs to distribute messaging across video content. “When we first started testing our video strategy, it was more of a proof-of-concept that there’s a demand for video by publishers and marketers,” said Sonja Koosman, video product manager for IDG TechNetwork. “We soon realized that we needed to step up our video offerings to meet the demand.”
Simplicity is a crucial driver for IDG TechNetwork’s video strategy. With more than 460 different websites, IDG TechNetwork needed turnkey integration with a variety of platforms and plug-ins, as well as a simple upload interface that supported high-quality video content.
The Brightcove Video Cloud online video platform gives the IDG TechNetwork a way to control and distribute vast amounts of video content using an integrated content management system (CMS). The Video Cloud platform worked so well for the IDG TechNetwork in an initial rollout that the company decided to ramp up its video offering much more quickly than it originally anticipated.
“Today, we have a single content repository that distributes video content automatically via CMS to hundreds of Web properties simultaneously,” Koosman said. “Also, the Video Cloud player is very professional-looking and widely used by website visitors in our ad network.”
Pre-roll Advertising Increases Revenue Opportunities
IDG has a large advertising customer base, traditionally focused on display advertising rather than video. Part of the company’s rationale for choosing the Video Cloud platform was to offer its customers pre-roll video advertising.
“Prior to Video Cloud, we did not have a reliable, high-quality way to serve pre-roll video, so we were reluctant to do it,” Koosman said. “Our website partners are looking for quality above all else, and now we can provide the best video advertising opportunities in our marketplace.”
Many of IDG TechNetwork’s advertising partners are just now starting to supplement their display schedules with pre-roll advertising, and the Video Cloud platform makes it easier for advertisers to package their advertising messages with professional content that looks great on member websites.
Since implementing Video Cloud in the spring of 2011, video views across IDG TechNetworks’ websites have increased by 260%.
Future Plans
IDG TechNetwork is now working with websites in its ad network to better support video content, create content channels, and make its first foray into mobile video optimization. The company plans to expand the video offerings across the network and will roll out mobile video for select websites in early 2012.
“2012 will be a big year for mobile video,” Koosman said, “and we are thankful to have a video solution that is flexible and powerful enough to work in a mobile environment.”
