Video advertising has been traded programmatically via exchanges for a couple of years now, but 2013 is set to be the most competitive yet. While we’re loathe to mention ‘the year of programmatic’, the reality is that various new entrants – many of whom started out in display – are set enter a part of the market heretofore dominated by video specialists. VAN spoke to senior figures from three of the leading companies in the space about what they expected to happen over the course of the coming year:
Rhys McLachlan, Head of Corporate and Business Development, Videology
Programmatic buying is typically viewed as a strategy implemented by agencies and advertisers. In 2013 we believe publishers will begin embracing this approach to better service individual brands and more effectively monetise audiences.
Perceived risk of sales channel conflicts is what keeps most video publishers away from programmatic buying. But like any good risk management portfolio, diversity in sales channels actually reduces exposure to risk, ensuring delivery and capitalising on marketplace fluctuations.
Publishers have stopped thinking in terms of either/or sales strategies, and by leveraging technology now realise it’s an optimised, holistic blend of direct sales and programmatic buying strategies including direct sales, private exchanges, marketplace exchanges, 3rd party demand networks and RTB platforms.
A driving factor in this shift is the increase in content fragmentation. In 2013, publishers will conclude as content migrates across devices, and trading desks control a larger share of ad buying, the ability to determine absolute value of any given impression is actually almost incalculable by traditional measures.
David Burch, Director of Communications, Tubemogul
First, although we obviously bring an agenda to this, the data supports the fact that real-time buying will continue to expand its footprint. In the latter half of 2012, pre-roll adverts available for real-time buying averaged double-digit monthly growth in the UK, eclipsing 36.2 million streams per day in October. Demand is similarly growing, giving advertisers unrivaled control over every aspect of a buy and reducing media waste.
A consistent critique of digital video advertising is the lack of standardized, meaningful metrics. We expect brand surveys — used to measure things like lift in purchase consideration — to play a major role in resolving this, supplanting less-useful metrics like clicks and completions. This is made possible by drastically reduced costs in data gathering.
Audience targeting also has room for growth. Although thousands of pre-packaged audiences are available based on demographics and viewer behaviour, much of the work in separating what works from what does not remains to be done.
Lastly, while it is by now a cliche that the line between television and digital video is blurring, connected TV platforms and tablets are making this transformation a reality for millions of viewers. Expect brand budgets to follow these adapting consumer habits.
Brian Fitzpatrick, Managing Director, Adap.tv Europe
2012 was a great year for the development of online video as the rapid growth of the sector continued – more campaigns came online and clients are seeing real value in the medium. However there is still a long way to go. Brand budgets are still firmly rooted in traditional TV, but as the idea of ‘watching TV’ gets re-defined and more media is consumed on mobile phones, tablets and smart TVs, there will be more changes in 2013. Here is a list of our ‘top ten’ predictions for 2013
1. Viewable ads will become one of the key metrics.
2. The rise of smart TVs will see real interactive commercials appear.
3. TV and digital planning will be more integrated.
4. Digital ads will begin to prove as effective as traditional TV ads.
5. There will be a greater collaboration between broadcast and digital teams.
6. The number of mobile video campaigns will increase as people watch more TV on their smartphones.
7. Verified viewability will become standard.
8. The number of YouTube and customised web-based channels will increase.
9. Brands will start to move more TV budget online to check it’s effectiveness.
10. There will be a rise in automated trading of online video.
