Larry Kless' Weblog: Fliqz

Showing posts with label Fliqz. Show all posts

Friday, February 25, 2011

Fliqz is Acquired by VBrick, Another OVP Bites the Dust

News of more consolidation within the online video platform space came earlier this week with the announcement that Emeryville, CA-based Fliqz has been acquired by enterprise IP video pioneer VBrick. In a press release issued on Tuesday, Wallingford, Conn.-based VBrick announced that it has acquired the assets of Fliqz, and will merge Fliqz's SaaS-based online video platform with its video streaming product VBoss (VBrick's Online Streaming Service) to further grow and expand its offerings and customer base. VBrick noted that the Fliqz service "brings a strong on-demand component to VBrick’s already strong existing SaaS offering and also gives VBrick access to the small-and medium-sized business (SMB) market."

While no financial terms of the acquisition were disclosed, Jonathan Marino of peHUB suggested that "Fliqz investors took a bath" and that two of his sources confirmed that Fliqz was sold for less than its three rounds of funding which totaled $12 million. Marino noted that, "one of the sources acknowledged the sale process, run through Lighthouse Capital Partners, only attracted $1.4 million from VBrick."

Fliqz was founded by Benjamin Wayne in 2005 as a white-label plug-and-play video platform specializing in video SEO. Fliqz is in use by more than 35,000 websites with a wide variety customers including the US Army MLB, Monster, Rackspace, WebMD, Expedia, Sony, VH1, T-Mobile, Nokia and many others. Fliqz offers 5 different SaaS video solution packages and launched SearchSuccess in November 2009 as as an add-on to Fliqz's Gold video solution. Fliqz said that more than two-thirds of all videos submitted to SearchSuccess produce a first-page Google search result, and up to 25% have resulted in a number one Google ranking.

Just two years ago, Fliqz was recognized as a "Contender" in the Forrester Research report, The Forrester Wave™: US Online Video Platforms, Q4 2009, which evaluated six leading online video platform vendors. Brightcove and Ooyala led the pack with their end-to-end product offerings that target organizations of all sizes. VMIX and Kaltura followed closely behind with comprehensive offerings and are Strong Performers, while Twistage and Fliqz served more narrow segments of the market and were noted as Contenders. Wayne received some notoriety as the "YouTube Is Doomed" guy from his Business Insider post from a few years ago. He's recognized though as an industry expert in video marketing and spoke with Reel SEO in this video about the importance of video SEO. According to Wayne, "video is fundamentally a marketing tool," and that video SEO is the "neglected gold mine" in the online space.

Kris Drey, Vidcompare Founder is the former VP of Marketing at Fliqz and provided a unique perspective on the Vidcompare blog:

"Fliqz was one of the early OVPs (when the term OVP was popularized) to mass-market SaaS-based B2B2C video platform services bringing the notion of using online video for marketing purposes to the forefront of corporate online marketers. In fact, I helped build the first version of this solution with Benjamin Wayne, the founder and CEO of Fliqz when he hired me back in early 2007 (I left the company in June of last year). Fliqz made it easy for businesses to integrate online video into their websites with simple to use uploading, encoding, management, analytics, and playback video content tools."

Although, recently Fliqz experienced trouble raising additional funding and just wasn’t successful competing with with other larger companies, like Brightcove, Ooyala and Kaltura for VC funding. Wayne will not be staying with VBrick but according to Drey and also Ryan Lawler and Fliqz's future still looks promising. VBrick will invest $1 million into Fliqz to help integrate and build out the product offering. VBrick has also renewed the lease of Fliqz’s offices in Emeryville, CA. Fliqz will remain open and continue function temporarily as its own business unit for the next several months as its staff of 20 are retrained and folded into VBrick. Jim O'Neil spoke with VBrick CEO Doug Howard who said that, "Fliqz CEO Benjamin Wayne will help guide the transition and is expected to remain onboard for at least the next three months." VBrick currently has 9000 customers in the corporate, government and education sector and according to Howard, Fliqz will add less than $5 million in annual revenue to VBrick's estimated $45 million.

It's been a busy M&A season within the OVP space within and as Drey said expect to see more changes ahead:

"We expect to see further merger and acquisition activity in online video this year and will keep you posted on what it means for the industry. January and February have definitely set a trend pointing towards more focused and specialized business plans and product offerings."

Disclosure: Vidcompare is a sponsor of this blog

Related:

About VBrick Systems, Inc.
VBrick is the leader in Enterprise IP Video, with over 9,000 corporate, education and government customers and 60,000 installations worldwide. VBrick solutions work over standard IP networks and the Internet to enable the creation, publishing and distribution of rich media content. Our comprehensive streaming solutions are used in a wide range of live and on-demand applications including meeting and event broadcasts, employee collaboration, distributed learning, digital signage, TV distribution, and video surveillance. Headquartered in Wallingford, CT, VBrick’s products and services are available through industry-leading value-added resellers. In purchasing the Fliqz assets, VBrick did not assume any liability, debt or obligation of Fliqz except to the limited extent specifically agreed and specified. For more information, visit www.vbrick.com.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Online Video Platform Summit: Redefining Monetization

Established methods of monetizing online video content include: advertisement, sponsorship, merchandising, licensing and acquisition, paid syndication, subscription and pay-per-view, product placement and branded entertainment. And in many cases, businesses may use video as marketing tool for lead generation and sales to promote their products, goods and services and extend brand message. But the question of how to most effectively monetize online video and what revenues to expect, tend to be more difficult to answer for many online video publishers. I led a panel discussion on Redefining Monetization at the Online Video Platform Summit that featured a diverse panel with Benjamin Wayne, CEO of Fliqz, Peter Csathy, CEO of Sorenson Media, Kevin Nalty of Nalts Consulting, and Teg Grenager, co-founder of Adap.tv who debated the viability of advertising in online video and the true value of online video as a marketing tool.

Redefining Monetization

Different organizations have different goals and business models when it comes to monetization. Some monetize their video content directly with advertising through pre-rolls, post-rolls, overlays and product endorsements or by a pay-per-view or subscription model. But most organizations will benefit by using video as a way to build value by driving sales, highlighting products, expanding brand awareness, and increasing customer engagement. This panel discussion will look at monetization from all the angles, address the different needs of B2B and B2C initiatives, and show examples of successful monetization practices.

Moderator: Larry Kless, Founder, President, OnlineVideoPublishing.com
Peter Csathy, President & CEO, Sorenson Media
Teg Grenager, VP of Product and Marketing & Co-Founder, Adap.tv Inc.
Kevin Nalty, Consultant, Nalts Consulting
Benjamin Wayne, CEO, Fliqz

Highlights from the Panel

Benjamin Wayne noted that until recent years video tended to be viewed in narrow terms of monetizing the video stream, and while ad supported models have proven effective, we're now seeing video used as a marketing tool in broader terms for reaching, building and converting an audience with a call-to-action on the site, with a 3-4 times conversion rate. Some of the businesses now using video are real estate agencies, dental offices, law firms, industrial and manufacturing.

Benjamin said:

"So the question is really, if you have a website and you're using online marketing as a tool to drive people to that website, video really should be part of the marketing mix. And the way in which you integrate it into the site and into your SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts needs to be broad reaching and strategic, as opposed to simply tactical around ad monetization."

Kevin "Nalts" Nalty looks at video as the most visceral form of social media, and initially he looked at it as an awareness tool, but more and more he's seeing it as a direct response vehicle. Now as a full online video marketing consultant, he works with many brands who are afraid of YouTube and video and want a safe place to play. But his message is, that it's the same concern about the web a decade ago, and that you need to be where the people are and bring your compelling message. His videos get about 6 million views per month with the bulk coming from YouTube, and as a content creator that's become a second source of income through the ad sharing revenue program.

Kevin shared some advise for creating branded content.

"When I'm commissioned by a company to do a promotional video, it's got to be entertaining, it can't feel like an ad, where people just turn it off."

Peter Csathy said any business online can use video to monetize their business and that 99% of sites with online video are not content or media sites that serve ads, they're much like the sites that Benjamin described, small and medium-sized businesses that drive revenue through video to showcase their products and services. He said that in 2010, competition in the business sector will drive more adoption of video as successful practices emerge, and high quality video is very important because it reflects on your brand.

Teg Grenager discussed online video from the media company perspective, and that the primary revenue stream for media companies is advertising. But they are faced with challenges of scale and inventory, but with ad networks and companies like Adap.tv, media companies have been able ramp up their online video publishing businesses. But CPM (cost per thousand) impressions vary and large media companies the Wall Street Journal and NY Times boast that hey can command CPMs of $50-60-70, but as Teg maintained that small media companies can run a very good business in a reasonable range of $10-15, which is what direct ad sales teams can get with relatively small but high quality content.

Benjamin pointed out that the page CPM and video ad CPM are different, and that the ability to monetize the entire page gives publishers more leverage. Teg agreed and said that the web offers a unique experience akin to television where publishers can measure time the spent on a page and balance that with an ad load that viewers can accept, such as two ads every 10 minutes.

Nalts shared a pet peeve of his about how impressions and CPMs are measured from a media purchase to a media buyer. Online video ads (pre-mid-post-rolls) and banner ads don't have the same result and level of engagement and until that gets fixed, we won't have real measurement of the viewer experience.

According to Kevin:

"An impression is such a lousy term for video, because an impression isn't an impression unless it MAKES an impression."

The panel discussed online video advertising and balancing the needs of viewers, publishers and advertisers, and that over time through real-time feedback on ads, there will be a more personal viewing experience where you won't get served up irrelevant ads. They also debated the production value of video advertising and the sustainability of amateur video for business marketing efforts, the death of viral video, and how that making a viral video is not a smart business move.

Kevin shared a few videos, this is sponsored video:

And this one that he almost didn't post, which now has over 14 million views

People always ask Nalts, "what works?" and he said that he has no clue, because he thinks that Scary Maze Game is a terrible video, but things that people should take into consideration are a few basic elements: good thumbnails, title, brevity, being a little edgy, sometimes sincere or moving, you've got to hook them at the beginning and adding that human element, having a face or person that the viewers can connect with really works - and all of these elements are transferable to publishers.

Kevin said a key strategy is that businesses can use YouTube to drive views back to their own sites, which can increase conversion and brand awareness. Benjamin said, video SEO is the "neglected gold mine" in the online space and that using proper submission techniques to Google, video is 53 times more likely to generate a first-page Google ranking than using traditional SEO techniques. He shared an example of a search term, "social product development in action" which when searched, brings up their customer's same video as the top first-page ranking with the video on YouTube and on the customer's own site. Email marketing with video thumbnails is another area that's been incredibly successful for another customer, Military.com, which Benjamin showed increased their views 800% to 10 million views a month.

The panel closed with final comments with shameless plugs and advise. Nalts said to become your own audience, sit through videos and realize what's good and what's bad, where you irritated and captivated and subscribe to WillVideoForFood.com. Benjamin suggested that sponsorships can be a great way for content publishers to escape the CPM lock and reach a niche audience. Brand advertisers can sponsor the page for month rather than video, which can be much higher rate of return.

My thanks to Benjamin, Kevin, Peter and Teg for a great a panel discussion!

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Online Video Platform Summit Monetization Panel - Redefining Monetization

Larry Kless
Founder and President,
OnlineVideoPublishing.com

Larry Kless is President and Founder of Online Video Publishing [dot] com a new media resource firm for sharing strategies and best practices for online video publishers. He writes a personal blog and is a contributor on Vator.tv and ReelSEO focusing on streaming media, online video, startups, gadgets, social media, advertising and marketing, videoconferencing and collaboration. He recently was named a 2009 Streaming Media All-Star by StreamingMedia.com, an annual team of the most innovative, influential, and important players in the online video arena.

Speakers

Peter Csathy
President & CEO
Sorenson Media

A 20-year digital media veteran, Peter Csathy's expertise encompasses all major facets of managerial leadership - including high-level business development, strategy, product development, marketing, finance and legal affairs. Csathy has held C-level roles at several high-growth companies, including CEO of SightSpeed, president and COO of Musicmatch, and COO of eNow, all of which achieved successful exits.

Teg Grenager
VP of Product and Marketing & Co-Founder
Adap.tv Inc.
An innovative leader in emerging technology and the co-founder of Adap.tv, Teg guides the product vision, roadmap, architecture, and user experience for OneSource, a best-in-class unified video ad monetization platform that empowers more than 300 publishers globally. This popular platform has helped many publishers increase video ad revenue, simultaneously boosting views without compromising viewer experience. Teg brings a unique blend of theory and practice from his academic work in the Ph.D. program in computer science at Stanford and his current role managing engineering, product and marketing at Adap.tv.

Teg has also provided strategic consulting services to many Fortune 100 companies as well as Travelocity.com with global management consulting firm Arthur D. Little. Teg holds a MS in Computer Science from Stanford University and a BA from Brown University. He has published extensively on machine learning and natural language processing in the academic literature arena. Past speaking engagements include instructing several classes at Stanford University and the IT Forum lecture series in Japan to consumer electronics executives.

Kevin Nalty
Blogger, WillVideoForFood.com, and Consultant
Nalts Consulting

Kevin Nalty - founder of Nalts Consulting, is the only career marketer who also is one of the most prolific online-video creators. Kevin has created nearly 800 videos that have been viewed throughout the world more than 105 million times. Kevin is also a highly experienced marketer with inline brand and agency experience. In addition to his Johnson & Johnson, KPMG Consulting and Qwest Internet Solutions experience, Kevin was most recently the Product Director of a top Merck consumer brand. Kevin is in a unique position to help translate social-media and video marketing into business impact.

Kevin's unique "inside out” and “outside in" perspective helps clients add value to both their company and their "target" market (customers, prospects, brand evangelists or large audiences). The sustainable programs are a win for both the company and the people with whom they engage. Nalts Consulting helps brands engage with lower risk, greater agility and speed, and defined success metrics. By drawing from his own experience and taping into experts in a variety of other "conversational" mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, Nalts Consulting helps to provide a return on the investment in social medias. Dozens of trusted brands -- Fox, Mentos, MTV and Crowne Plaza -- have benefited from Kevin's experience and skills.

Benjamin Wayne
CEO
Fliqz

Prior to Fliqz, Benjamin was President & CEO of Collabrys, a leading provider of outsourced customer acquisition and retention solutions for Global 1000 corporations, including Bank of America, Capital One, Visa, Estee Lauder, Clorox, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Target, New York Life Insurance, and Prudential. Collabrys was acquired by E-Centives in 2004.

Prior to Collabrys, Benjamin was the founder, president, and CEO of Smartshop.com, an online comparison shopping portal that was acquired by CNET in 2000. Prior to Smartshop, Benjamin was president of BG&W Consulting, a South Korea-based market-entry consultancy whose clients included Coca-Cola, Disney, Benetton, Cathay Pacific Airways, Samsung, and the U.S. government. Benjamin holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton and an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and he was a Fulbright Research Scholar to South Korea.

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Thursday, September 3, 2009

Introducing VidCompare

Now that it has officially launched, I’m happy to introduce VidCompare, a new web service that has officially today is designed to be your business decision tool for searching and comparing online video platforms. It should be noted upfront that VidCompare is the brainchild of Kris Drey, who fully discloses that professionally he is actually VP of product marketing at Fliqz, an Emeryville, California-based online video platform (OVP), a fact that is bound to raise many eyebrows. So why would an OVP executive launch a company that compares other OVPs, isn’t that a conflict of interest? I asked Kris that very question in a featured interview about why he launched VidCompare, how will the site will work and what’s the overall goal of VidCompare.

Kris believes that the current methodology of searching for an OVP through Google is broken and that the industry needed a better way for consumers to find the right services and platform for their online video products. He also very passionate about the space and launched VidCompare separate from his day job and funded it out of his own pocket completely independent of Fliqz.

The VidCompare website says:

"Whether you are a VP of Marketing for a large company or a CEO of a start-up, VidCompare is designed to help you find the perfect provider for your business in an unbiased, and vendor-neutral manner. We offer helpful tools like user reviews, side-by-side comparisons, and detailed provider information saving you time and money by doing the research and homework for you, removing the guesswork from what can be a difficult and important decision for your company."

VidCompare at its core is a marketplace for educating users, driving high quality leads and a community of online video platforms. While the site is based on search and discovery — with the goal to promote the network layer stack that has the most direct contact with the content creators of the millions of video web sites, which according to Cisco video will account for over 91% of global consumer traffic by 2013 — VidCompare brings together the OVP market into a community and every company that’s included in VidCompare’s growing database will be given private access to update and promote their profiles.

OVPs are becoming more focused on a wide array of capabilities from content management, encoding, advertising, syndication and monetization. But for the customer who may be new to online video it can be confusing to decide what components they need and what’s the added value that OVPs bring.

As the market further expands and more choices become available, education will be key for online media consumers to make strategic buying decisions. VidCompare can help with the necessary tools to search, compare and make an educated purchase. Read more about the features available VidCompare in the interview with founder Kris Drey

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