With video constituting an increasing chunk of ad investment driven by a surge in mobile use, a report by Brightcove suggests the channel might still have ground to cover before it hits home with consumers.
The report, an examination of 4,000 consumers across UK, France and Germany, found that over nine in ten (92%) want to see improvements in online video advertising, citing irrelevancy, volume and poor delivery as “key failings”.
As a result of one or more of these issues, over two thirds (67%) of consumers reported choosing to stop watching video content.
However, the study also found that 66% of consumers understand the need for publishers to advertise in order to foot free content, indicating that the gradual campaign of awareness against ad blocking software could finally be permeating.
Sharpening up
According to a US-based report earlier in the year by ad tech company Ooyala, spend on digital video rocketed 85% since 2014, amounting to a $10 million annual jump. Back in Europe, private video ad techs have been acquired at a rate of knots throughout the last year, yet it’s apparent marketers are still finding their feet within the channel.
More specifically, Brightcove’s study found poor delivery to top the list of annoyances; buffering and failure to load struck a chord with 73% of those surveyed, while over half (51%) took issue with the amount of online video ads they were being served.
Somewhat of a pleasant surprise for personalisation, the portion of those that “rarely or never” see an ad relevant to their personal tastes sat at just over a third (36%). However, while many respondents agreed that the range (54%) and quality (47%) of online video content have improved in the last year, the overarching opinion, among 72%, was that video advertising has failed to keep pace.
Room for improvement
Brightcove’s vice president of EMEA, Mark Blair, commented that the “room for improvement is clear”, given that two thirds of consumers understand the need for ads, while just one in ten report a positive experience.
“Consumers absolutely have the right to avoid broken, annoying and intrusive ad experiences but, at the same time, companies have the right to monetise and promote the content they put a lot of money into producing,” said Blair.
“The key to marrying the two is finding a balance – improving the user experience so they are more willing to accept ad content.”
Those looking to innovate in video ad user experience could do worse than taking a glance at ConvertMedia, a company recently acquired by native ad platform Taboola for $100 million. That’s owed to its expertise in outstream video ads, which enjoy a reputation among premium publishers for being “more aesthetic, naturally-interactive and able to function more seamlessly between devices”.