TimmyH
YouTube not just for Gen-Y
August 6th 2008 02:09
Shortly after YouTube launched its Insight video analytics tool in March it became obvious to video up-loaders that their audiences were a little different than expected. Apparently consumers are considerably older and better educated than was originally assumed.
PBS recently employed Erik Martin, an online media consultant, to design a YouTube campaign to promote a new pilot entitled “YourWeek.” The show has its own YouTube channel and blog which are aimed at creating a more interactive culture at PBS. Naturally, producers were concerned about the potential popularity of a Web/TV crossover within Generation Y, which is not usually PBS’s target demographic.
Martin’s PBS team posted 5 videos over a three month period. Using YouTube Insight they found that of the 125,000 viewers, more than half were over 45. 40% were between 45 and 54 and 15% were older than this. This would not be a surprising statistic for television viewing, what is interesting is that older viewers seem happy to cross the technological divide to find content that suits them.
The videos included clips about genetically engineered food, a new take on the upcoming US election by literary personality Christopher Hitchins and another aimed at Gen-Y which debating the ethics of "Grand Theft Auto: IV.”
The statistics have proved that YouTube commands a more diverse audience than was originally assumed. As Martin explains, “The pilot didn't get a green light, but the data surprised people. The experiment was so informative that I don't think it will be long before someone at PBS or another organization tries to develop a hybrid on- and offline social news program."
Prominent blogger, Dan McCoig, of DanTravelling.com has reportedly been using data from YouTube Insight to get face time with historians. Although once sceptical about the use of online video, Museum curators have been more jumping on the bandwagon. As McCoig explains, “We had to show them that we weren't going to portray them negatively, and that the clips could actually help attract more local tourism.”
Using data from Insight, McCoig was able to prove to local curators that the vast majority of audiences live locally and are in more diverse age brackets than was assumed. A short video about the historic Moravian Village in Winston-Salem, N.C. attracted more than 2,800 hits, 80% of which came from viewers in North Carolina and more than 60% were aged over 45.
YouTube Insight’s product manager, Tracy Chan, says this is exactly what Google expected when they launched Insight.
"Before we launched Insight, there was basic video analytics, and then there were tools for big corporations who could afford it. So it was either rudimentary or expensive. But now anyone can upload a video on YouTube and use it as the world's largest focus group."
Really Long Link
PBS recently employed Erik Martin, an online media consultant, to design a YouTube campaign to promote a new pilot entitled “YourWeek.” The show has its own YouTube channel and blog which are aimed at creating a more interactive culture at PBS. Naturally, producers were concerned about the potential popularity of a Web/TV crossover within Generation Y, which is not usually PBS’s target demographic.
Martin’s PBS team posted 5 videos over a three month period. Using YouTube Insight they found that of the 125,000 viewers, more than half were over 45. 40% were between 45 and 54 and 15% were older than this. This would not be a surprising statistic for television viewing, what is interesting is that older viewers seem happy to cross the technological divide to find content that suits them.
The videos included clips about genetically engineered food, a new take on the upcoming US election by literary personality Christopher Hitchins and another aimed at Gen-Y which debating the ethics of "Grand Theft Auto: IV.”
The statistics have proved that YouTube commands a more diverse audience than was originally assumed. As Martin explains, “The pilot didn't get a green light, but the data surprised people. The experiment was so informative that I don't think it will be long before someone at PBS or another organization tries to develop a hybrid on- and offline social news program."
Prominent blogger, Dan McCoig, of DanTravelling.com has reportedly been using data from YouTube Insight to get face time with historians. Although once sceptical about the use of online video, Museum curators have been more jumping on the bandwagon. As McCoig explains, “We had to show them that we weren't going to portray them negatively, and that the clips could actually help attract more local tourism.”
Using data from Insight, McCoig was able to prove to local curators that the vast majority of audiences live locally and are in more diverse age brackets than was assumed. A short video about the historic Moravian Village in Winston-Salem, N.C. attracted more than 2,800 hits, 80% of which came from viewers in North Carolina and more than 60% were aged over 45.
YouTube Insight’s product manager, Tracy Chan, says this is exactly what Google expected when they launched Insight.
"Before we launched Insight, there was basic video analytics, and then there were tools for big corporations who could afford it. So it was either rudimentary or expensive. But now anyone can upload a video on YouTube and use it as the world's largest focus group."
Really Long Link
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