Dive Brief:
- Vimeo, a leading digital video platform, launched a 360-degree video marketplace designed to allow creators to learn new techniques, upload, share and sell videos and help users find content across multiple platforms, the company said in a press release.
- Benefits of the new marketplace for video creators include the ability to upload videos up to 8K high-res, customizable setting for the videos, a 360 video school and an open marketplace to sell video content via Vimeo on Demand.
- “Vimeo has always been committed to preserving and delivering the highest quality video and our move into 360 expands our premium video technology solution to 360 filmmakers. Their stories now benefit from our advanced video compression and player customization tools, along with streaming and offline viewing in up to 4K," said Sara Poorsattar, Vimeo’s director of video product, in the press release.
Dive Insight:
While adoption remains slow of more fully immersive VR video, marketers are embracing 360-degree video, which has a lower barrier to entry. For example, Airbnb recently tapped Twitter 360 video for immersive tours while Clorox and AOL teamed up an emotionally-driven 360 campaign.
Vimeo’s announcement is a move to position the platform as a central location where creators — including marketers looking to get into 360-degree video — can tap into the growing interest in 360-degree video through a number of tools, including monetizing that content. While Vimeo has a smaller audience than the major platform, its users are known for being avid enthusiasts. The fact that ads are kept to a minimum on Vimeo also makes it unique.
Other platforms are also touting 360 video. It has been heavily promoted by Facebook, including with the launch of a new app to place 360 image and video content on Samsung’s Gear VR headset that is powered by Facebook’s Oculus technology.
Vimeo's press release noted that content on its mobile apps are available on a variety of virtual reality headsets such as Zeiss VR One, Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream, with the promise of support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive coming soon.
