Video Promotion: How should video websites be “branded”?

Introduction: When a culture develops to the extreme, it will be simplified into a "symbol"; when a platform expands to the end, it will become a "brand". "Branding" will become the general trend of the development of video websites. One day, terms such as "iQiyi" and "Bilibili" will no longer be the names of video websites, but become a personalized cultural product brand.

Either die in silence or explode in silence. Conflict and change are the inevitable fate of video websites.

2006 was the first year of the development of video websites. Over the past decade, the development of video websites has caught the trend of Internet development and encountered the bonus period of mobile development, but it has also encountered the cold winter of the financial crisis and various obstacles brought about by the rise of copyright awareness.

The initial seed players of video websites were all “the first to try new things”. Tudou, LeTV, Youku, and Ku6 all rode on the wave of video website development and rose to prominence. Their first-mover advantage created the "Matthew effect" for a certain period of time. The competition among video websites in the later period is a game between capitals. Video websites that fail to seek capital injection in time or fail to find support from capital giants will only die early or be gradually marginalized.

In the torrent of the development of the times, some video websites have become victims of capital games, some have had to withdraw regretfully in the fierce competition, some have become natural "rich second generation" with the help of strong capital background, and some have successfully raised funds early and have strong strength.

The increasingly fierce copyright competition, the rapid development of the Internet and the increasing demand for cultural products indicate that video websites are about to usher in the next spring. "Socialization" will become the standard for building video website platforms, "personalization" will become the criterion for cultural operations of video websites, and conversely, "branding" will become the general trend of the development of video websites.

At the end of the development of video websites, the industrial chain based on video website symbols will continue to extend and expand. Terms such as "iQiyi" and "Bilibili" will no longer be the names of video websites, but become personalized cultural product brands.

How to build your own brand will become a question that video websites need to think about

1. Three Eras of Video Websites

The story begins with a person.

At the end of 2005, a freelancer named Hu Ge casually edited Chen Kaige's film "The Promise" and created "A Murder Caused by a Bun".

But he did not expect that this video would trigger a wave of reposts across the entire Internet and become a phenomenal event in 2006. At that time, the number of downloads of this video even far exceeded that of the movie "The Promise" itself.

In the torrent of historical development, "A Murder Caused by a Steamed Bun" became the butterfly that incited the hurricane. It is hard to say whether this was a coincidence or a necessity. But after that, video websites really began to enter people's vision and became known to the public. People's impression of the "professionalism" of video is also being deconstructed and reconstructed.

Over the past decade, the development of video websites has gone through the traffic era, ushered in the copyright era, and will gradually move towards the community era.

1. The era of traffic

“We don’t produce videos, we just deliver them.”

In the early stages of video website development, most video websites were merely video porters.

At this time, "traffic" is the high ground that video websites are competing for. Rich content and active users are the core of video website operations. "Sharing" is the theme of video website operation.

At the beginning, seed players of video websites such as Ku6, Youku, and Tudou all adopted the UGC (user-generated content) operation model, first attracting users to stay on the platform, then encouraging users to create content, and finally attracting more users through rich and interesting content, forming a positive cycle in traffic. This is also the original "self-media" model.

However, there are very few users who actually create videos, and most videos posted by users are transplanted from other websites. The shadow of "infringement" always hangs over video websites. The constant infringement incidents have caused serious damage to many video websites, and the increasingly homogenized content has also caused video websites to lose user stickiness.

2. Copyright Era

Copyright has become the next focus of competition among video websites.

The financial crisis in 2008 caused video websites to encounter an unprecedented cold winter, and a large number of video websites died in the cold wind of the financial crisis. At the same time, the market's gradually awakening copyright awareness has also caused video websites to suffer many lawsuits, forcing them to remove some videos. Content homogeneity is the biggest crisis facing video websites. Without competitive and personalized content, it is difficult to attract fickle users.

Video websites have gradually realized that only by controlling copyright can they control the market.

And copyright means "burning money". There are two main sources of copyright: one is self-made by the website, and the other is purchased from other producers. Both sources of copyright are quite expensive.

Sohu Video, Tencent Video, and iQiyi have become the natural "rich second generation" by relying on Sohu, Tencent, and Baidu. Websites with insufficient financial resources had to seek other backers. Youku and Tudou merged, and Suning became the major shareholder of PPTV. LeTV has sought another way out, attempting to support the operation of its video website through the layout of the entire industrial chain.

The high copyright fees mean that video websites need a constant source of financing to "recover". Without the support of a core money-making industry, it is difficult for video websites to maintain operations. During this period, LeTV's "full industrial chain" layout failed and unfortunately suffered a defeat. PPTV said "goodbye" to fans on its official blog, sparking countless speculations. The development of the video website ushered in the transition from winter to spring, and it went from an initial boom to a calm one.

The surge in cultural products and the gradual improvement in user aesthetics have led to the competition among video websites gradually shifting towards content. Video websites have gradually realized that only content can attract users.

3. The era of community

McLuhan believed that media are extensions of human beings. With the development of the cultural industry, media is not only an extension of human senses, but also an extension of emotions.

The competition for content will eventually come to an end. Fierce competition and high copyright fees make it difficult for video websites to survive solely on content. "Sense of identity" will become the core of the next operation of video websites. Users' functional demands for video websites will gradually turn into emotional demands.

"Socialization" is the next trend in the development of video websites.

Video websites with a keen sense of smell realized this early on. IQiyi has launched the slogan of "New Light Luxury" and is trying to unite star-chasing crowds and the "petty bourgeoisie" through the construction of "bubble circles" and celebrity lists. Sohu has purchased a large number of copyrights of British and American dramas, providing a haven for relaxation for fans of British and American dramas. Tencent has launched "Produce 101", "Creation Camp 2019" and other "star-making" programs, and has built a complete idol industry chain based on "fan culture" to attract star-chasing groups.

The creation of a "community" helps consumers with the same attributes gather on one platform and develop a sense of identity and belonging to the platform.

The success of Bilibili is a good example. When major video websites were struggling with copyright fees, Bilibili mobilized users on its platform to start the "New Anime Contracting Plan" and purchased animation copyrights through users' spontaneous "financing". The reason why this approach has been successful is that since its inception, Bilibili has been a small community for two-dimensional enthusiasts to share and communicate, and it has cohesion and a sense of user belonging that other websites do not have.

2. Treating Traditional Culture: From "Rebellion" to "Identification" to "Individualization"

Video websites first appeared in the public eye as rebels.

Novel communication channels, fresh video sharing methods and novel video content have broken people’s impression of traditional film and television and subverted the mainstream film and television aesthetics. At the beginning, people's demand for video websites was mostly emotional.

However, the development of the Internet and mobile terminals has given video websites the possibility to expand their user boundaries. In order to attract more users, video websites have begun to try their best to get closer to mainstream aesthetics. At this time, the tool attributes of video websites continued to increase.

Today, fierce copyright competition and increasingly homogenized content have forced video websites onto the path of "personalization," attempting to awaken viewers' sense of belonging and identity with the website and to establish emotional connections with users.

When it comes to traditional culture, video websites initially engaged in ritualistic resistance and played the role of “rebels”. Then, in order to attract the general public, they gradually moved closer to mainstream aesthetics. Finally, video websites began to move towards personalization.

1. Rebel

In the early days of video websites, people's demand for video websites mainly came from three points: first, the need to express one's own personality in the "decentralized" anonymous Internet era; second, the rebellion of young people against mainstream culture based on subcultural identity; and third, the need for niche culture enthusiasts to seek communication and a sense of belonging.

The first popular “Internet celebrity” video - “A Murder Caused by a Steamed Bun” is a good example. "A Murder Caused by a Bun" is based on Chen Kaige's famous movie "The Promise". It has been forwarded and downloaded by countless netizens due to its funny editing, nonsensical dialogues and unexpected plot twists.

This video not only pioneered the online spoof culture, but also brought a wave of traffic to the video website. Having tasted the sweetness, video websites have followed suit, encouraging users to create and publish videos independently to highlight their individuality.

The earliest first-tier video websites such as Youku, Tudou, and 56.com all adopted the UGC (user-generated video) operation model, and most of the videos they released were short videos. Video websites regard each user as an independent medium, encouraging users to break through traditional video production methods, break through mainstream aesthetics and values, and achieve individual breakthroughs.

The most typical examples are Station A and Station B. Station A and Station B have been the base camps for enthusiasts of the two-dimensional subculture since their inception. They have been exclusive and rebellious since their establishment, and have been wandering on the edge of mainstream culture.

"Youth" and "personality" have also become keywords that continuously attract traffic to the website.

From this perspective, video websites initially played the role of a "rebel", attracting the attention of young users by resisting traditional culture and mainstream aesthetics. However, this kind of resistance to traditional culture is mostly "ritualistic" or "symbolic", and is not firm. It is just a strategy and means to create a traffic cycle.

2. Identifiers

The year 2008 was a turning point in the development of video websites.

On the one hand, the arrival of the financial crisis caused video websites to face an unprecedented cold winter. On the other hand, the small explosion of online video broadcasts after the opening of the Beijing Olympics allowed countless video websites to see spring in the near future.

At this time when winter and spring meet, countless small video websites with weaker strength could not bear the cold wind and left the stage early; while those with strong strength or keen sense of smell tightly grasped a ray of spring breeze.

Live video platforms represented by PPTV have risen up with the "trend" of live sports broadcasting. Strong video websites such as Tudou and Youku have continuously expanded their categories and content with the capital obtained from their successful listing, and strived to attract new users.

It was from this time on that the users of video websites were no longer some young people who wanted to try something new, but the general public. Video websites have changed from a small platform for young people to express themselves and their personality to a platform for simply watching videos.

The tool attributes of video websites are gradually strengthened, while their emotional attributes are becoming increasingly blurred. This also makes video websites truly enter the lives of ordinary people.

From 80-year-olds to 8-year-old children, all are users of video websites. In order to cater to the general public, the video website underwent its second rectification, and transformed itself from a "rebel" to an "identifier" while continuously absorbing universal values ​​and aesthetics.

Bilibili was initially just a small circle of 2D fans, but later became a sharing place for beauty lovers, a platform for students to learn online, and even invited the mainstream media - CCTV to join. B station's variety show - "I Repair Cultural Relics in the Forbidden City" is the product of B station's efforts to find the connection between niche culture and popular culture.

Youku was originally just a UGC video website and a platform for users to share their daily lives. Now it has established 20 video categories including culture, sports, finance, technology, etc. Together with other video websites, it has embarked on the path of competing for copyrights and producing its own content.

Under the pressure of popular aesthetics and the influx of a large number of users, video websites made a cultural compromise and became a tool for playing videos. But this is indeed a good thing. Video websites that fail to seize this opportunity will either be squeezed out of the competitive arena or marginalized.

3. Personalization

"Personalization" will become the next trend in the development of video websites.

 In order to attract consumers, video websites have shed their "rebellious" image and turned into a tool platform for playing videos. Now, in order to open consumers' wallets, video websites need to emphasize their uniqueness.

One of the important reasons is that the young group has transformed from the new force in the market to the main force. Compared with their parents, they are more willing to consume culture and have a greater demand for "personalization".

On the other hand, the development of video websites has restricted their own development.

The expansion of video website categories and the competition for copyrights have forced most video websites to embark on the path of content homogeneity, making it difficult for them to show their uniqueness. Coupled with the continuous emergence of self-made variety shows, movies, TV series and other cultural products that are flooding people's lives, it is difficult for video websites to win solely by content.

At this time, consumers' consumption habits become the key to the success of video websites. To cultivate consumers' consumption habits, it is first necessary to increase the website's recognition and establish an emotional connection with consumers. "Personalization" is particularly important at this time.

iQiyi has embarked on the path of producing its own variety shows, and has created well-known variety shows such as "Fall in Love with Supermodel", "U Can U Bibi", and "Idol Producer". LeTV has carved out a niche with its self-produced web dramas. The low-budget web drama “Go Princess Go”, which was launched in 2015, has been viewed more than 2.6 billion times as of January 6, 2016, bringing LeTV considerable membership income. Tencent Video relied on Tencent's strong background to launch a star-making plan, producing star-making works such as "Creation 101" and "Creation Camp 2019", and entered the idol market in one fell swoop.

In order to increase its recognition, iQiyi took the lead in launching the slogan of "New Light Luxury", combining membership consumption with words such as "petty bourgeoisie" and "fashion". The champagne-colored barrage color exclusively for iQiyi VIP members is even nicknamed "noble color" by netizens.

As a club for 2D fans, Bilibili has possessed the advantage of "personalization" from the very beginning, and now Bilibili is also constantly emphasizing its personalized image. Through "ghostly" videos, it has established its own unique "prank" culture, attracting groups other than two-dimensional fans to join the site.

3. “Branding” will become a turning point in the competition among video websites

When a culture develops to the extreme, it will be simplified into a "symbol"; when a platform expands to the end, it will become a "brand".

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, video websites are gradually weakening their image as online playback platforms and gradually becoming representatives of a certain kind of popular culture. This is the result of video websites gradually building their own communities in the competition and forming a unique "circle" and "personalized" culture.

Video websites will gradually understand, or the market will force them to understand, that content competition will eventually come to an end and it will be difficult to distinguish the winners, and the only thing that truly has cohesion is the "brand" itself.

1. “Symbolization” of video websites

     "Symbolization" is actually the product of video websites seeking "personalization" and increasing their own recognition, but there is no doubt that "symbolization" is also conducive to video websites forming their own unique brand image and building a related cultural product industry chain based on this image.

In the past, video websites’ promotion of their platforms was mostly based on the works on the platforms. Now, the platform itself has become the object of publicity.

Faced with fierce competition in the industry, Tencent Video launched the slogan "Make the most of the good times", trying to position itself as a haven for consumers' leisure and entertainment, a cozy nest to relieve boredom after busy work, and a spiritual "magic tool for eating". As always, Bilibili is strengthening its "two-dimensional" image and enhancing the emotional connection with users through activities such as the "New Anime Contracting Plan" and "New Year's Festival". Through the social platform "Bubble Circle" and the slogan "Light Luxury Newism", iQiyi positioned itself as a "light luxury" brand in the cultural industry, seeking legitimacy for cultural consumption.

Based on the fixed images and symbols of video websites, consumers can choose different platforms according to their needs and form relatively fixed consumption habits. Video websites can also continuously expand cultural products based on their own cultural image, and eventually expand product categories from online videos to other fields, forming a systematic industrial chain.

2. Construction of the industrial chain

 With the accumulation of content and the maturity of the market, video websites have begun to expand into multiple fields such as live streaming, games, literature, and e-commerce. An industrial chain based on the brand symbols of video websites has gradually emerged.

iQiyi's construction of the industrial chain is centered on IP. On the one hand, it attracts potential authors through the layout of iQiyi Literature and iQiyi Comics. On the other hand, it purchases successful IPs on a large scale and maximizes the monetization of IP through authorized online dramas, movies, music, games and other cultural products in the downstream of the industry.

Tencent Video relies on the big tree of Tencent and Tencent products such as QQ, QQ Music, and Tencent Games to form a linkage effect, extending the effect of the content ecology to the downstream.

Take Tencent’s recently popular talent show “Creation Camp 2019” as an example. The program "Creation Camp 2019" attracts users to visit the Tencent Video website every day to like their favorite contestants and support their debut. The number of likes for members can be doubled, which increases Tencent's membership income. At the same time, the music works created by "Creation Camp 2019" will be released on QQ Music, and some music requires membership to listen to and download. Finally, the members selected by the program will also debut through Tencent, which will form a closed industrial chain based on the "fan economy" and maximize the economic benefits brought by the "idol culture."

Bilibili's layout of the industrial chain is mainly reflected in two aspects: online and offline. On the one hand, it develops upstream industries such as animation and games by relying on the concept of "pan-two-dimensional", and successfully captures the hearts of Generation Z (those born in the 1990s and 2000s); on the other hand, it joins hands with Taobao and extends its tentacles to the e-commerce industry.

Bilibili enters the e-commerce industry mainly through two methods. One is to invite well-known "UP hosts" to join the Taobao platform and monetize traffic through Taobao's "sales promotion"; the other is to sell derivative physical products such as anime peripherals, cosplay equipment, and figures based on the upstream two-dimensional industry.

3. “AI+” empowers brand building

The rise of AI technology has caused the existing marketing model to gradually collapse and disintegrate, and the genes of the digital age are constantly being integrated into the process of reorganization. Empowered by AI, traditional brand marketing methods are being subverted, and video websites can intervene in users' lives to a greater extent.

The current application of AI technology by video websites is mainly reflected in positioning, prediction and picture production.

Through AI algorithms, video websites can analyze user preferences based on user behavior data, build user databases and user portraits, and classify users, thereby making personalized recommendations for users, recommending videos and advertisements that users may be interested in, and increasing users' interest in the platform.

At the same time, establishing user portraits and user databases is also beneficial for video websites to use AI algorithms to perform casting, promotion, video positioning, traffic prediction and many other aspects. Data shows that iQiyi’s TV drama traffic prediction based on AI technology has an accuracy rate of up to 77%. After accurately analyzing and positioning the platform's users, iQiyi has produced high-quality variety shows and web dramas such as "River God", "Yu Zui", and "The Rap of China".

AI technology has also played a great role in improving users' viewing experience. The combination of AI and visual technology can accurately process video colors, which is good news for color blind patients. At the same time, the development of AI technology can also identify characters, scenes, and content in videos, solving the problem of barrage covering people's faces and barrage and plot cannot coexist.

This year, Bilibili has fully promoted this technology. When watching videos, Bilibili users were surprised to find that the barrage of comments no longer obscures the characters in the video. This enhances the user's viewing experience without reducing the interactivity of the platform.

Based on AI technology, video websites can develop some new and fresh marketing methods. Taobao uses "AI+AR" to help promote cosmetics sales, opening up a new marketing method of online color and makeup trials. "AI+AR" can also help video websites interact with users.

Video websites can open interactive communities and related interactive activities. Through AI technology, users can change into the costumes and makeup of the protagonists of the online drama with one click and interact with other characters in the online drama. AI technology can also assist the platform’s “star-making” plan, allowing users to interact virtually with their favorite idols.

The application of AI technology is conducive to the platform's precise positioning and image optimization, and can also interact with users in an interesting way, thereby enhancing the platform's attractiveness to users and establishing a personalized ecological community centered on the platform and brand symbols.

4. How to brand a video website?

 At the end of the development of video websites, terms such as iQiyi, Bilibili, and Youku will no longer be the names of video websites, but become a cohesive and attractive cultural brand. "Branding" will be the general trend of the development of video websites. Regarding the branding of video websites, the author makes the following suggestions:

1. Establish an ecological community centered on the platform to enhance users’ sense of belonging and identity with the video website.

2. Build a "personalized" platform culture to enhance its appeal to users and create a positive cycle in traffic.

3. Strengthen the brand symbol construction of video websites and layout the related industrial chain based on brand symbols.

4. Cleverly utilize emerging technologies represented by AI technology to create new ways of brand marketing and enhance user experience.

Conclusion: The tide of the times is rolling forward. The rapid change of cultural products and the rapid development of science and technology have brought both opportunities and challenges to video websites. "Branding" will become the general trend of the development of video websites. Whether or not video websites can seize this opportunity will determine whether they can grasp the next spring of development.

Author: Fang Yun

Source: PR Home