Sometimes people get angry. In my last column, “How NOT Using Traditional Online Video Advertising Increases Brand Favorability,” I laid out the idea that, in today’s digital marketplace the most precious commodity is engaged-attention and time, and that a messaging tool like branded entertainment is much more effective than online commercials and banner ads, because users will actually embrace relevant content. From this I got enough angry emails that I felt it my responsibility to put my neighbors on notice that they might find an effigy of me burning in the hallway.

The just-concluded Summer Olympic Games featured an unprecedented amount of coverage over an equally unprecedented series of distribution types. This event, and the manner in which content was acquired, distributed, and exhibited, placed enormous demands on digital media supply chain management infrastructures. Simultaneously feeding multiple distribution venues with the right content in a timely fashion was crucial. Mistakes — like sending a full HD clip to a telco provider for consumption on a mobile phone — had to be avoided. That’s why the content requirements for each provider were well-described and thought-out in advance.

The release of the Bain/IAB Digital Pricing Research study has had the online media blogosphere buzzing for several days now. While most of the insights were macro and focused on display, some attention was given to online video. The summary noted that there is more demand than supply for quality video ad inventory, resulting in healthy CPMs that are two to three times that of display for the studied group. It’s unlikely that these statistics are news to anyone, particularly Video Insider readers. However, there was one data point that really intrigued me; two of the unnamed publishers were very successful in growing their total video ad impressions year-over-year on a percentage basis.

Just how in the world will local online video advertising become a $1.5 billion industry in just a few years after only generating $11 million in 2007? Local advertisers are generally not the most sophisticated brand marketers on the planet. Most don’t know what CPM stands for, and fewer would agree to pay on a CPM basis. Therefore, one would seemingly conclude that local video advertising, largely billed as a branding medium, would not grow as quickly as projected. However this was roughly the same argument when search marketing began to reach critical mass. If history is any guide, local search offers some very important lessons that can be applied to all forms of video advertising — from brand to direct response campaigns.

On a recent agency tour, I was asked the same question in Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles. How can ad agencies convince DR (direct response) clients to run online video advertising? The answer is simple. Before DR clients can or should be “convinced” of anything, the industry has to solve some key issues in order to make online video advertising profitable for them. Otherwise, what the client ends up facing is a series of small budget and, likely, unsuccessful test campaigns that prove to be nothing more than a waste of everyone’s time.

During a cocktail party a few weeks ago, a newly single friend of mine gulped down his third Scotch, slammed down his glass and announced, “Okay, I give up. What the heck do women want? I used to think I understood them, but these days, I’m completely stumped.” Being the supportive friend that I am, I offered him a few words of wisdom, handed him another drink and promptly changed the subject. But later that night as my thoughts turned to work, I remembered his words and realized that the business of marketing in an online video environment is going through a similar life stage. Here are three rules of the relationship I think marketers should keep in mind to ensure that their video advertising efforts win the hearts of consumers.

Whether you are buying video ads from a portal, publisher with multiple sites or a video ad network, there are 10 questions we recommend that you ask before committing to the buy.

When YouTube launched, the tools enabled everyone to become a producer of video content. Until recently, the production quality of most video online has been entertaining at best but not something a brand wants to regularly sponsor. Now, it seems that every day the phone rings with yet another content producer with stellar broadcast production credentials asking for an opportunity to pitch. If it’s not the producers calling me, the indie video sites jump in to fill the time void. Since I have a day job that encompasses all of digital media, the majority of online video producer and upstart Web site calls go unanswered or do not receive their just due.

Recently I was on vacation traveling around the Mediterranean by boat. What made the nautical journey special, in addition to being with close friends on turquoise waters with a literal boatload of hummus, was that we all left our cell phones, BlackBerries and laptops at home — with the rule that we were “getting away from it all.”

This past week, Video Insider contributor Steve Robinson wrote an excellent blog titled “It’s All About SCALE!” In it, he outlines one of the key challenges standing before us in the online video ad business: the lack of player standardization. I agree completely that lack of standardization is a major hurdle that must be overcome for online video to flourish. However, I believe that the bigger issue facing online video right now is not lack of standards, but lack of quality content.