Video is undergoing a huge transformation. While it is still perceived as a premium advertising opportunity, there are now multiple ways for businesses and marketing professionals to reach their target audiences with video. Marketers need only take a closer look at the Dmexco trade show in Cologne to see that brands have diversified their video arsenal.
Although not all video formats and platforms are equally successful. The ones that make it are those that cater to human users before anything else. Read on to stay plugged in to the latest trends and most pressing concerns to all marketers considering or using video advertising.
Live Streaming to Expand your Reach
During the Dmexco trade show, DAZN, the renowned sports streaming channel, announced its intention to set a new base in Amsterdam, with the goal of making it a real ‘Netflix of Sport’. At the same time, many players in this market envy Twitch for its dominance in the area of esports. Mobile game, HQ Trivia, has also seen tremendous growth. Nonetheless, they appear to be aware of the fact that they ought to capitalise on this success before it fades away.
As such, both Instagram and Facebook have launched their own content platforms, IGTV and Facebook Watch. They have invested heavily so they can afford to try different business models in order to see what resonates with users. European marketers are still to be allowed to try Facebook Watch, many of them expressing their frustration at US platforms treating Europe as a secondary market.
Video has without a doubt contributed to the increase of mobile data usage, live streaming being the main culprit for this rapid evolution. Consumers enjoy watching live videos in all kinds of industries, evidenced by the huge popularity of Instagram Stories and Facebook Live which both account for a large volume of data streaming.
Marketers will want to understand how streaming can be an opportunity for them to increase their reach; it is certainly a trend worth following. All channels like DAZN, Vice and Twitch offer a huge reach to exceptionally targeted audiences, but not all brands will find this suitable. There’s also a risk involved in live streaming, as marketers can’t censor advertising, therefore potentially becoming victims to internet trolls.
Quality is of the Highest Concern
Many brands are still cautious in regard to brand safety, as everybody wants to work solely with high quality content. Advertisers must carefully check whether their brand is a good match for any prospective channel.
Fortunately, there is one type of content that doesn’t have these issues: third-party videos which are available for wide distribution across the web. Thanks to artificial intelligence technology, it is possible to match this content to existing web pages, in order to display it to the most relevant audience segments. This will help those publishers who can’t afford to create their own video library.
Marketers will also benefit from this new source of ‘in-stream’ video content, which is pre-rolling on contextually matched pages. Since the video content will be well-placed and very good from a quality standpoint, these ads have better chances of making impressions on users. Of course, this won’t happen unless marketers ensure that they buy space only on high-quality websites by working with trustworthy partners, and maintaining a blacklist of sites to avoid.
Trends to Watch
Furthermore, in-transit media, digital out-of-home, and other similar channels are all embracing video ads and programmatic ad buying. Moving images become more and more widespread, and this is why ensuring premium placements becomes a very important issue.
Last but not least, the connected TV (CTV) area is now carving its own niche. CTV appears to be extremely promising (but we can’t do justice to the topic in the course of this article). Supply-side platforms are on the rise; some prefer to focus on this rapidly evolving area, while others choose to steer away. Most probably, we will soon witness some divergence between the CTV industry and online video conversations.
This is probably the best time ever for marketers to start creating and using video. At the same time, reaching the right audiences has never been so difficult. A glimpse into the future reveals a vendor consolidation trend, and the emergence of even more innovative opportunities. Marketers who intend to buy video advertising space must take into consideration the quality of their content by using a reputable video production agency, in order to protect their brand image and enhance the user experience.
