Alibaba Group and Youku Tudou are partnering to launch two programs that will allow Alibaba merchants the ability to market on the leading Chinese video platform. Alibaba owns a stake in Youku Todou.
View and Buy on Youku will allow consumers to purchase items show in a video without a pause in the playback of said video. Enabled by Alimama, the service displays ads based on user behavior in Alibaba’s sites, using a Google AdSense-like contextual advertising program.
Currently, Chinese videos sites make revenues from pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads and Youku Tudou isn’t among Chinese video sites currently turning a profit. If users liked making purchases when watching a video, it could buttress the company’s position as a competitor in the marketplace.
Sina Weibo, in which Alibaba also has a stake, is offering a similar program. The Sina Weibo version allows retailers to post items as micro-posts that users can make purchases from without leaving their Weibo homepage.
The Merchants’ Video Channel on Tudou is also set for a launch soon, and will represent an attempt at content marketing that encourages businesses to produce their own original material.
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