Here’s an overview of what has been happening in the video world over the last weeks, with highlights from DG, Twitter, Nielsen, Google and the IAB UK. To stay up to date and have the latest industry news and insights delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for the weekly VAN newsletter.
DG Acquires Republic Project
DG has announced that it has agreed to acquire Republic Project, a cloud-based ad platform that works with agencies and brands to create, deliver and measure social and mobile rich media campaigns. DG has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets of Republic Project for $1.4 million in cash and an additional earn out tied to revenue and EBITDA performance targets in 2014 and 2015. Republic Project’s 11 employees, including CEO AJ Vernet, will join DG’s Los Angeles office.
Xaxis, ITV, OMD and VICE to Appear on New Video Frontiers Power Panel on the Future of TV and Video
The TV and video advertising industry is being driven mainly by broadcaster innovation, the rise of programmatic video advertising, and the emergence of content marketing. Four companies leading the charge in their respective areas are Xaxis, WPP’s trading desk, ITV, the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, OMD, a top Omnicom agency, and VICE, one of the few publishers making serious money through innovation and branded content.
All four companies are represented on a panel at New Video Frontiers titled ‘Video and TV Outlook for 2014: Where’s the Smart Money Going?’:
Speakers include:
Simon Daglish, Group Commercial Director, ITV
Nicolas Bidon, Managing Director UK, Xaxis
Dan’l Hewitt, GM of AdVICE, VICE Media
Jean-Paul Edwards, Executive Director, Futures, OMD
Tickets are selling fast so book early to avoid disappointment.
Massive Boom Predicted for Connected TV
The number of TV sets connected to the Internet will reach 759 million by 2018 for 40 countries covered in the Connected TV Forecasts report, produced by The Digital TV Research Group, up from 115 million at end-2010 and the 307 million expected at end-2013. This translates to 26.8% of global TV sets by 2018, up from only 5.1% at end-2010 and 12.4% by end-2013.
Connected TV is also becoming more international. The US will still command a third of connected TV sets by end-2013, but this proportion will fall to 23.5% by 2018. China will climb from 6.6% of the 2013 total to 16.4% by 2018.
Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Connected TV is undergoing the largest upheaval in its short history. The introduction of affordable devices such as Google’s Chromecast and Sky’s Now TV are shaking up the market, with connected TV set manufacturers already reducing their prices as a reaction to this increased rivalry. The introduction of three next-generation games consoles adds further competition.”
Google to Rebrand Google TV as ‘Android TV’
Google is to call time on the name ‘Google TV’, which will henceforth become know as ‘Android TV’. The move makes sense for all sorts of reasons, but according to Giga OM it’s more than just a name change:
The TV platform was launched three years ago based on Honeycomb, the Android version that also powered Google’s first steps into the tablet world. Google’s latest tablets now run Android 4.3, but Google TV is still stuck on Android version 3.2, which makes it much harder for developers to bring their apps to the TV screen.
Google announced earlier this year that it would update Google TV to the latest version of Android, which would allow developers to use the same APIs available on mobile devices. The upgrade to Android 4.2 was officially announced for Q3, but word is that LG will now update their Google TV devices later this month, with other manufacturers following in the coming months.
UK Video Advertising Grew 86 Percent Year on Year Say IAB
UK video advertising grew 86 percent according to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB) Digital Adspend report, conducted by PwC, with UKOM-approved comScore consumer data.
- Video advertising grew an impressive 86% year-on-year to £135.2 million. In the last three years, video ad spend has increased almost six-fold (487%). In the last year, video’s share of online and mobile display has grown 50% from 12% to 18% in the first half of 2013.
- As 4G networks begin to roll out, mobile video advertising grew sharply, up 1,260% from £1.7 million in the first half of 2012 to £23.0 million in the first half of 2013.
“Nothing illustrates the internet as an entertainment platform better than the fact that over one in five minutes online is accounted for by entertainment, and that advertisers spent almost 1,300% more on mobile video than a year ago,” says Tim Elkington, Director of Research & Strategy at the Internet Advertising Bureau. “With smartphone penetration crossing the two-thirds landmark and the successful roll out of 4G, 2013 could be the year when advertising spend on mobile crosses the £1 billion threshold.”
Nielsen and Twitter Release Data on Promoted Tweet Effectiveness
Twitter and Nielsen have published some from a study that used brand survey data to measure how ‘Promoted Tweet’ campaigns influence the audiences that see them. The study found that: (1) Promoted Tweet exposure drives stronger message association, with a 22% average increase in message association compared to users not exposed to Promoted Tweets (2) Brand lift was amplified by multiple exposures to Promoted Tweets, leading to 10% lift after two or three exposures. (3) Engagement with Promoted Tweets translated to higher brand favorability and purchase intent. Users who engaged expessesed on average 30% higher brand favourability and 53% higher purchase intent than non-engagers.
