Innovate Media

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Innovate Media, a full-scale online video production and delivery company, helped Napster deploy a video marketing campaign on its website that netted the digital music pioneer a windfall of new members for its interactive music subscription service. The campaign, running throughout 2009, utilized Innovate Media’s unique video overlay technology and one of its premier products, an online video spokesperson who “talked to” each new visitor when they landed on designated pages at napster.com.

“The campaign was completely turnkey,” said Robert Talbot, Napster’s VP of marketing. “We provided script input, collateral and guidance. Innovate Media provided everything else including flawless delivery of the videos they produced. We couldn’t be happier.”

Napster initially created the campaign to increase online conversions of its seven-day trial subscriptions. The company tested multiple versions of each video using different spokespeople and scripts, and then used the videos in rotation to determine the best performing video spokesperson. The results were significant. Napster continues to use the best performing videos, and subscriptions continue to grow apace.

“We were very pleased with the results,” said Jud Hogan, VP of Sales for Innovate Media. “Like the vast majority of our clients, Napster saw an increase in site conversions once the video was deployed. Napster’s users responded positively to the friendly face and helpful information provided by the seamless delivery of our video spokesperson to their landing pages.”

“After seeing the daily reports of how the tests performed with the Innovate Media Video Spokesperson on the splash page vs. no Video Spokesperson on the splash page, we were shocked to see such a substantial lift in our conversion trial rate with the Innovate Ads!” said Michelle Fields, Senior Marketing Manager of Napster.

Innovate Media has seen various clients reap conversions increases of up to 150 percent using its Video Spokesperson, Video Snack and Premium Video products.

About Napster

Napster (www.napster.com), the pioneer of digital music, offers the ultimate in interactive music experiences, creating better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music – anytime, anywhere. The company’s flagship service, Napster, is the ultimate digital music package, offering unlimited on-demand music, streaming as well as downloadable MP3s for one’s permanent collection playable on any MP3 compatible device, including iPod®, iPhone® and all MP3 music-enabled mobile phones. The company’s online service is available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany and Japan. Napster Mobile, one of the industry’s fastest growing mobile music platforms, provides the premier mobile music experience for customers in select markets around the world. A wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy, Inc. (NYSE: BBY – News), Napster’s headquarters are in Los Angeles.

About Innovate Media

Innovate Media is a full-scale production company specializing in producing and delivering video for the web. The company brings scalable online media solutions that incorporate video to make any client’s website come alive. The Innovate Media team has been at the forefront of the online media revolution for over a decade with qualified specialists who are experts at producing, encoding and delivering video for the web. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, Innovate Media’s technology-driven marketing solutions help to dramatically increase sales and conversions. Products include the video spokesperson, online video ad units, and premium video projects.

Drum roll please….

The results are in! Innovate Media helped Napster increase conversion rates for Napster.

How?

Through online video of course!

With the deployment of an online video spokesperson onto the Napster homepage, the company saw a dramatic lift in subscription rates of its interactive music delivery service. Using Innovate Media’s overlay video technology, an online spokesperson came onto the screen each time a visitor went to Napster.com. The spokesperson clip gave a direct call to action, to sign up with the service, which is how Napster saw such a significant increase.

And it’s not just Napster seeing these results. ALL of our clients see an increase in conversions once they add video to their online marketing campaigns.

To learn more about Napster’s success story, click here for the full press release. And to learn more about our video spokesperson product, please visit Innovate Ads.

Innovate Ads!

Yes, Innovate Ads, a division of Innovate Media, was rated the “Best Virtual Spokesperson” company for the second month in a row by Top SEOs.

And here we thought we were the only ones who admired our superb video quality, production values, talent, and the undeniable fact that our videos help increase conversions!

Thanks Top Seos!

Check out Innovate Ads to see our full range of products today!

Promoting your small business online doesn’t always mean cost effective. And although Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke may say the recession is “likely over”- he isn’t a small business owner. The rest of us, however, are more than likely still feeling the pinch of the biggest recession since the Great Depression.

If you still need to “recessionize” your online marketing tactics, here are a few tips courtesy of Newsweek. Read the full article, Online Add Deals Are Clicking” here.

-Up The Ante In SEO

Search engines are the top way to be found on the web. And it isn’t just about Google or Bing. Pay particular attention to the other ways you can be listed, from online directories and sites dedicated to local content. It may not seem worthwhile to list your business with the “little guys” but the bigger search sites, even Google, pull from these sites for their results.

-Banners and Boxes Oh My

Paying for the ads that you see in search results isn’t necessarily going to break the bank. Google’s AdWords let’s you create your own ads, plus you only pay when your ad is clicked.What could be better then that? How about running ads on local sites in your area. The cost is completely negotiable and you are guaranteed to target customers in your area.

-Ad Networks and Exchanges

With ad networks and exchanges offering better targeting then ever before, you can pay for a set CPM on ads that will run exactly where your customers will be looking. More eyeballs on your ads + targeted audience = more web traffic and conversions.

Hopefully, utilizing these tactics will help you soon feel that your out of the recession too. Best of luck!

When Closet World looked to increase leads from their site, we suggested a new lead form, that offered user initiated video and a video spokesperson. Since it’s inception, they have seen their leads increase by 2%! Now Closet World and it’s affiliates are getting more traffic to their site and lead form!

The Innovate Media team will be in San Francisco this week for the annual AdTech conference.

The event, which brings together some of the biggest names in digital marketing, is being held at the Moscone Center, April 21-23. It’s going to be filled with more exhibits, speakers, information and advice than any online marketer can handle!

So why not come join us as we rub elbows with top digital marketers from across the globe. You can meet us at booth #2146.

Hope to see you there!

If this sounds like an interesting combination to you then you need to see this .

John Cecil, President and a founder of Innovate Media, was recently interviewed on Susan Bratton’s podcast “DishyMix.” The interview covers everything from the state of online video to surfing and, well, pickles.

Get a glimpse of what video spokesperson technology and the whole online video movement looks like from the perspective of a media expert by reading the podcast transcripts or listening to the complete interview at DishyMix.

Innovate Media’s video spokesperson technology was mentioned in a blog today on SearchEngineWatch.com

Why?

Because adding a video spokesperson to a website can remarkably increase conversion rates.

In his blog on SearchEngineWatch.com, Tim Ash writes, “Recent tests on companies using Innovate Media Group’s video spokespeople suggests that dramatic gains can be realized.”

And they do.

With recent tests done by companies like Tandberg and ClosetWorld, they have each seen conversion rates jump from under 1 percent to 2.2 percent from the addition of video.

Tim’s advice: Test it out.

He suggests performing tests of your landing page conversion rates- both with and without a video spokesperson.

The dramatic results video can have on your conversion rates may surprise you.

But don’t just take our word for it.

You can find Tim’s full blog at the link below or visit SearchEngineWatch.com for more information, news, advice and blogs on everything related to search engine marketing.

“Using Video Spokespeople to Increase Landing Page Conversions”

So what is the newest trend in online video viewing? Video snacking.

Video snacking is viewing videos in quick, short bursts; just enough to give viewers the information or entertainment they want or a reason to move on. Snacking on a video that at the most is only a couple of minutes long is all many online users can digest.

Why?

Because online, many of us still have limited attention spans. Although sites like Hulu are now available that allow extended viewing of television shows, most users video habits are in the ’second’ rather than ‘minute’ time frame.

In a recent report by somScore, they released data figures for video views from November 2008. Their findings show that more and more people are watching videos, about 146 million in fact, or 77% of the U.S. internet audience. This is up over a third from last year alone.

And although the audience for online videos has risen, their time spent watching a single video has not. The average online video play is only a little over 3 minutes.

The bottom line is that more people are watching more videos.

So what can you take from this as an online marketer?

That you have new options on advertising and marketing online.

A short, to the point, “video snack” may be just what you need for your online marketing campaign. A short video gives you a means of further elaborating on your product or service in a medium that is proving to be both popular with viewers and effective in increasing conversions.

Want to learn more?

Check out these sites:

“The Online Video Snacking Trend”
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=100943

“Noontime Web Video Revitalizes Lunch At Desk”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/business/media/05video.html

” ‘Video Snacking’ New Frontier For Media Creators
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/06/0356213

Innovate Ads
http://www.innovateads.com/