Why do most video ad campaigns lack innovative strategy?

Maybe it's because many advertisers still think of video only in legacy TV terms and miss the opportunities to leverage the unique and powerful features of video advertising. 

Here's an example of one that didn't.

Topics: Video Advertising, Personalized Video Ads, Hyper-Local Delivery, Micro-Targeted Delivery, YouTube Advertising, TrueView

YouTube recently launched Red, its new ad-free subscription option, in the U.S.

For $9.99 per month, subscribers can now watch videos without ads, save videos for offline viewing and keep videos running in the background while using other apps on mobile devices.

Subscribers also get:

• Access to new, exclusive video content,
• A subscription to Google Play Music streaming service, plus
• A free set of stainless steel steak knives.

Just kidding about the steak knives.

Topics: Video Advertising, YouTube Advertising

Did you know that more than 80% of all mobile consumers now use their devices to watch video?

You might also be surprised to learn that more people watch YouTube videos on mobile devices in the U.S. each month than watch TV on any cable network. After Facebook, YouTube is the most popular mobile app—scoring nearly 100 million unique viewers each month in the U.S.

Topics: Multi-Screen Reach, Programmatic Media Buying, Mobile Video, YouTube Advertising

Most agencies and brands are still way more comfortable with planning TV ad campaigns than online video ad campaigns. Let's face it, TV has been king forever; video is the upstart.

But as more and more big dollars shift from single to multi-screen, savvy planners and managers are learning to help their brands leverage the huge advantages of video.

Topics: Video Advertising, Multi-Screen Reach, Personalized Video Ads, Audience Micro-Targeting, Hyper-Local Delivery, YouTube Advertising

We know what a challenge it can be to plan and run YouTube TrueView campaigns. Mix in multiple flights, offers, locations, audiences, etc. and it can get tricky quickly.

Never fear. We make running complex TrueView video campaigns simple and worry-free.

Topics: Video Advertising, Personalized Video Ads, Audience Micro-Targeting, Campaign Automation, YouTube Advertising

Several months ago, we posted a Tipping Point Alert after the CEO of Omnicom Group's media operations told the Wall Street Journal that the agency had started advising its big brand clients to shift 10% to 25% of their TV ad budgets to digital video.

We felt that, as the shift in consumer viewing behavior accelerated toward multiple screens, other large agencies would follow Omnicom's lead and shift a growing volume of ad dollars to online video.

Now, we’re posting a second alert after the stocks of many big media companies recently dropped amid market reaction to Disney’s early August earnings call. CEO Bob Iger conceded that ESPN, Disney's dominant cable platform, had lost subscribers "...due to contraction of the pay-TV eco-system.”

Topics: Video Advertising, Personalized Video Ads, Audience Micro-Targeting, Hyper-Local Delivery, Programmatic Media Buying, Campaign Automation

We're huge proponents of YouTube's TrueView skippable video ad format because it delivers exceptional benefits to advertisers and agencies—e.g., they pay only for completed views, and gain near 100% viewability plus significant brand lift in almost every campaign.

That's why we saw Google's recent announcement as big news for us and the video advertising industry.

On Thursday, Neal Mohan, VP, Display & Video Advertising wrote that Google will no longer support buying YouTube advertising through the DoubleClick AdExchange (AdX) as of the end of this year.

Topics: Video Advertising, Multi-Screen Reach, Personalized Video Ads, Audience Micro-Targeting, Intelligent Optimization, Campaign Automation, Video Ad Viewability, YouTube Advertising

The short answer is: when it's a completed view.

Recent changes to YouTube’s TrueView in-stream video ads are designed to:

1. Ensure that measured clicks are deliberate—i.e., when viewers click, it’s clear they want to respond to your call to action, and
2. Assign value to those deliberate clicks similar to the value of completed views when it comes to viewer interest and engagement with your message.

Topics: Video Advertising, Multi-Screen Reach, Video Ad Viewability, YouTube Advertising

Online video advertising growth is rapidly accelerating this year, with U.S. advertisers expected to spend more than $7 billion on video for the first time ever.

That's a 34% increase over 2014. (See infographic for spend breakdown by industry.)

In the first half of 2015, we saw many advertisers shift from one of these categories to another....

Topics: Video Advertising, Multi-Screen Reach, Programmatic Media Buying, Video Ad Viewability, YouTube Advertising

We've analyzed dozens of video advertising research studies, reviewed many video campaign RFPs—and interviewed scores of brand advertisers and agencies to find out what they want.

Now we want to know what you think.

Topics: Video Advertising, Multi-Screen Reach, Audience Micro-Targeting, Video Ad Viewability