"Bild" is trailing "Spiegel" on the web thanks to visual content

Strong pleas for visual story telling at the second Hamburg media dialogue ("Internationaler Mediendialog Hamburg):

Kai Diekmann, chief editor of Europe's largest tabloid "Bild" made clear that commercially successful content on the web will be visual content. "Bild" is investing heavily in video and offers mobile download options for the pictures of it's pinup girls. Moreover they established a service enabling readers to act as reporters and provide Bild with images and information. According to Diekmann "Bild" is flooded with picture content from it's amateur paparazzi.

Especially via video and mobile "Bild" is closing the gap to "Spiegel online", Germany's leading news portal run by Spiegel magazine. Chief Editor Matthias Müller von Blumencron told the audience: "Video is a question of survival."

But how to get video monetised? Howard Geisler, Senior VP of Digitas Global, and Patrick Walker, Director of Video Partnerships for Google/Youtube in Europe, surprised the crowd with their favourite vision: Integrate the advertisor and his story into the video clip. Howard explained how Digitas is developing editorial video story boards with brands in order to compete with media clips or user content on YouTube. No option for "Spiegel". But Blumencron admitted, that it's getting harder and harder to get the PR spin doctors and the advertisers out of editorial web content.