At Web Wise Business, we are no strangers to online video advertising, so naturally, when we heard about the latest development in this area by Oklahoma based start-up uVizz, our interest was piqued.

 

uVizz is an application for social networks such as Facebook, Bebo, Twitter etc, that aims to redefine the current online advertising model. Instead of chasing consumers with ad's, uVizz will allow advertisers to work with them to create fun and engaging videos about their products. The people who create and spread these videos across the internet will then be compensated by the advertiser when the video is viewed by consumers within the advertisers specified target market.

 

Interested in finding out more about the company and their product, we caught up with Matt Johnson at uVizz to get some more information on the application and the thinking behind it.

 

 

uVizz is the brainchild of a group of 4 guys from Edmond, Oklahoma and started in early 2008. "The idea for uVizz came about 2 years ago and was inspired by the Doritos Super Bowl video competition, where members of the public are invited to create an advert for Doritos and compete to win $1 million and have the ad aired during the Super Bowl. Having seen the interest and great ideas generated by this, we realised there is something there" Matt told us of the inspiration behind the development of uVizz.

 

Realising that these "home made" videos are the type of productions that regularly become viral YouTube hits (a current favourite is Kitty Neo Vs Puppy Agent Smith's), uVizz wanted to provide an easy means for advertisers to work with video creators to produce potential hits, but in a cost effective manner that produced clear return on investment.

 

 

 

"If you look at figures for advertising on Facebook, currently for every 10,000 displays of an advert, it only receives 8 clicks or less. That's because the adverts aren't involved in what people are there to do, which is keep up and interact with their friends and family" Matt explains. "uVizz allows advertisers the opportunity to engage with consumers through their own network of friends and family by not only having them create the content, but also have them spread it to people they think might like to see it, and who fit the advertisers target audience. The incentive for users to do so is that they are financially compensated when they do for every unique video view."

 

 

But if the content is created by the general public, isn't there the risk that the message delivered could actually be negative towards the brand or product?

 

"When a video is created for an advertiser's brief, the advertiser gets to review it and decide if it is suitable or not. If it's not, uVizz own the distribution rights for any video created, while the creator owns the video itself, therefore the video cannot appear anywhere online without the advertiser and video creator's consent." Matt told us when explaining how uVizz eliminates the risk for all parties.

 

 

When asked whether the fact that uVizz leverages social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo to spread content meant that advertising would only be delivered to teenagers and those of the "Facebook generation", Matt dispelled some common myths about social networking websites. "Looking again at the figures, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is the over 30's crowd and those nearing their early 40's". "While younger people may be a larger part of the online "video creator" group, the way uVizz works - by advertiser's only paying video creators and distributors for unique video views from those in their target demographic, it ensures that adverts will be seen by the right people, because the financial incentive is there. Anyone else who see's the video is just a bonus that the advertiser doesn't pay for, but that we still track and report to them".

 

 

 

So what type of companies is uVizz best suited to for advertising purposes? 

 

Coming from a small business background themselves, the guys at uVizz have worked hard to develop the application so that it is a viable choice for online advertising for both small businesses and big businesses alike. "uVizz works on any level, big or small. If you have an existing loyal customer base, like many bigger brands, then obviously it is easy to get people creating the content and passing it along. However, even if you don't, the incentives for video creators and referrers means that your message will still reach it's target".

 

Further extolling the benefits for small business, Matt went on to explain that, due to the fact the advertiser only pays when a video is viewed by someone who falls within the specified target audience, which can be narrowed by age groupings, gender and location, there is a much reduced risk financially for the business, especially when compared with the outlay required for more traditional, less targeted, advertising means. With uVizz, everything the advertiser pays for provides brand exposure to their target audience. 

 

Our final question for Matt related to the original name for the company - Referral Bee, and what they were thinking when they came up with it!

 

Laughing, Matt explained "It was pretty lame and after a few months we finally came to our senses and changed it. It was originally selected because whenever somebody passes on an advert, it's a referral, and "Bee" related to the buzz being generated....the new name is obviously much better though and we are no longer embarrassed to mention the company name in public!"

 

With the application set to launch on June 15th, uVizz already have clients lining up, including UK based Mornflake, who are launching with a competition to win £15,000 for the best advert created.

 

We wish the guys at uVizz the best of luck for the launch and will certainly be keeping an eye on their progress.