News Corp Australia had more than 4 billion short form video views last financial year across its own assets and social feeds and it’s changing the way the Murdoch empire delivers content. Vertical video is the big play as audiences and advertisers pile in. Even boss Michael Miller is getting in on the act. Now News has launched a master plan – dubbed News Shorts – to siphon those social audiences off the likes of TikTok (1.2bn of those streams), back to its owned assets and into its commerce engines.



Director of Commercial Data, Video and Product, Paul Blackburn thinks it can get to 800m on-platform vertical video streams within the next 12 months, feeding its shoppable ad units and packaging a mid-funnel intent play. Per Blackburn: “The trajectory we’re on suggests that’s extremely doable.”



Head of Ad Product and Strategy Ryan Hedditch says the vertical video play, sitting between BVOD and the top of the funnel and social at the bottom, presents “a big opportunity for planners to think differently about how they can capture and convert intent in the mid-funnel and push that through to conversion.”



Travel brands in particular are already taking that approach, with one advertiser notching 75 per cent uplift in sales form response rates using vertical video and News Corp Australia’s data. Crucially, conversion – i.e. shopping – happens on platform, AKA headless commerce. “It essentially means the brand or the retailer can set up a store within our content,” says Blackburn. He thinks brands and buyers are beginning to wake up to what’s been presented to them on a plate.

News Corp Australia had more than 4 billion short form video views last financial year across its own assets and social feeds and it’s changing the way the Murdoch empire delivers content. Vertical video is the big play as audiences and advertisers pile in. Even boss Michael Miller is getting in on the act. Now News has launched a master plan – dubbed News Shorts – to siphon those social audiences off the likes of TikTok (1.2bn of those streams), back to its owned assets and into its commerce engines.
 
Director of Commercial Data, Video and Product, Paul Blackburn thinks it can get to 800m on-platform vertical video streams within the next 12 months, feeding its shoppable ad units and packaging a mid-funnel intent play. Per Blackburn: “The trajectory we’re on suggests that’s extremely doable.”
 
Head of Ad Product and Strategy Ryan Hedditch says the vertical video play, sitting between BVOD and the top of the funnel and social at the bottom, presents “a big opportunity for planners to think differently about how they can capture and convert intent in the mid-funnel and push that through to conversion.”
 
Travel brands in particular are already taking that approach, with one advertiser notching 75 per cent uplift in sales form response rates using vertical video and News Corp Australia’s data. Crucially, conversion – i.e. shopping – happens on platform, AKA headless commerce. “It essentially means the brand or the retailer can set up a store within our content,” says Blackburn. He thinks brands and buyers are beginning to wake up to what’s been presented to them on a plate.

A weekly wrap of the “must-know” developments in Marketing, Media, Agency and Technology for leaders and emerging leaders in the industry. Veteran industry journalist and Mi3 Executive Editor Paul McIntyre talks each week with guest marketers who are in the know on what matters at the nexus of marketing, agencies, media and technology. Powered mostly by Human Intelligence (HI).

A weekly wrap of the “must-know” developments in Marketing, Media, Agency and Technology for leaders and emerging leaders in the industry. Veteran industry journalist and Mi3 Executive Editor Paul McIntyre talks each week...

Mi3 Audio Edition

A weekly wrap of the “must-know” developments in Marketing, Media, Agency and Technology for leaders and emerging leaders in the industry. Veteran industry journalist and Mi3 Executive Editor Paul McIntyre talks each week with guest marketers who are in the know on what matters at the nexus of marketing, agencies, media and technology. Powered mostly by Human Intelligence (HI)

  For more episodes download the free LiSTNR app.

A weekly wrap of the &ldquo;must-know&rdquo; developments in Marketing, Media, Agency and Technology for leaders and emerging leaders in the industry. Veteran industry journalist and Mi3 Executive Editor Paul McIntyre talks each week with guest marketers who are in the know on what matters at the nexus of marketing, agencies, media and technology. Powered mostly by Human Intelligence (HI)
&nbsp; For more episodes download the free LiSTNR app.

4 billion streams and counting: News Corp Australia piles into vertical video, siphons audiences back from social, ties to commerce, bids to own mid-funnel between BVOD and social video

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