So Chatroulette has been doing the rounds in industry news for a few months now and advertisers are just beginning to think “how can I make money out of this”.  It’s an interesting one because at first the advertising potential seems clear - you’ve got people with time on their hands who you can sell stuff to via videos. 

The question is really whether it’s possible to advertise directly through the service similar to what GiffGaff have done here: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1847321790?bctid=73306375001.  It’s a nice idea but it’s difficult to tell whether it will have an impact on either sales or brand awarenss because Chatroulette is such a niche site at the moment and there’s really no way to know that you’re targeting anywhere near the right customers. 

So perhaps Chatroulette is still in it’s infancy…but we’ve had one brilliant example of how to use it for marketing - the is it, isn’t it Ben Folds video by Merton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTwJetox_tU and then the brilliant response from the real Ben Folds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfamTmY5REw.  If Ben wanted to raise his profile, that’s one great way to do it! 

For brands advertising there, it’s early days but at the moment it seems like the way to go is more about using chatroulette as part of your digital PR strategy rather than direct ads.  I’m looking forward to seeing many more advertising attempts though!