Brief:
- EBay is the first advertiser to sponsor Verizon Media's shoppable video format as the online marketplace prepares for the holiday shopping season. The companies are collaborating on "The Guy's Guide to Nailing the Holidays," a campaign to help men find the perfect gifts, according to an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
- Verizon's Yahoo Lifestyle website is showcasing the Holiday Guide for Guys hub to pull together eBay's marketplace and branded content that advises men on the latest technology, sporting gadgets and apparel.
- Influencers such as tech and gaming expert Brian Tong and reality-TV star Tanner Tolbert highlight eBay's lifestyle, tech and sports products in the gift guide videos, which appear above a carousel of featured items and trending products across Yahoo Media properties. Clicking on the product images brings Yahoo viewers to eBay's website, where they can place orders and make payments.
Insight:
EBay aims to stand out this holiday season by sponsoring video gift guides from Verizon Media's branded content team that link directly to its online marketplace. With its "Guy's Guide" campaign, eBay is targeting male shoppers who are forecast to spend an average of about $1,150 during the holiday season, more than the $950 that women will spend, per the National Retail Federation. In addition to the videos, eBay-sponsored content on Yahoo includes articles to help men find gifts for kids, women and more specialized groups like gamers. The native advertising strategy helps to engage audiences who otherwise tend to be averse to sitting through commercials.
Verizon Media is introducing its shoppable video format as more online platforms integrate video content with shopping to earn commissions from transactions. YouTube this month introduced shoppable ad units that appear in viewers' home feeds and search results, helping marketers to reach the more than 90% of users who discover new products and brands on the video-sharing platform. Comcast's NBCUniversal last month rolled out ads that let viewers use their smartphones to buy products featured in TV shows. By pointing their camera at scannable QR codes that indicate when a product is available for sale, viewers can unlock an e-commerce site to place an order. Meanwhile, social video app TikTok began testing a feature to let influencers add shopping links in their posts, but it's not clear when the service will be available to its 30 million users in the U.S.
Retailers also are creating more video content to engage shoppers, similar to a strategy that home shopping channels like QVC and direct-response marketers have used for years. Retailer Betabrand this month began livestreaming shopping events that urge customers to participate by leaving comments, emoji and other reactions in a feed. Amazon this year adopted a similar livestreaming strategy with the introduction of Amazon Live, which showcases products with video demonstrations and lets viewers ask questions through a chat box. The e-commerce giant also transformed Twitch, the video streaming platform for gamers, into a shopping channel as part of this year's Prime Day shopping event. Amazon has had mixed success with video shopping, having canceled its Style Code Live show that resembled QVC in 2017.
These developments come as consumers spend more time online shopping. By integrating video with shopping, brands and media partners hope to close the loop on turning viewing into purchases.
