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The San Diego-based company builds on connection between search and display.

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David Hallerman, eMarketer senior analyst, has just written new report entitled, “Marketing to the Online Video Audience.”

Although online video viewership has never been higher and marketers are eager to reach this large and growing audience, many online video viewers dislike intrusive video ads — even though they freely accept TV commercials.

Hallerman thinks this audience perspective can shift if marketers increasingly implement two key concepts.

First, he thinks they should focus on “making the length of video ads suitable to the length of content, so that they are not too pushy.” Second, he believes they should also focus on “devoting resources to develop high-quality video creative that is well-targeted to the intended online audience.”

“The Internet and TV audience are not one and the same,” says Hallerman. “The Internet audience does not necessarily respond to the same ads in the same way they would after viewing them on TV.”

For example, younger people are more comfortable than their older counterparts with online media, which can lead to higher levels of engagement. A drill-down look from Nielsen Online shows that audiences ages 30 and younger are more likely than older viewers to find online video advertising funny, emotionally touching and informative — essential qualities for brand marketing.

The net-net: Keep it short and keep it relevant.

If you want more details, read the article, “Engaging Online Video Viewers,” which was just posted on eMarketer.

You can also read more about this topic in my book, “YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day.”

Back in the 1990s, I worked for William B. Ziff, Jr. He often said a special-interest magazine was a like a magnet and a screen: It attracted readers interested in a topic but also sifted out those who weren’t as interested. This created an audience that endemic advertisers could reach cost-effectively, because a high percentage of readers were interested in their products.

Although it is still early days for online video advertising, it appears that viewers attracted to a video like Monty Python’s Argument Clinic might also be interested in buying The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus on Amazon.com.

In fact, when Monty Python launched their YouTube channel in November 2008, not only did their YouTube videos shoot to the top of the most viewed lists, but their DVDs also quickly climbed to No. 2 on Amazon’s Movies & TV bestsellers list, with increased sales of 23,000 percent.

You find this case study and plenty of other practical tips in my book. If you don’t believe me, you can read Lee Odden’s, “Review: YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day,” on his Online Marketing Blog. Hey, if Odden says “You cannot afford to miss this story,” then you probably shouldn’t.

Or, if you’d like to have an argument, just let the receptionist know if you want to start with a five-minute argument or take a full course of 10 arguments.

Argument Clinic

In 2007, comScore, Starcom USA and Tacoda conducted a study on display advertising clicks. This past March, they updated the data and have recently released the new info.

Clicks on display ads have seen a decline. In the 2007 study, 32% of internet users clicked on ads. In 2009, just 16% clicked. 8% of the Internet user base accounts for 85% of the clicks.

But don’t assume the decline means that display advertising is not a viable online advertising medium.

“Today, marketers who attempt to optimize their advertising campaigns solely around the click are assigning no value to the 84 percent of Internet users who don’t click on an ad. That’s precisely the wrong thing to do, because other comScore research has shown that non-clicked ads can also have a significant impact,” ” said Linda Anderson, comScore VP of marketing solutions and author of the study. “As a result, savvy marketers are moving to an evaluation of the impact that all ad impressions – whether clicked or not – have on consumer behavior, mirroring the manner in which traditional advertising has been measured for decades using reach and frequency metrics.”

Google recently announced a new reporting feature for its Content Network that measures conversions for views of display ads that did not get clicks.

What do you think of comScore’s data and analysis? Are display ads still worth it despite the decline in click-through rates? Let us know your analysis in the comments below.

Less than a week after being acquired by Adobe, Omniture is partnering with comScore to provide a digital audience measurement service. Specifically, Omniture’s Web analytics will be paired up with comScore’s new Media Metrix 360 hybrid audience measurement to provide intelligence for media planning.

“Since the rise of digital advertising, advertisers and publishers alike have sought ways to reconcile their Web analytics and panel-based measurement data to establish a unified measure of online audiences,” said Josh James, Omniture CEO and co-founder.

The new partnership aims to be that long sought-after reconciliation. It also aims to spur the progress of digital advertising.

“This relationship will deliver to our customers the solution that they have been seeking, thus helping to promote and accelerate the usage of digital marketing intelligence for delivering actionable business results and competitive advantage. We believe it will also help the industry overcome concerns of inconsistent measurement of digital audiences and promote further adoption of digital media advertising,”said Dr. Magid Abraham, comScore President & CEO.

Over at our sister blog, Clickz, Zachary Rodgers has some inside information that the anticipated display advertising exchange from Google could launch as early as next week. Google would not confirm or deny the rumor. But, next week is Advertising Week in New York, making it the perfect time to launch the exchange.

The ad exchange will allow publishers and networks to offer up unused ad inventory to a pool where advertisers can bid for the space. The exchange has been developed within DoubleClick, which Google acquired over a year ago.

Right now, the ad exchange leader is Yahoo!’s Right Media Exchange, but Google could quickly take the lead in the marketplace. However, that won’t happen as readily (or at all), if publishers are forced to use DoubleClick’s Dart for Advertisers (DFA) platform.

What do you think of Google’s forthcoming ad exchange? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Twitter has updated their Terms of Service and one of the most significant updates is in regards to revenue that the social network hopes to generate. The new TOS paves the way for Twitter to introduce advertising into the network, something that’s been anticipated for a long time.

Social media sites have traditionally had a tougher time generating revenue through advertising, especially when compared to, say, search.

But Twitter has smartly made search a strong focus of their network, facilitating a trend in “real-time” search. Facebook, which has been criticized for sharing too much data in their advertising efforts, is now integrating search to compete and stay ahead of the game. They would be wise to monetize their search efforts, too, as they might experience better revenue that way.

What do you think of Twitter’s Terms of Service update? Share your reaction in the comments section below.