12 Surprising Things Holding Back Online Video Advertising

After four years in the online video business, one thing is clear: if you produce high quality content and build sufficient distribution across a large enough number of consumer touch points, you can generate more than enough revenue from multiple sources and platforms to build a profitable, stand-alone business. But no one said it would be quick or easy. Building distribution isn't obvious and most producers fail to build any meaningful reach, but if you can hatch an editorial direction and business strategy that can attract an audience, over time you will be able to create a real business around it. But keep in mind the surprises below. Surprise #1: Lack of Definitions and Standards After All of These Years Steven Spielberg was trying to transition online with Pop.com in the 1990s and, until his resignation last week, Real Networks' Rob Glaser has been "at this" for 16 years since 1994 . Yet to this day, in online video, we still don't speak a common language. Heck, we're not even on the same planet. The first thing you realize about video advertising is that most of the money being generated from video content isn’t derived from in-stream advertising (such as pre-,mid-, or post-roll) but rather by in-banner ads (be they standard display ads or rich media). Yet when you look at the projections being forecast by eMarketer and Forrester, they focus mainly on videos sold inside the video player. Editor's note: Earlier this week, guest writer Ashkan Karbasfrooshan wrote a post about the state of online video . In this post he follows up with some thoughts on what's holding back this budding industry. Karbasfrooshan is the founder and CEO of WatchMojo , a leading producer of premium, informative and entertaining video content. The company’s catalog of 5,000 videos has generated over 100 million streams since 2006..