2015 saw advertisers spend an increasing amount of media dollars on video. Industry surveys estimate that more than two-thirds of U.S. brands and agencies spent dollars on video ads this past year, primarily shifting budgets from TV and print.
Yet, we’re still in the early stages of video advertising’s own Big Bang, and 2016 will likely see important changes in how advertisers and agencies view and buy video ads. Here are four huge mistakes we think a lot of them will stop making this coming year…
1. They will stop buying impressions and start buying views
"Because we've always done it this way" is no longer an excuse for clinging to legacy media metrics. Look at what a recent eMarketer survey of US and UK senior agency/brand marketers found were their most preferred KPIs for measuring programmatic video (i.e., automated, technology-driven buying and selling video advertising).
Note that impressions are way down the list at number eight. And as programmatic video buying is expected to accelerate swiftly over the next 24 months, view-based metrics look to gain more popularity.
2. They will stop buying programming content and start buying audiences
Another legacy media holdover is the practice of buying programming content as a proxy for the target audience. Buying programming—i.e., specific channels, shows, episodes or events—feels comfortable for traditional TV buyers, and has carried over to online video even though video’s technology and data now enable precise, highly efficient audience targeting.
That isn't to say that micro-targeted video ad campaigns should exclude programming placements. Audience micro-targeting often integrates such placements, but as one targeting element among many. Then if technology optimizes campaigns on performance, it can pause channel or site placements that underperform in favor of other, better-performing elements.
3. They will stop running one-size-fits-all ads and start personalizing them
One of the biggest advantages video advertising has over TV is the ability to personalize ads for specific locations, audiences, offers and affinities.
When advertisers combine personalized video ads with audience micro-targeting (like through Sightly's TargetView platform), it creates a state of “Optimum Video Relevance”—meaning View Rates and View Time outperform one-size-fits-all ad campaigns, even those with targeted audiences.
4. They will stop thinking of video ads as primarily “lead gen” and start using it as a full-funnel solution
Sure, advertisers always get direct leads or conversions from their video ad campaigns but the primary benefits include the cumulative reach, awareness, interest and consideration they generate, which are classically associated with the top and middle of the purchase funnel.
The largest local TV advertisers—e.g., auto dealer groups, HVAC and plumbing contractors, furniture stores, attorneys, etc.—have known for decades that they need to constantly run campaigns so that their name is top of mind when target customers need and start looking for their services or products. And it’s no coincidence that these type of advertisers started shifting big dollars to video advertising in 2015. They’ve seen how their search activity and site visits spike when they run video ad campaigns and they appreciate the full-funnel benefits, performance and cost-effectiveness of video.
Ring in the new
In the upcoming year, more and more smart advertisers like these will shift ad budget dollars to reach the massive, growing audiences that now consume video content on multiple screens. And they will discover the advantages of video advertising are not only in its similarities to TV advertising, but also in its distinct and profitable differences.
Want to see how Sightly runs view-based, audience micro-targeted, personalized, full-funnel video ad campaigns better than anyone? Just click here: