As Print Media Embraces Video, So Must Brands

Increasingly print news media are embracing video in the online arena and that further heightens the need for brands to use online video as a way of telling their stories.

The New York Times reported recently that the Internet and portal device like the iPad have redefined the print media business and “made it possible for, say, The Wall Street Journal to compete with CNBC and CNN for viewers’ time”.

The Wall Street Journal already produces roughly four hours of live programming each weekday. Other players like The New York Times and The Washington Post are also embracing video. Even existing online news organizations are adding more and more video to their offerings.

“The Huffington Post said that it would enter the emerging market in a big way this summer with 12 hours of live video each weekday,” The New York Times reported.

The major implications for brands are two-fold. First the increase in online video offers more opportunities to deliver video ads (one of the main lures for print media to embrace video is the higher CPM fees that video advertising attracts).

Secondly, and more importantly, is that brands (and their managers) must become fluent in communicating in the online video medium. Text press releases with quotes attributed to, but hardly ever written, by CEOs will be complemented and/or replaced with video releases of the CEO speaking directly to his or her audience.

The increase in video reporting will also increase the need for background video on the brands and/or their industries. Brands that can supply that video in a way that they don’t seem to be subjective or spin doctoring will be well positioned to control how the brand is portrayed to the world.