The likes of Red Bull, MTV, Nike, and Sony Music are now enabling users—to buy, that is. It’s like a one-step program for impulse buyers, where viral video meets e-commerce, where advertisers connect with social media users. A company called Splashcast released a tool that turns online videos into impulse buying opportunities. It’s called “HotSpot.”

Here’s how it works: HotSpot enables marketers to tag objects — like a chair or a table lamp — inside a published video. You click on the highlighted item and see a sponsored message and a link to the purchasing page.

The first thing that came to my mind was—not another annoying encroachment upon my viewing pleasure! But Splashcast knows enough to be subtle because they don’t want to irritate viewers. Video viewers are alerted to HotSpot content by subtle highlighting.
Splashcast is banking on HotSpot inspiring product placement opportunities in films that have already gone viral.

Source: Mediaweek

Christine Babick is a marketing strategist and linguist specializing in marketing language, website text, “emo copy,” and cause
and relationship marketing. More…

Article Tags: Advertising | Babick | Mediaweek | product | Splashcast | Video | Viral
Filed under: Advertising, Marketing Innovation, Product Placement, Social Media Marketing, Viral Marketing