Advertisers Want Rules of Engagement in Online Video, Digitas' John McCarus

When it comes to online video, advertisers want to know what the rules of engagement are.

In fact, much of the agency-advertiser conversations surrounding online video center on this all-important notion of engagement, but the term itself means different things to different people. John McCarus, VP and group director for brand content at The Third Act, the branded entertainment arm of Digitas, told Beet.TV this in an interview in New York last week at the Beet.TV Online Video Roundtable.

"As soon as someone says the word [engagement] we have to ask what they mean by it," he said, adding that clients are eager for Digitas to help them build and measure online video projects.

As an agency, Digitas is one of the most innovative when it comes to online video. The agency has shepherded a number of brands into online video already, such as Kraft, Holiday Inn, and Starburst. Digitas also hosted "The New Front" earlier this year, an online video summit in New York  that yielded about ten new Web video ad deals for the agency.

McCarus has talked frequently about the hurdles online video faces in gaining more dollars, such as the need for better metrics and ROI.

Daisy Whitney, Senior Producer