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Simple Video Tracking
A simple implementation would be defined as the following:
Video on a web site that would utilize either a default JavaScript or default Flash component distribution method. Meaning, if the browser uses the following default plug-ins for showing your video, then a simple setting of “autotrack=true” will have the video usage tracking easily.
Supported auto-tracking plugins:
- Windows Media Player
- QuickTime
- Real Player
- FLVPlayback Flash Component
- MediaDisplay Flash Component
- MediaPlayback Flash Component
Simple implementations use the default APIs of the above players to track the media usage. Thus when “s.Media.autoTrack=true”, the Media object will capture the starts, stops, rewinds etc of the video from the player’s API calls. Then when the video is finished playing, the video usage data is sent along with any other metrics that have been set up to track.
Complex Video Tracking
A complex implementation would be required in the case of a custom application built to distribute the video. For example, a Flash video player could be developed which would utilize Omniture’s ActionSource component to track the media.
Complex solutions do NOT use the “autoTracking” functionality. The Media object provides an API for the developer to make “Media” object calls to fully customize video interactions. The open(), close(), play(), and stop() methods are used to track the video usage. Also, props and evars can be used for tracking of widget control interactions on the custom player.
Sample Implementation Illustrations (Simple Implementation)
The following scenarios will illustrate the use of the “autoTrack” setting for a simple implementation and the use of the “Media” object methods to track the usage in a custom video distribution application.
Simple Implementation Scenario:
A company uses various production companies for their online video creation. The business owner for a web site would like to see:
- How each vendor’s video usage compares to each other
- How each vendor’s video contributes to the Widgets sold in the online store.
- What search terms led to the video view
The following Omniture metric variables are used:
prop1 – holds the ID of the video viewed.
eVar3 – holds the ID of the production company.
event3 – success event for a video view.
The video is loaded into a default Flash video player from Adobe’s component library. The .fla file which generated the .swf playing the video has ActionScript associated with it where the “s” object is instantiated and the following settings are defined:
s.Media.autoTrack = true;
s.Media.trackVars = “prop1,eVar3,events”;
s.Media.trackEvents = “event3”;
s.prop1 = ‘videoID9576’;
s.eVar3 = ‘videoProducer156’;
The user views the video in its entirety. At the point the video finishes, the Media object then packages the video usage data up and sends that data to Omniture. Along with that video data, the prop1, eVar3, and event3 data will be sent. The user then goes on to purchase the widget that was displayed in the video. Since that eVar3 data was sent over with the video call, the video production company ID can now be attributed to that sale.
When the analyst views the site catalyst report, she will be able to see that the video production company – 156, contributed to “X” widget sales(eVar3), has “X” amount of full video views(event3), and can correlate that video with specific search terms (prop1). All this reporting is in addition to the video usage reporting which can show exactly how the video is being utilized by the customer.
Conclusion
Online video is a tool with increased utilization by companies both small and large. It can be a costly avenue for valuable marketing dollars to travel, before going too far down that path or if you are already moving right along; utilize a video tracking solution to guide your strategy. It may be the most valuable use of resources in your project’s budget.
Omniture’s solution for online video tracking is a very effective way to analyze video usage on your site. It will support basic or more complex implementation of online video. The quick and easy way has some limitations, but will yield some great insight with relatively little effort. As your usage of video progresses and more detailed tracking is required, this solution will grow with you to support more complex data tracking.
The implementation of Omniture’s video tracking is fairly straight forward. That is not to say it doesn’t have its quirks and “gotchas”. It can get a little tricky to get the usage tracking correct in a complex implementation, however with some time and persistence, you can get the valuable data needed to fully understand how your online video is helping or hurting your organization.
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