Video advertising has seen a surge in activity of late, with campaigns ramping up in response to the ever increasing rise in popularity of mobile devices.
According, to Adobe Digital Index’s U.S. Digital Video 2014 Inaugural Report, 27% of online video viewing took place on mobile, and the group believes this could increase to 50.2% within the next two years.
Paul Lyonette, country manager of video ad firm YuMe, spoke to PerformanceIN, discussing the potential of video advertising, how mobile devices are driving the market and what people really mean when they talk about “premium content”.
You were in a panel session about the future of video during Advertising Week Europe. What were the key points to emerge from that?
Paul Lyonette: I think some of the closing remarks from that panel were that there has to be an understanding in the market that video is screen-agnostic, and not replicating what has been traditionally done on television but understanding that there is a number of different opportunities to consume video content.
That will be on all mobile devices – that have really driven the market – smart televisions, gaming consoles as well as the traditional desktop solution.
I think the knock-on effect of that is the here and now – everyone is doing that now, so the future of video was more around the trading conversations and that horrible word of ‘programmatic’. So I think the way it’s traded, the recognition that it’s doing something different and you can be fairly creative with it as well, it’s not just replicating television ad or commercial on a digital screen.
With regards to short-form video, what types of content has this eliminated?
PL: I don’t think any content has been eliminated. I think short form, traditionally has been associated with smaller screens. In 2006 when I first started working in mobile video, short-form content was the only kind of content that would work on a mobile device – say, a smartphone.
We’ve seen tablets absolutely rock that trend, smartphones themselves do. People will watch longer form content but in terms of a question around the short-form piece, there is also an association that short-form content isn’t as premium as long form.
I don’t think that’s the case at all – it’s professionally curated, even UGC professionally curated. Content works and to coin a phrase, beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway,
What is important and premium to you will be very different to what is premium to me. ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Scandal’ – those kind of shows are obviously seen as premium, big budget, professionally curated content and that’s got its place. Two to three minute beauty tips from a vlogger, to someone who is looking for those answers, is exceptionally premium content.
People’s idea of premium is very, very personal and when they’re looking to consume one on one, which is what these digital screens allow you to do as opposed to having four people sat on a sofa watching one big screen, which everyone has to buy into, people’s opportunity to create their own premium is much more relevant.
Video advertising had a big year in 2014, just how big do you think it could get and what does 2015 have in store for video?
PL: I think the question of how big it can get doesn’t really have an answer – it’s about the potential. The potential is obviously like-for-like spend, currently. The biggest pot of cash is in TV – audio [and] visual advertising, people are putting a video ad in front of their consumers.
To a certain degree that pot of money hasn’t been tapped into, the “let’s shift 10% of our budget into digital” from TV spend is kind of archaic in its approach, it’s not right for every audience – 10% could be miles too much or far too little, depending on who you’re trying to talk to.
We’ve done some work with Nielsen around this, in a study called ‘Mix and Measure’, which breaks down six countries, five in Europe and the US.
Based on a certain demographic that you’re are looking to target, based on screen, what share will optimise your reach, but then also go a step further and optimise the brand metrics around that. So, how influential is a mobile device as a driving reach for a 18-24 year-old-male? It’s pretty good.