Over the past couple years, we’ve shared dozens of documents that analyze the growth of the online video industry and advise marketers about the best practices they can employ to take advantage of said growth. I don’t think any of those documents, however, have been as thorough as “The Digital Social Contract,” a new paper from marketing agency Ogilvy and mobile community platform Victorious that breaks down the online video industry, instructs readers how to harness its power, and provides a list of the most influential digital content creators.
Ogilvy and Victorious set up the importance of their paper by sharing a few key stats related to the online video industry. By 2019, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, online video advertising will reach $83 million and surpass TV in that category. More immediately, eMarketer estimates that two-thirds of Americans will watch online videos this year. For the 18-24 demographic, that figure is close to 96%.
What strategies, then, do Ogilvy and Victorious lay out for marketers? Their suggestions are very much in line with Victorious’ community-based philosophy, which it uses as the driving force for the fan-facing apps it builds alongside creators. Here are six specific points, laid out in a neat infographic:
The paper also recommends 30 specific creators, all of whom have built engaged communities on YouTube and other social media platforms. This list, first shared by The Hollywood Reporter, doesn’t quite turn out the way you’d expect. Sure, it contains some familiar faces, such as Ryan Higa, Markiplier, and Michelle Phan, but it also includes lesser-known YouTube stars like Adriene Mishler, Andrew Schrock, and SamGladiator.
The entire 110-page paper can be read here. It’s a truly mammoth document, filled with extensive histories of TV and digital media, references to the philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Martin Luther, and economist Vilfredo Pareto, and input from top creators like Scott Hoying of Pentatonix and Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. Ogilvy and Victorious have truly left no stone unturned, so if you’re looking to educate yourself on digital video marketing, you should definitely see what “The Digital Social Contract” has to say.
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