Branding Opportunities: More Waves in the VOD Waters

Todd Wasserman at Brandweek reports that video-on-demand movie releases is gaining ground as marketers look for new channels to get their brands in front of fickle consumers.

U.S. VOD households are approaching 25 million and about half of them order VOD movies according to Bruce Leichtman, principal analyst and president at Leichtman Research Group. Some analysts approximate the market value at just $1 billion — very much in its infancy.

It also has a fresh set of obstacles to go along with it, namely copyright restrictions and cable company deals that prevent ads running before a VOD movies and also ban offers of free VOD.

That has not deterred some marketers who have launched these recent VOD promotions include:

- Universal, Orbitz and Playmates worked together for the VOD release of King Kong. They offered a Skull Island Adventure sweepstakes promotion that was advertised on Web sites hosted by the cable companies that also offered the VOD.

- MasterCard's "thrills, chills, spills and $20 bills" promotion offered a $20 rebate to sign up for MasterCard and was supported by a 15-million-piece direct mail push.

On the horizon? Some marketing execs expect to see brands that promote the “in-home experience” such as pizza delivery or comfy-clothes manufacturers join the fray.

One thing about the medium that brands will love: "It's very measurable,” said Stacy Melle, vice president of marketing for on-demand at Universal. “We know exactly how many people were exposed to your message."