Innovations in Mobile Video Ad Placement

Video advertising in all formats has developed into a major opportunity for digital marketing companies and their clients. This is especially the case in more recent years as new viewing channels open up, particularly on social media and on mobile devices in particular. As more and more people browse on mobile devices, a trend that is on the increase, brands are looking for innovative and effective ways to feature their video ads on these mobile devices.

The growth in the use of mobile devices in preference to desktop and laptop devices for streaming video has now reached the point where streaming on mobile is set to soon overtake laptop and desktop devices. Almost 60% of consumers stream videos on all forms of devices at present, whether desktop, laptop or mobile.

In the UK, brand investment in video campaigns, which currently accounts for 63% of total mobile ad spend, is forecast to triple between 2016 and 2020. This is a huge increase.

As the opportunity for video advertising on mobile devices is enormous, digital marketers need to determine which ad formats are likely to be the most engaging for their clients and are most likely to create the highest return on investment (ROI).

In addition, in the UK, viewing habits on mobile devices are evolving as people now spend more time in apps (81%) than on mobile websites (19%).

Traditional banner formats tend to be much more effective on larger screens such as you’d find on a desktop or laptop, so new formats are being used by forward thinking digital marketers for mobile use such as those that support Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions (MRAID). These enable video ads to be optimised for in-app streaming on mobile devices.

It is vital to consider context when these in-app streaming videos are deployed on mobiles. They should always enhance the overall consumer experience and be entirely relevant to the content.

Used with skill, when a viewer is scrolling, the in-app ad should complement the content, not detract from it. As always it is vital that the viewer’s attention is retained so the brand message is delivered and become part of the relevant content experience. Vertical formats generally offer a more natural viewing experience on mobiles and more digital publishers are adopting this format, using the latest technology to do so effectively.

Equally important is the context of the content as part of the overall marketing strategy and this is particularly true for mobile devices. A variety of versions of in-app an ads can be screened to be especially relevant to changing circumstances such as a viewer’s location, time of day, weather, activity or even the form of Internet connection they are using, such as a Wi-Fi location in a city centre or a holiday resort, for example. This is known as; Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO).

As DCO and dynamic real-time editing becomes more sophisticated, consumers can be targeted more accurately. This provides a huge incentive for marketers to enable them to incorporate truly effective video advertising in their mobile campaigns.

Facebook Mid-Roll

Facebook is testing a format called ‘mid-roll’ that requires in-apps ads to last at least 90 seconds. However many suggest that this would increase the risk of viewers abandoning the video. Consumer testing is continuing and no doubt Facebook will research deeply before deployment and rolling out. Facebook had also announced it was testing mid-roll ads within Facebook Live. These ads are around15 seconds and will appear about five minutes into live broadcasts.

It should be said that Digital Publishers in general are still wary of video ads if they are delivered from slow and unreliable networks. It is, of course, essential that the viewer’s experience is a positive one or in-app ads will not succeed to deliver acceptable ROI results for Digital Marketers and their clients.

Twitter & Ad Location

Meghann Elrhoul, Head of Agency Research at Twitter said “We were able to determine that ad location does indeed matter when it comes to reaching specific brand objectives. We were pleased to see that in-feed video ads near the top of the feed are much more powerful than website takeovers when it comes to memorability, demonstrating the power of Twitter’s first view.”

The report commission by Twitter also showed that 67% of the market survey users tested found that ads viewed on Twitter social feeds were relevant to their interests and that they were not obtrusive but actually informative.

Changing Viewing Habits

"Viewing habits are changing in the UK as consumers now spend far more time in apps than on mobile websites (81% vs 19% respectively)".

- Source: eMarketer

As always, when you are looking to optimise your marketing investments, you need to ensure you are using expert advice and digital services to obtain maximum results.

Contact us to discuss video ads and any of your digital marketing requirements.

And now! Back to our regular programming.