Editorial Articles

In the four-and-a-half years I have been engrossed in the online video space, I am in no doubt that our market has changed the most in the last six months.

Online video advertising has now become higher on the agenda for advertisers and media buying agencies. With the elevation of its status, media buyers are now demanding more efficient measurement, greater transparency of ad placements and stronger metrics to judge the success of their online video advertising campaigns.

I believe this is a positive step forward for our industry and will lead to continued growth and significant investment from advertisers, if the demand for higher standards is realised.

Our latest media buyers’ report - the first for 2011 and based on a survey of 160 media buyers - reinforced the clear appetite for greater standards in online video advertising.

While buyers clearly identified the issues, the result of our survey showed that continued rapid growth and further investment are expected this year.

The survey intends to provide advertisers, publishers, content owners and media buying agencies with valuable insight. After analysing the results we are confident that investment in online video will continue throughout 2011. The survey found that almost three quarters (72%) said they expected their online video advertising spend to increase by 25% or more over the next six months.

Our survey also saw an increase in the number of digital media buyers embracing VOD, from 36% in September 2010 to 53%. This increase suggests digital buyers are responding to improvements in audience measurement techniques – a long-held barrier to entry for many.

More than three quarters (77%) of media buyers surveyed said their average campaign spend on VOD now exceeds £25,000, with 43% stating an average spend in excess of £50,000. 11% of buyers are now allocating more than £100,000 for their VOD campaigns. Incremental reach to TV (53%) and brand awareness (42%) are advertisers’ primary objectives for using VOD. Direct response featured in just 5% of respondent’s answers.

A third of media buyers stated that 75% or more of their media plans now include VOD - a similar result to last September’s survey – which indicates that VOD is now viewed as a central component of media campaigns as a brand building tool and to extend the reach of TV advertising.

As in previous reports, media buyers reported that barriers to entering the VOD market still existed. 28% said lack of research proving VOD’s effectiveness was the main factor while 23% stated it was their clients.

With advertisers themselves being one of the main barriers to growth, it is the role of publishers and networks to convince advertisers to invest more into their online video advertising spend. This is already being achieved by those presenting quality content environments and optimised audiences, and by the suppliers of video advertising who are taking the measurement and research of VOD seriously.

It is clear the market is changing, with media buyers and advertisers now demanding more from their online video campaigns. They want a deeper understanding of where their ad placements are running, how relevant the content is to their audience and how trusted the publisher’s brand is. Advertisers also want a better understanding of how the viewer is engaging with the ad placement, how that viewer fits the profile of their target audience and how much of the ad placement has actually been viewed.

With wider video ad metrics being created through the use of VAST ad-serving tags, the measurement of audience and ad placements is going to become more advanced in 2011. This is going to enable online video advertising to move to another level of sophistication, transparency and accountability.

The online video market in the UK is changing and growing up. 2011 is going to see its most significant growth spurt yet.

Jamie Estrin
Managing Director, Web TV Enterprise