When Google bought YouTube, the prevailing wisdom was that the #1 search + 1 video site would spell lights out for second tier video sites. VideoEgg, whose CEO Matt Sanchez I Interviewed some time ago, has been constantly innovating and evolving to ensure its livelihood.
The company’s done well by most accounts, having served, according to its website, over 710M videos on its partner sites. But, Google’s YouTube serves 3B streams per month… and more importantly, VideoEgg is a B2B player whereas YouTube is a B2C player.
But VideoEgg’s B2B strategy is focused on the social networking sites, a sticky area when it comes to marketers’ desire to associate themselves with the content. That’s why, I think, VideoEgg did a financing round with WPP recently, not for the money alone, but to try to get the old agency to flex its muscles and sway marketers to give UGC a second chance.
All to say, today YouTube announced that it would be introducing ad overlays on YouTube (disclaimer: WatchMojo.com is a content provider to YouTube). Video Egg replies with a parody ad reminiscent of the Apple jab at IBM ages ago when IBM finally introduced its first consumer-oriented PC.
Interestingly, VideEgg’s CMO Troy Young today reminded Google that it had filed a patent on “invitation-based advertising, but conceded that this might not mean much, for the patent has been filed but not granted. NewTeeVee pointed to the ballsiness of the tactic, too.
And even, if granted, I can just hear the legal muscle at Mountain View saying “so what?”
Bear in mind, when YouTube sold to Google, part of it was to shelter itself from copyright litigation, but invariably, video advertising is a thorny space with many contenders filing patents right and left.
Ultimately, history books will suggest that Google has a right to be bullish and not care, it paid off Yahoo! with warrants in exchange for allegedly violating GoTo.com’s patent on pay-per-click advertising (GoTo.com, renamed Overture, sold to Yahoo!).
Subscribe: