The power of cross-platform video advertising

Everyone is talking about the power of online video, and whether it’s BVOD, AVOD, SVOD or general video advertising across websites, apps and social feeds, advertisers must understand the benefits of each, and how to incorporate them into existing campaigns. So, in our third annual roundtable with advertising and measurement experts we debated the opportunities for cross-platform video as an advertising medium and tackled the measurement challenge.

Cross-platform video advertising is the future

Some of the many topics covered in our whitepaper include:

1. How TV and online video together can deliver mass and niche audiences

2. Video for brand building

3. Maximizing targeting

4. Proving ROI with effective cross-platform video measurement

1. Delivering mass and niche audiences

Our panel appreciates the opportunities in non-linear video advertising and questioned some of the clichés associated with the medium. For instance, the assumption that linear TV is best for mass audiences and non-linear for niche audiences. TV catch-up and Broadcaster VOD (BVOD) blur that differentiation. And while major live broadcasts offer a large audience, linear TV is gradually becoming a niche as its demographic profile skews ever older. So just how can video go to deliver audiences when planned effectively with TV?

2. Brand building on video

Busting media truisms, our panel agreed that longer brand-building video ads can work online if the creative is engaging enough and the context warrants it. As Ian Dowds, CEO of UKOM, explained: “I don’t think anybody I know is planning online video for click-throughs…I still think the majority of video that is planned in non-linear is trying to find an element of brand building.”

3. Maximizing targeting

How far can micro-targeting go? Non-linear video offers significant opportunities for targeting but how far can micro-targeting go before recipients feel they are being “chased around the internet” by specific ads? To combat this we look at the potential benefits of frequency-capping Our experts recognized the dangers of over-targeting, and that the obstacle to overcome for targeting non-linear video is in finding what is socially acceptable, not what is technically feasible.

4. Proving ROI with measurement

Like advertisers everywhere, our experts felt that the lack of reliable, comparable data hampers the growth of online video advertising. Good news then that the WFA is formulating guidelines for cross-media measurement - and specifically online video. Our panel saw two main challenges here: the separation between TV data and online data; and the segregation of online data into walled gardens.

As Sjoerd Pennekamp of Stichting KijkOnderzoek summarized: “Measurement is not connected. We do not break down the silos. There will be a TV silo, several online silos, but, because it’s not connecting in a proper way, it’s very hard for planners to start with a broad view. Our efforts should focus on connecting the silos.”

As with all media – and particularly new and emerging formats - we know the importance of measurement to prove ROI. Our annual roundtables are just one of the ways we listen to brands, agencies and industry bodies to ensure the approaches we develop are right for the media and the market. This paper is a must-read for anyone involved with video to hear all sides of the debate and be part of the solution to understanding its effectiveness.