Tips for Selling Online Video Ads

Selling anything new can be a challenge for newspaper sales representatives. The following advice and sales tips come from industry executives who have experience selling online video ads or training those who do.

1. Target the right advertisers. Especially when starting a video advertising program, target local companies that are already advertising on television. Since these companies already understand the power of visually stimulating advertising, focus the sales message on how newspaper Web sites can expand the advertisers’ audience in a targeted way. In addition, focus on companies that can really take advantage of the medium by targeting multiple audiences.

2. Consider partnering with a local production house. A common objection from local businesses to online video advertising is simply that the advertiser doesn’t have a commercial. Consider partnering with a local video production company and creating specially priced packages that include creating a simple commercial and running it on the newspaper’s Web site.

3. Remind buyers that newspaper video ads combine the best of the online and television worlds – but better! Video advertising can feature the compelling images and creativity of television ads with for a lower cost than broadcast television. In addition, online video ads can be targeted to a certain audience, can reach a wider audience than local television channels, and the response to online video advertising is measurable. Often, unlike TV, online video viewers are engaged and can react to the ad instantly with a simple click of the mouse.

4. Have a thorough knowledge of how the videos work, or bring along a person who does have that knowledge. It’s very important for a newspaper ad sales representative to answer questions confidently and be able to explain to the buyer how video ads work in a way the advertiser can understand and be excited about.

5. Know – and show – the placement. The sales rep should know when, how and where a video ad will run. It will definitely help to bring a laptop computer and be able to show the advertiser where and how the ad will appear. (Some sales experts advise bringing examples on a separate CD or a flash drive so getting an Internet connection isn’t a problem.)

6. Know the frequency caps. Many video players incorporate frequency caps on advertisements so a site visitor who watches 10 videos in a sitting does not see the same ad 10 times. Keep the frequency caps in mind, and don’t promise more video impressions than the newspaper’s Web site will deliver.

7. Make sure your video player can support the type of tracking the agency or advertiser wants. Although many video players are very sophisticated, not all players can track the same things when it comes to online video ads. Ask the Web development team exactly how the video player tracks ads, and what metrics it tracks with (section, time of day, length of view, action taken, etc.).

8. Package the video ad with other ads. Several newspaper companies have reported success with selling short pre-roll ads or lower-third ads with adjacencies, or banner ads that appear next to the video player. Include video as part of a larger package for new (and returning) advertisers.

9. Think through the longtime sales strategy. Many newspapers lack data when they first start selling video advertising, and a sponsorship model may work for those newspapers early on. However, the newspaper should consider transitioning to a different model long term, such as CPM. Know when that transition will happen, and make long-term sales with this in mind.

10. Know how you will handle objections ahead of time! In some ways, selling video ads is just like many other sales calls and requires careful preparation.

-- The above advice and sales tips came from the following people (listed alphabetically): Jeff Burkett, director of sales development, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive; Dan Donaghy, vice president, online sales and marketing, Gannett Co.; Mort Goldstrom, vice president, advertising, Newspaper Association of America; John Kimball, senior vice president, marketing, Newspaper Association of America; Doug Olsson, Director of Digital Sales, Sandusky Newspapers; Raul Vielma, Online Sales Manager, Cox Inc.; and Jason Williamson, regional online sales manager, New York Times Regional Media Group.

First Published:
May 7, 2008