Bambi Francisco Reviews Google Video

Bambi takes a look at Google's new Adwords video option.

Highlights of her impressions:

• I expected more. When I heard that Google had a video-ad product, I expected it to be a sophisticated self-service video-ad auction service, whereby advertisers could bid against each other to place their ads on videos. Think of it as AdWords for video. But Google doesn't have such a product.
• Nonetheless, video ads will be popular with advertisers. They're another vehicle in which a marketer -- large or small -- can get a message or its brand in front of an audience.
• Video ads will also be popular with publishers. Will video ads be clicked on less, thus resulting in lower payments to publishers, who make more money when click-through rates and cost-per-clicks are high? It doesn't matter.
• Google is adding liquidity to the marketplace for video advertisements by allowing advertisers place their video commercials on the blogosphere, where there is inventory. The production of entertaining and news-related videos is in its early stages. For now, video inventory is scarce. That's why the cost to advertise on videos produced by professional media can be anywhere between $20 and $100 per CPM. It's cheap relative to TV prices, but higher relative to other advertising options on the Web. Google is charging between $5 and low-double-digits per CPM for video ads.
• Google will no doubt jump onto good emerging ideas -- even yours -- that involve video too. Rajaram excitedly talked about the possibilities around the aforementioned video resumes. HireVue.com is already doing just that. It's a job hiring site where candidates can upload video resumes. In many ways, HireVue can be more successful in this marketplace than Google since it's far more focused on the employment service and this one business.