The above video interview is from the ANA TV & Everything Video Forum.                               
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Little did I know that I’d be talking about efficient market theory and the Black–Scholes pricing model at the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) TV & Everything Video Forum in NYC last week. Then I sat down with Mike Steib, Director Video Ads, Google.

Mike gave the lunchtime keynote at the ANA conference, and used the opportunity to talk to brands and agencies about the many opportunities to invest in underpriced marketing assets. Namely, he focused on long tail TV and online video, where brands can buy scale at prices that are, in the words of the immortal Billy Mays, “But wait, there’s more. Buy one get one free. No shipping either. Wow, what a deal.” (I actually had to watch a Billy Mays video to get that quote.)

I sat down with Mike after his presentation to talk about the opportunities in cross-platform video advertising. One of his main points was that a brand typically pays full prices to get its advertisements in front of live sports and entertainment content, along with prime time content on major networks. For a big brand, this has historically been an efficient use of marketing dollars, since a single Super Bowl ad can reach a 100 million-plus audience. It would be cost prohibitive to try to make thousands of smaller media buys to reach the same number of eyeballs.

However, technology has changed the game. Brands large and small can reach eyeballs on niche networks and programs, both online and on TV, through a single media spend. It’s now possible to, in the words of another infomercial legend, “Set it and forget it.” The upside is that these small networks, which in aggregate reach a lot of eyeballs, are often less expensive than primetime or live events on a CPM basis. Want 500 rating points? No problem.

As Mike said in his presentation, “spend 50 cent dollars,” a reference to the opportunity to buy audience at undervalued prices. If a smart investor looks for undervalued assets, shouldn’t a smart marketer do the same?