NBC and YouTube today announced a partnership to enhance and promote. And bring advertising said one analyst.
The companies said in a statement the partnership will enhance the entertainment experience on their sites and promote NBC’s Fall program lineup and other shows over the next year.
The agreement also includes an integrated, cross-promotional
advertising relationship on the YouTube service and significant on-
air promotion provided by NBC.
But Forrester Research Analyst Brian Haven says the deal is all about
bringing conservative brand advertisers to the wild places where the
kids are.
Traditionally, sites that depend on user-generated content such as
YouTube have been too earthy and human for meticulous brand managers.
“If I’ve got a tried-and-true brand that’s been around for
decades, I don’t want to find it hanging out with some video of a
kid jumping off his roof and hurting himself,” Haven told
internetnews.com.
But Haven thinks the NBC deal will help those advertisers overcome
their fears.
“When a company like NBC steps in and legitimizes the site itself,
advertisers will be more likely to participate,” Haven said.
That’s because the amount of time YouTube users spend on the site
makes them ideal targets for brand advertising.
According to a Hitwise
study released in May, the average user spends over 13 minutes on the
site per visit.
Haven thinks if users spend a fraction of that time looking at brand-safe NBC content, advertisers will come running.
So what’s in it for NBC?
Partnering with YouTube helps them manage their brand, of course,
Haven said.
“NBC gets its own iTunes like ABC did when iTunes launched video back in October,” Haven said.
“NBC was right there with ABC then, but they didn’t get a lot of
the credit for it. Now NBC’s got its own thing and it’s kind of
upped the ante a little bit, going with consumer-created content.”