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Choose Your Own Adventure Video – Interactive Fad or Trend?

Much has been made recently of Annotated Video on YouTube which is another version of Interactive Video or “Choose Your Own Adventure” Video (CYOA Video for short.) Though CYOA video has been around in various forms throughout the years, it has mostly been distributed through DVD and even Games – Night Trap anyone? As both digital video and streaming video have become an even more integral part of the web (and mobile), CYOA video has found its place again as a prominent fixture in the video world. The question remains, however, if CYOA video itself will turn out to be a Fad or next great Trend in the Interactive Video World.  The quick answer?  CYOA video is definitely here to stay and will become an integral part of the future of Interactive Video (Mobile or otherwise..)

Before we get to my main reasons on why CYOA video is here to stay, let’s take a moment to view a few prominent examples:

YouTube Street Fighter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQ1XrllZmA

Samsung – Follow Your Instinct

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoOCiaxIZF4

Bboy Joker (Dark Knight Spoof)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR3ywoc2Cp4

The Time Machine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8rJ1WML60Y

Alternate Endings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D59hyX-yzoo

As much as the first 4 examples are fun to view and interact with, I believe the 5^th example, Alternate Endings, really signifies where this Interactive Video trend is headed. Though the acting is admittedly horrible (and as a result the video is hard to watch), Alternate Endings is the first CYOA video that’s been ported over to the iPhone. Yes, YouTube video is available to view on the iPhone but not in annotated or interactive form. So, the other 4 examples I listed above will not work in the Interactive method that was intended. The Alternate Endings App for the iPhone, however, includes all the video footage for the CYOA content so the experience is pretty seamless. On the flip side, the app itself is a pretty big download (400mb+) so even the most eager early adopters in the Interactive Video space will be hard pressed to claim we’ve reach a golden age for Interactive Video and CYOA content. Now if only the app itself were a minimal download, the video content was streamed and you could interact with it….well, that’s where we’re looking at the next big thing…

I recently wrote about Mobile Ustream being the next Killer App for Mobile and this mobile video technology could easily help usher in the era of CYOA video from both an individual and community interaction. Most CYOA content though, while speaking to communities as a whole (YouTube for instance), is still mostly a individual experience.  So how does this all pertain to Interactive Marketing and Advertising and more importantly, how can a brand properly leverage CYOA content? To both the community at large and for the individual experience?

For starters, CYOA video allows the consumer to better interact and discover your brand. Take the Samsung Instinct example above. Their target demographic is “Tech Savvy men and woman between the ages of 20 – 45 who embrace technology and use it everyday”. The CYOA style of the video allows the target demo to then choose their own path in this often fast paced and chaotic advertainment. The product is integrated well into the video so it doesn’t appear as a blatant ad or product placement even though we know it is from the onset. The main message to take away from it is that the Instinct will help guide you through your fun and chaotic lifestyle (though I think we all wish life really was much more fun and less chaotic then it is now…) So this is one brand’s execution of CYOA video but one video does not a Trend make. Would over 5 million views on YouTube qualify?

• The YouTube Street Fighter Video has over 5 million views and has been favorited over 13 thousand times on YouTube. 
• Another CYOA video called Find Sparta has over 1.6 million views and has also been favorited over 4 thousand times.
• And in a true sign of the times, an Interactive Beat Up Chris Brown game that has over 2 million views and has been favorited over 2,000 times.

The point I’m trying to make is that though these videos aren’t in the realm of The Evolution of Dance video (115 million+ views), they are the new trend on YouTube that are drawing increasingly more traffic views and thumbs up from the YouTube community.

Finally, if the above statistics weren’t enough to convince you of the importance of CYOA Video, consider that the costs for production are relatively cheap. Most of these efforts can be pulled off at a fraction of the cost of a broadcast spot and they’re also zeroing in on the interactive entertainment the YouTube audience is craving for.

There are, of course, potential barriers that might limit CYOA video’s potential. Up until recently, when you selected the next CYOA video, the page on YouTube would need to load another page and video.  Though there are now methods around this, it still doesn’t allow the seamless CYOA experience you’re intending for your audience.  Mobile bandwidth is also especially critical to CYOA video if it is to ever grow beyond the desktop and into the mobile world.  Then there’s always the annotations themselves.  Currently they’re awkward on the video and aren’t as seamless as they could, or rather should, be.  However, outside of bandwidth, these areas are easily correctable and should be absent from the next generation of CYOA video.

CYOA video is definitely here to stay it’s just a matter of how best to leverage it for your brand and your audience. Though CYOA video definitely fits entertainment marketing the best, it can also be used for other marketing areas or products that might have struggled to find viewers on YouTube for their videos. Even the most mundane or ‘boring’ product videos and ads can be now made more entertaining through CYOA style direction.  CYOA video should definitely be considered as part of any integrated campaign, especially if budgets are tight.

We’re dealing with a new era of interactivity – especially as it pertains to Interactive Video as a whole. Though CYOA video is one small part of this (and admittedly a niche right now) it is the stepping stone to an ever increasing digital world where consumers expect to not only control their video but eventually be a part of the experience as well.

Tags: Gen XY Marketing, Interactive Marketing and Advertising, Interactive Video, iphone, Mobile, ustream, youtube