Here’s an overview of what has been happening in the video advertising world over the last week or so. For regular weekly updates, sign up for the weekly VAN Video Round-Up.
Facebook Acquired LiveRail
In what looks likely to be the video advertising acquisition of the year, Facebook acquired LiveRail, a programmatic supply-side platform, for an undisclosed amount (although believed to have been approximately $400 to $500 million).
VAN Coverage:  Full Story  Industry Reaction
Media Ratings Council Lifted the Gating Period for Video Viewability
The US-based Media Rating Council (MRC) has lifted the gating period for its viewability measurement, meaning that the digital media industry can now make transactions based on the MRC’s ‘Viewable Impression Guidelines’ for video advertising. The MRC rules stipulate that a video ad should be at least 50 percent viewable for more than two seconds. The MRC say that this latest collaborative effort, co-ordinated by the MRC and a large working group organised under by the IAB’s Emerging Innovations Task Force, spells out the parameters for how viewable impressions should be measured.
In a statement the MRC was keen to emphasise that these measures aren’t aimed at tackling fraud:
“While there has been a lot of discussion recently correlating viewability to fraud, it’s important to note that viewability and fraud are not synonymous. Rather, they are separate issues with areas of overlap, and should be tackled as such. Addressing viewability will not eradicate ad fraud, and tackling ad fraud will not solve the issue of non-viewable ads. The MRC and 3MS believe that at the end of the day, this change will likely drive a stronger and more prosperous interactive advertising industry overall.”
BrightRoll Hires Google’s Bruck Falck as COO
BrightRoll, a programmatic video advertising platform, announced that Bruce Falck will be joining them as Chief Operating Officer. Falck worked on Google’s programmatic business where he led global sales and strategy for the DoubleClick Digital Marketing platform and advertising exchange.
He joined Google in 2006 as one of the founding product managers for Google’s TV advertising business, where he was involved in driving early-stage product development and business strategy. Falck held various leadership positions within Google, driving strategy for Google Audio Ads, Google Display Network, Invite Media and DoubleClick Ad Exchange.
Collective Find More Emphasis Being Placed on Aligning TV and Video
More than half of media buyers believe that linking TV and VoD (Video on Demand) is essential if they are to significantly grow their video spend, according to leading multi-screen advertising company Collective’s 2014 UK Online Video Advertising Market Report.
The annual report drew together the thoughts of over 100 key media buyers in the UK and revealed how:
- average campaign budget for VoD has reached £56,000, up £6,000 over last year’s survey.
- 55 percent of media buyers placing an emphasis on the need to link TV and VoD
- 56 percent of media buyers plan to increase spend on VoD by more than 25 percent in the next six months  Â
- 25 percent of buyers include VoD on over 90 percent of their plans
- 60 percent of buyers place more than half of their VoD campaigns on non-broadcast sites, up 5 percent over the previous survey
- View-through rate is considered the top measurement for judging an engaged viewers at 52 percent
- 49 percent cite audience demographic and behavioural data as the most important for targeting VoD, with 20 percent placing the emphasis on context targeting.
Best of the Rest
CBS Makes Up to 20 Percent More Revenue Online Than Per TV Viewer
Digital Video Ads that Make You Want to Click
French Quad-Play Battle Heats Up
Ad of the Week, National Centre for Domestic Violence, ‘Final Minutes’, JWT
