Four Video Ad Trends Happening Right Now

Mobile has been driving its way to becoming the most preferred way to watch video. According to recent research, in the fourth quarter of 2016 mobile devices saw 54% of all video starts. This figure is up from 52% in the third quarter, which is a substantial rise in just three months. ZenithOptimedia recently reported that global consumers are currently spending close to 20 minutes per day watching videos on their mobile devices. This exceeds their viewing of desktop computers and smart TVs in 2016 by four minutes. That’s a rise of 40% from the previous year, and Zenith predicts that viewing videos on mobile will increase 33% in 2017, and 27% in 2018.

Changes in video advertising promise to revise the manner in which publishers and marketers approach their respective businesses in the year ahead. This rapid growth of mobile video also opens the door for the equally-expanding mobile advertising. This makes it the fastest-growing ad channel on the planet. In fact, spending in the U.S. alone is expected to see a compound annual growth rate of 26.5% through 2020.

Here are four more trends that will have an impact on video advertising in the near future:

1. Buyers have begun to utilize third-party vendors. They are the watchdogs that track and report data on the impressions around IVT (invalid traffic) and fraud. Utilizing multiple 3rd-party vendors allows brands to implement the theory of “policing the police,” which is the latest and greatest way to deal with low-quality traffic. This means that agencies and buyers will have to partner with the right companies to find better and cleaner inventory. It will have a huge market impact, as publishers need to adapt their inventory and make it clean for all buyers.
2. There has been a trend to move away from the longer, more traditional pre-roll ads. Agencies are now launching ads that are in the 5 to15-second range. A good example of a company that is doing this is Geico. They created segments that are cut from full-length down to 15 seconds. Not only did they shorten them, they made them more entertaining to keep the attention of the user. Here at Genius Monkey we have tested these shorter videos and found that on average, even though they definitely received more impressions, they did not necessarily convert better. The key is to always test. Just because a company like Geico reports that it was effective, it doesn’t always reflect the true light on the details of just exactly what worked.
3. With an increase in watching longer-form videos on smartphones, there is also a migration of mid-roll ad impressions. This is especially true for publisher platforms. A recent video index report revealed that in the third quarter of 2016, PCs dominated mid-roll impressions, boasting a share of 68%. That was compared to 30% for smartphones and only 2% for tablets. However, in the fourth quarter, the smartphones robbed the desktop of 18 percentage points, creating a close race between the PC (with 48%) and the smartphone (with 48.2%). Tablets have remained virtually motionless. There is no doubt that the increase in mobile has a direct correlation with the increase in mobile video viewing by consumers.
4. It is a certainty that if you have a product that is ad-supported, programmatic is definitely, or should be, a big part of your marketing strategy. Programmatic advertising continues to make its mark on the face of advertising, and it continues to gain momentum at an astounding rate. According to eMarketer, the programmatic is slated to exceed a compound annual growth rate greater than 143% through 2018 as marketers continue to learn the benefits of programmatic. These benefits include easier transactions and the ability to target consumers with pinpoint accuracy.

The way to get the biggest bang out of every ad buck is to optimize the user experience for shoppers, assuring that they are not bothered with failed deliveries, difficult interaction and content that is difficult to access.

One constant in advertising is that there is never consistency. Your marketing plans should never be set in cement; as the technology is constantly improving!