In online video as well, Mom and Dad hog the remote

Forbes reports that, contrary to popular opinion, online video is being viewed by someone who is typically older. Online video for the post-pubescent set even has its own nearly octogenarian poster child: geriatric1927. This chap has been posting video blogs for three months and has over 30,000 subscribers to his ongoing narratives (as well as hundreds of thousands of occasional viewers).

The marketing implications of this trend are considerable, because consumers well out of college have more disposable income. They also have many more consumer needs. Insurance. Healthcare. Luxury items. All of these and many more are the domain of grown-ups.

As marketers follow these consumers online, streaming video content will continue to expand and fragment. Soon there may not be a single consumer category that cannot be supported with simple and often inexpensive narrow-cast video messages. These messages may not — and some would say should not — be commercials as we know them. Instead, think sponsorships, product placements and even interactive demos that take full advantage of the burgeoning online medium.

The often low cost of this content, and the ability to find and cater to thinly sliced niches, is particularly exciting. Once again marketers will be given the opportunity and the challenge of mastering a long tail strategy for attracting and wooing narrow segments. 

Move over, Son.

I was vegging in front of a glowing screen long before you were even born.

Postscript: Here’s a study that speculates on online video advertising growth over the next several years.