With Vevo?s mobile application growing in popularity, marketers should keep the app in mind when trying to reach consumers through creative, native content.

While Vevo?s current marketing opportunities in its application mainly surround pre-roll, the app has the potential to integrate branded sponsored content and could give marketers a creative venue for reaching consumers. Similar to what Pandora offers, marketers could create a native opportunity for marketers where their content shows up in between videos.

?The current solution for marketers in the app is primarily tied to pre-roll ad delivery,? said Tom Edwards, vice president of digital strategy at The Marketing Arm, Dallas, TX. ?There is also precedent for including small banners in the near future similar to how they are static with the pre-roll content delivered next to the video content on vevo.com, but that has yet to be incorporated.

?The potential for the platform though is bigger than sponsored ad content,? he said. ?Vevo focuses on the creation of original artist content, and this editorial approach could be a great way to natively incorporate brand sponsored content into the experience, especially those that have a close association with certain artists or genres of music.

?In-stream sponsored content may also be considered in the future as a way to drive additional value for marketers and brands to have a more prominent placement directly within the user?s stream.?

Mobile video
Vevo?s app lets consumers watch music videos, stream live concerts and discover new artists. The app is available for free in Apple?s App Store and Google Play.

The app contains 75,000 music videos from more than 21,000 artists. Consumers can create playlists and save videos to watch later.

The app also syncs with social media, and consumers can opt in to have the app share what they are viewing to Facebook. Additionally, the app syncs with the desktop version of Vevo through the cloud.

According to The Los Angeles Times, in the last year global views on Vevo?s apps increased 176 percent from 2012 to 17 billion views. Additionally, app downloads increased 66 percent.

The app peaked at No. 3 last July in the U.S. music category in terms of download rate. The download rate has slowed a bit, but data still points to significant reach for certain audience segments.

One obvious way to advertise with Vevo would be through native branded content.

Another interesting idea would be to leverage Vevo users? social network activity for users who sync to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. This would enable marketers to personalize and target ads based on social behavior like which artists consumers like on Facebook.

?One element working in Vevo?s favor is the strong correlation between Vevo and social media,? Mr. Edwards said. ?Social channels such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are the primary referral sources into the vevo.com experience.

?This shows a strong correlation between the content and organic sharing that leads to potentially acquiring new users,? he said. ?This combined with the ability to syndicate content across the Google ecosystem are keys to consider when evaluating the reach potential of the platform.?

Prime marketers
According to Mr. Edwards, prime candidates for Vevo advertising are brands such as Anheuser-Busch, Pepsico and State Farm ? brands that have a strong association with music.

?Since the experience is driven by music videos and original content, brands that focus on creating editorial content around their celebrity associations and then mapping brand content with the pre-roll of the artists content and videos may drive the most impact on the platform,? he said. ?Also, there is significant potential for multi-cultural focused brands to capitalize on the Vevo audience.?

With consumers tuned in to the content in Vevo, it would be a prime moment for marketers to send a creative message their way.

Consumers are already engaged with audio, so presenting them with branded audio is a great way to reach this audience.

?Since Vevo is a video streaming app, marketers leverage it primarily to showcase video or audio-based ads,? said Shuli Lowy, marketing director at Ping Mobile, New York. ?Audio-enabled ads are best when showcased on an audio based app; consumers are less likely to have background audio enabled media playing in the same room while engaging with an audio enabled app.
 
?The value-based experience that Vevo has built will further expand its engaged audience as well as the attention it receives from marketers,? she said.
 
?At present moment, Vevo?s primary audience is geared towards a younger demographic including adolescents, teens and young adults. This makes it a target distribution channel for marketers aiming to reach this audience with video ads.?

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York