Video advertisements are potentially a huge growth area. However, to succeed in using video advertisements there is a need to prioritise user experience and not monetisation. This is because video is evolving quite significantly while still retaining its premium value. As marketers today we have more ways than ever before to reach out to our audience by using video. The recent Dmexco trade show hosted in Cologne showed that in the span of one year from the previous trade show, vendors have worked on creating new and innovative video inventory.
Table of Contents
Live Streaming
Video is the main cause of data usage for the vast majority of today’s mobile data usage. One of the main drivers of mobile video is live streaming. More and more consumers are live streaming in a wide variety of situations and platforms are following suit.
For instance, during the Dmexco show, sports streamer DAZN announced that it plans to open a new office in Amsterdam. This shows how seriously they take their goal of being the Netflix of Sports. On the other hand, Twitch’s popularity and dominance in eSports have become the envy of many platforms, especially considering how popular game streaming is. Moreover, during this past year, the popularity of HQ Trivia has caught the eyes of many (although many at Dmexco reckoned HQ Trivia should capitalise more on their popularity).
Content Platforms
Other streaming platforms include Facebook Live and Instagram Stories. However, these platforms have increased their streaming product by creating content platforms. For instance, Facebook has Facebook Watch and Instagram has IGTV. With so much investment and capital available for the creation of these platforms, Facebook can afford to play around and make tweaks until they perfect their content platforms for success. Given that European advertisers have not had a chance to make use of Facebook Watch, advertisers expressed their frustration at playing second fiddle.
Opportunities and Risks
However, with all these developments, marketers have to ask themselves where the opportunities are for them. Vice, Twitch, and DAZN are crafted, designed, and optimised for a specific market. As such, these platforms are not for everyone. Moreover, live streaming is not always the best solution for every brand, as content cannot be vetted. The element of live interaction also leaves businesses susceptible to trolling.
This is too risky for some brands. As such, companies are still very cautious about their brand safety. Moreover, advertisers and publishers are only interested in working with quality content. Therefore, the onus is upon companies and advertisers, such as a video agency in Nottingham, to consider the benefits of live streaming and determine whether it is right for them.
Third-Party Content
At Dmexco, another kind of video content was showcased which does not suffer the same demerits of live streams. Third-party content that is produced for distribution is another type of video content that businesses can use. When integrated with artificial intelligence, the videos can be matched to certain keywords and/or paged. This type of video content helps solve the long-standing problem of businesses being unable to produce video content for their own inventory.
Marketers can, therefore, use these types of video for their ‘in-stream’ video content inventory – streaming contextually matched content. As the content is well-placed and high-quality, the ads are attractive and well viewed. Advertisers should nonetheless ensure they buy high-quality content. They should work with trusted partners only.
Changes in Media
In other fields such as digital out-of-home and in-transit media are undergoing programmatic and video revolutions as well. More areas of our lives are being filled with video content. This in turn means that getting premium placements is becoming more and more critical for advertisers.
Finally, it is important to touch on the connect TV niche as it is carving a niche of its own. The potential benefits of CTV are numerous enough to warrant an in-depth article of their own. On the supply-side, platforms are choosing their paths. There are those that are embracing this niche while others are steering clear. As such, in the years to come, you can expect further divergence to take place between CTV and the video content platform niches.
State of the Market
When all is said, there is no better time for marketers to create and distribute video content. However, advertisers also face enormous complications in their effort to reach their audience. For instance, video buyers must keep in mind brand safety and context as well as the user experience they are investing in. Consequently, in pursuit of simplification, you can expect the consolidation of vendors.
