SoCal Beaches Magazine Blog

Surf Web Cams Growing in Popularity for Advertisers

Surf and beach web cams are fast becoming a cost effective way for advertisers to target and reach a captive action sports audience for much less than traditional print media.

The Pacific Beach Surf Web Cam on the Crystal Pier

Surfing web cams are fast becoming popular for advertisers to reach
their target audiences for less than traditional media outlets. Major fortune 500 companies are now stepping on board to secure advertising rights with web cam providers.   

Hollister Clothing (created by Ambercrombie & Fitch in 2000) recently signed a deal with the City of Huntington Beach to provide live camera feeds to its retail stores in the midwest and nationwide at a cost of 4.8 million dollars over a 25 year period.

The deal provides Hollister with exclusive camera feeds along the Huntington Beach boardwalk and pier areas. The deal also nets
370,000 dollars for marine safety equipment.

In addition, local surf camera websites like WaveWatch.com, SoCalBeachMag.net and Surfline.com are also starting to see an increase in advertisers who want to run small
“pre roll” commercials on these live feeds.

“Advertisers are finding out that they can get their message out much more cost effectively by running small 15 second commercials on surf cameras”, said SoCal Beaches Magazine marketing director Mark Fitzgerald.

“In addition, they are also to focus on specific demographics that focus on the action sports crowd for local communities up and down the coastline”.

“The deal that Hollister has made with the City of Huntington Beach is a sign of things to come for the beach and surf web cam industry”

Surf cameras have been around the beaches of Southern California for years but it is the recent technology of adding pre roll commercials that has gotten the interest of advertisers.

Surf cams can now run a 15 second flash commercial as a prelude to the camera feed loading, giving advertisers an excellent chance to get their message across to a captive audience of surfers and beach goers.

Surf web cams provide a constant source of live content and advertisers can get thier message across for much less than they would spend on print ads and other forms of advertising.

Advertisers can reach their target audience much cheaper and provide updated commercials as they seem fit.

“As times in the economy get tough advertisers going after the “Action Sports” demographic  have to find more cost effective ways to get their message across and surf and beach web cams are the growing media source to do that” said Fitzgerald.

Web cams are now being located in some of the best surf spots around San Diego and Southern California and web cam providers are chopping at the bit to get prime locations along the coast.

“We have seen a  huge increase in the number of live web cam feeds going in along the coast and beaches”, said Ray Dellerson, who works with CAMZONE, one of the largest providers of feeds in Southern California.

“Advertisers are seeing a positive responce from their customer base and finding that cameras can do as good, if not better job, than traditional print media in helping to get their message out.”

One of the most popular surf web cams is located at the end of The Crystal Pier and is owned by SoCal Beaches Magazine. The camera has been there for over 4 years but it has been in the last few months that the phones have been ringing for advertisers to run the feed and advertise.

“It is certainly the wave of the future and something which will continue to grow as we move forward” concluded Fitzgerald.

Time will tell, but this seems to be a growing business of the future as companies try to secure some of the best beach locations to entice advertisers to use their web cam network to advertise on.

To view live surf web cameras visit

www.SoCalBeachMag.net  
3 live cameras including the most popular camera on the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, La Jolla Scripps pier and the Del Mar lifeguard tower.

www.wavewatch.com
a dozen cameras focused primarily in
Orange County and Los Angeles beaches

www.Surfline.com
cameras from all over the United States including Hawaii and the east coast.

San Diego Beach and Surf Web Cams
Becoming More Popular Along Coastline and Beaches

Surf Cams and Beach Web cams are starting to become popular along the San Diego coastline. Many company’s are realizing that the cameras are not only popular but also very effective for advertising and promoting brands for those who enjoy Southern California beaches.

 The leading company for providing web cams and huge online traffic is CAMZONE (www.camzone.com) They have an average of 2.8 million visitors
per month viewing the Panda Cam they set up for the San Diego Zoo in addition to setting up The Shamu Cam at SeaWorld San Diego  and also the new “Polar Beach Cam”. They are also working with Scripps’s Birch Aquarium for setting up an underwater “shark cam”.

Hotels like the Catamaran (Catamaran Hotel Cam) The Bahia Hotels and many other local businesses are realizing that the camera’s can bring a regular flow of traffic to a site for a very effective cost. The cameras are always providing live content so there is always something new of different to look at.

Website companies are also realizing that the content they have is valuable and have begun to offer special websites that feature cameras along the coastlines for surfers and those who like to watch it online.

Some of the website companies sell memberships to view the web cam feeds and some of the companies sell banner ads and advertising to help pay for the monthly costs which normall well exceed 500-700 per month.

Hollister Clothing recently inked a deal with the City of Huntington Beach to get live surf cams to broadcast feeds back to their stores in the midwest.
It is one of the biggest deals to date for large companies to capture the web cam feeds with the highest value and provide that video content to viewers, customers and subscribers. “I think we are just starting to scrath the surface on where beach and local are web cams are going.” “Now that the streams can be delivered faster and cheaper than in the past it makes it a very good content source for companies competing in the “YouTube.com age”, said SoCal Beaches Magazine assistant editor Mark Fitzgerald.

SoCal Beaches Magazine has had a surf web cam out on The Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach for over 4 years and it has been well known for being the best surf web cam in San Diego due to the location it is on the pier. The SoCal Beaches Magazine surf web cam sites about 300 feet out on the pier right on the break and also in a spot where you can easily see Tourmaline Surf Park to the north and the Pacific Beach Drive break to the south. 

Thanks to an agreement with CAMZONE, SoCal Beaches Magazine also has live feeds from The Scripps Pier in La Jolla and from The Del Mar lifeguard tower at Del Mar Beach.

“We have 3 live beach and surf cam feeds and we are looking at adding 2 more in the next 30-60 days in some of the best surfing spots in San Diego” said Fitzgerald “We can now run “pre roll video” and advertise sponsors for 10-15 seconds before the camera loads and capture a viewers attention.” 
“This allows sponsors of these cameras to get hundreds if not thousands of ads run weekly in front of a target audience of viewers”. “Sponsors now can get more than banner ads for their advertising dollar”.

To view some of the surf and beach web cams in San Diego check out the links below.

SoCal Beaches Magazine Live Surf and Beach Cams
Three Great Live Beach Webcams Covering San Diego Beaches!

1. Check out LIVE Surfing from The Crystal Pier
in Pacific Beach on our Surf Web Cam
Pacific Beach Live surf cam click here
2. Watch the Surf from Scripps Pier in La Jolla and see some
great waves and surfing.
Scripps Pier La Jolla surf web cam click here
3. Del Mar Beach Web Cam from the Del Mar Lifeguard Tower
Check out “beach life” Del Mar California style and get wave
conditions in the Del Mar area.
Del Mar Beach web cam click here

Check out 10 of the most popular web cams in San Diego including the Panda Cam, Shamu Cam and more at www.CAMZONE.com

To advertise or to sponsor a surf or beach web cam email us here

A Special Thanks to Our Beach Web Cam Sponsors!
Visit their websites for the best in surf boards, wet suits, clothing and accessories!

South Coast Surf Shops located on Newport Ave. in Ocean Beach, Felspar Street and the boardwalk in Pacific Beach and Wahine All Girl surf shop at the Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach