By: Alyssa Hamm
According to eMarketer, digital video ad spend is expected to grow by 25.7% in 2021 to a record-breaking $44.91B. And when you look at the viewing numbers, this advertising boom makes perfect sense: in 2020, viewers spent an average of two hours and 13 minutes per day watching digital video. While this number did see a boost due to the pandemic, we expect to see additional gains in 2021, with the pandemic not being quite over combined with the stickiness of new consumer behaviors.
People are viewing video across all digital devices, but the shining stars are mobile and Connected TV. Fifty-eight percent of Americans use mobile to watch digital video content, and in 2021, experts predict 212.5 million Americans will watch on CTV.
Marketers are investing in digital video not only because of increased adoption, but also because of its ability to deliver success, with 88% of marketers saying video provides a positive ROI. Reporting and real-time metrics are a major benefit to digital video, and there are a variety of metrics that can help prove increased awareness with a video campaign. The most relatable metrics are completed views (how many total people saw your advertiser’s video from start to finish) and cost per completed view (how much it cost the advertiser to have someone watch the complete message). These metrics do a good job illustrating the number of eyeballs the campaign reached and how efficiently it did so. And unlike linear TV, digital video allows you to see which placements and targeting methods are performing best and adjust the campaign accordingly in real time!
When planning a video campaign, there are many targeting options you can deploy. From format, to player size, to skip-ability, there are a plethora of video types and video features you can opt into and exclude to customize your plan. In addition, you can layer on audiences through behavioral and demographic segments in a couple different ways. You can use 3rd party audience data, but this will also require the use of cross device targeting if you are targeting connected TV devices. New cookiless contextual audience segments (demo and behavioral) can also be used and are built based on content. These do not require the use of cross device targeting when executing across connected TV. You can also use contextual segments to target specific types of content, including many OTT/CTV options. Finally no video plan (especially ones focused on connected TV devices) are complete without a private marketplace deal. In the PMP library you can find inventory not found in the open exchange as well as 1st party data provided by the publishers. For a list of the CTV PMPs, click here.
Video has been steadily growing over the past decade. The pandemic gave digital video an additional boost and we will see time spent with digital video surpass TV in the next couple of years. Now is a phenomenal time to get in front of your advertisers and talk about the incredible targeting and performance opportunities available to them through video.