Fifty five percent of digital video campaigns are hit by delays according to a new study conducted by Advertiser Perceptions in partnership with Extreme Reach, a TV and video advertising platform, which shows that ad ops specialist are frustrated with the current process for campaign activation. The results find that 70 percent of those working in ad ops would reinvent the process from scratch if they got the chance as a host of common problems inefficiencies disrupt their workflow, with insufficient lead time listed as a major source of frustration by over half of all those interviewed.
The study, based on a survey of 150 people in the ad industry who are directly involved in digital video campaign activation, suggests that communication between partners in the activation of a video campaign is often poor. Insufficient lead time was listed by 51 percent as a major pain point, suggesting that clients are either unaware of the time it takes to fulfil a digital video campaign activation. This problem is likely made worse by other problems and inefficiencies making the process take longer than it needs to – the following were listed as other major pain points:
- Lack of clarity from publishers about the required ad specs for a campaign, 42 percent
- Tracking down creative for all screens and devices, 35 percent
- Inconsistent standards and formats, 30 percent
The result is that people on the front lines of ad ops spend a lot of their time chasing files and information which they need to activate video campaigns. Melinda McLaughlin, CMO of Extreme reach says that these complaints are common. “Advertising professionals are some of the most creative and inspired people I have had the opportunity to work with, and yet too much of their day to day is spent dealing with mundane issues that could be easily solved through smarter processes,” she said.
These gripes don’t just cause frustration for ad ops specialist though, they have tangible effects on video campaigns. Of those surveyed, 55 percent said they have had video campaigns delayed over the past year, and 49 percent reported problems with ads not being formatted correctly.
As McLaughlin suggests though, these ad ops specialist do seem positive that these problems can be overcome. The fact that 58 percent say they see where mistakes are likely to happen indicates that they know here the friction is cause, and that a better process could iron out these problems. Though there is a sense of urgency in solving this problem sooner rather than later; 71 percent of respondents said that in an increasingly fragmented advertising landscape, and with programmatic trading becoming ever more prominent, the issue of how creative is sources is becoming more urgent, and could cause even more headaches in the future.
