In this week’s Week in Review: Facebook video views are falling according to Wochit, YouTube tightens rules for monetisation, and the IPA forecasts low ad spend growth this year. To receive an update on the industry’s top stories every Friday, sign up to the weekly Video Round-Up.
Top Stories
Facebook Video Views Declining, Finds Wochit
View of videos on Facebook declined significantly over the second half of last year, according to social video creation platform Wochit. Wochit’s Social Video Performance Index, based on data from 33,000 videos posted to over 500 Facebook pages, showed that although video views increased significantly over the first half of last year, they fell by 8-15 percent during the second half of the year. The study also found that videos fitting a square format and longer videos draw more interactions, and interestingly showed that videos which claim in the title to show something the viewer ‘NEEDS’ to know (a common ‘clickbait’ tactic on Facebook) tend to actually get less views than average.
Small Creators Hit as YouTube Targets Brand Safety
YouTube’s campaign to assuage brand safety fears stepped up this week as the social video platform revealed plans to more closely vet members of its Preferred programme, and to raise the requirements for creators to be able to monetise their content. The company is reforming its Google Preferred service, which allows brands to buy ads from a pool of popular creators; individual videos will now undergo human verification of brand safety before being classed as Preferred.
YouTube is also tightening requirements to join its Partner programme, which allows creators to monetise their videos in the first place. Channels must now have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watchtime over the past year to be eligible to run ads, a move which YouTube says will help prevent ads from running on inappropriate videos. Critics claim the move will encourage viewbotting (where creators bay for fake views to boost their numbers) and see in increase in ‘clickbait’ content. Many publishers
Marketing Budgets Growing at Slowest Rate in Two Years, says IPA
Marketing budgets continue to grow, but economic uncertainty and client caution led 15.2 percent of marketing executives to cut their total spend in Q4 last year, making Q4’s overall budget growth of 8.6 percent the lowest since the start of 2016 according to the IPA’s Bellwether Survey. Digital ad spend continued its robust growth, though at a lower rate of 10.9 percent (down from 17 percent in Q3), with many respondents noting an increased focus on use of SEO/search and social media tools. This helped ‘main media advertising’ (of which IPA counts digital advertising as a subcategory) return to growth, though the IPA noted that TV, press, cinema and radio all had a disappointing Q4. The growth slowdown is expected to spillover into this year, with the IPA forecasting overall ad spend growth of just 0.3 percent for the year ahead.
The Week in Tech
TAG Makes Ads.txt a Requirement for Anti-Fraud Certification
Publishers must now implement ads.txt in order to receive the Certified Against Fraud Seal from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). TAG, an anti-fraud initiative whose leadership council includes Omnicom, GroupM, Google, Facebook, Publicis and NBCUniversal, runs the Certified Against Fraud programme as a way of identifying companies which it deems committed to fighting ad fraud. From July 1st this year, publishers must have adopted ads.txt, the IAB’s initiative to combat domain spoofing, in order to be eligible for Certified Against Fraud status. Many publishers are still yet to implement ads.tx, with a MediaRadar study of 3,000 publishers in December finding that only 20 percent were using the tool; TAG hopes it’s decision to make ads.txt a requirement will help drive further uptake.
Roku Introduces Ad Insights Suite
Roku launched its new Ad Insights Suite this week, which will use Roku’s first party data to give marketers access to over-the-top (OTT) measurement. The company says the new product will enable marketers to measure campaign reach and effectiveness across both linear and OTT, and help them to analyse audience engagement. The suite will provide data on:
- Reach Insights – Marketers can quantify unique campaign reach by demographic segments across linear TV, OTT, desktop and mobile
- Tune-In Insights – TV networks and content owners can measure the effectiveness of content promotions they run across linear TV, OTT, desktop and mobile
- Cord Cutter Insights – Marketers can target and measure campaigns delivered to Roku users who don’t have traditional pay TV subscriptions
- Survey Insights – Marketers can gather real-time feedback and demographic insights with short on-device surveys
Beeswax Acquires RTBKit
Demand side platform Beeswax has bought the assets of open source bidder RTBKit for an undisclosed fee. RTBKit, developed by Datacratic, provides the framework for companies to create and deploy their own Real Time Bidders (RTB’s), and Beeswax says its own customisable RTB was inspired by RTBKit. Beeswax said in a blog post announcing the acquisition that RTBKit will continue to be available under the Apache license on Github.
Taptica Raises £38.2 Million to Fund Acquisitions
Mobile advertising platform Taptica has raised £38.2 million, which it says will reduce its debts and allow it to take advantage of acquisition opportunities. The money was raised by a mix of sales of new shares and sales by two shareholders, one of whom was chief executive Hagai Tal. Taptica also reported that Tremor Video, which it acquired last year, is trading ahead of schedule, and is already turning a profit.
OpenX Announces GDPR Publisher Compliance
OpenX announced this week that it is now in compliance with its publisher obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with four months to spare before the EU regulation comes into force. The company has also released an open source data processing agreement for publisher use, and several other GDPR resources, with the aim of easing the path towards GDPR compliance.
The FreeWheel Council Reveals European Video Measurement Matrix
The FreeWheel Council for Premium Video Europe (FWCE) this week released the European Video Measurement Matrix, which provides an overview of audience and verification metrics for the premium video industry. The council, whose members include Channel 4, Sky, MTG and TF1, created the matrix in response to research which found that brands and advertisers saw measurement as the number one challenge for cross-platform campaigns.
The Week in TV
Vivendi Considering Inviting Mediaset into Joint Venture with Telecom Italia
Vivendi is negotiating an agreement which would see Mediaset take a 20 percent stake in a joint venture between Vivendi’s pay TV unit Canal+ and Telecom Italia. The joint venture was launched last year with a view to producing and acquiring movies and TV series and purchasing sports rights, as well as helping Telecom Italia develop its pay TV offering. Vivendi is now considering handing half of its 40 percent stake to Mediaset, according to a report in Il Sole 24 Ore, as a means to solving an ongoing dispute between the two companies over Vivendi’s withdrawal from a deal to take over Mediaset’s pay TV product in 2016.
UK TV Viewing by Young Adults to Plummet This Year, says Deloitte
Traditional TV viewing by 18-24 year olds in the UK will decline by around 10-15 percent in 2018 and 2019, according to Deloitte’s TMT Predictions 2018. Traditional TV viewing by young adults in both the UK and US has fluctuated over the past five years, but Deloitte expects it to fall in both countries as TV continues to compete with social media, smartphones and subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services for attention. However Deloitte also predicts that any decline may not be long term, as time spent on social media begins to plateau and SVOD services reach saturation.
The Week in Publishing
Facebook Signs Series of New Music Deals
Facebook announced deals with Global Music Rights, HFA/Rumblefish and Kobalt Music Publishing this week to license use of their music on Facebook’s platform. The agreements follow similar deals Facebook signed last year with Universal Music Group last year, and Sony/ATV Music Publishing last week. The agreements resolve tensions over the frequent unlicensed use of music that occurs on Facebook, though it’s been hinted that the social media platform also has plans for some kind of music streaming service in the future.
Digital Video Revenues in MENA to Grow 35 Percent Annually says EY
Online video revenue will grow by 22-35 percent every year until 2021 in the MENA region according to EY’s Videonomics report. This will mean digital accounts for 17 percent of total video revenue in MENA in 2021, as opposed to ten percent today. EY says this growth will be driven by youth in the region entering the workforce and becoming paying customers, and that strategic partnerships between companies within the video ecosystem will be key to success.
Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings Brings will Bring GRPs to YouTube Mobile App Inventory
YouTube is opening up its mobile app to Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings service in the UK, France and Germany for the first time, giving insight into viewing metrics for ads watched on the app for the first time. The integration will give advertisers deeper insight into who their ads are reaching through a variety of available metrics – including gross rating points (GRP’s), age and gender demographics, reach and frequency, as well as Nielsen’s own Digital Ad Ratings. The introduction of GRP’s — the trading currency of TV advertising — is particularly interesting as it could help to bridge the gap between TV and YouTube advertising for buyers. Read more on VAN.
The Week for Agencies
Dentsu Aegis Forcests Improved Ad Spend Outlook for 2018
Global ad spend will hit $589.5 billion this year, representing growth of 3.6 percent, according to Dentsu Aegis Network’s latest ad spend forecasts. This is due in part to a number of large events taking place this year which will encourage ad sales, including the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the FIFA World Cup and the US Congressional elections. The report also predicts digital to overtake TV by a margin exceeding previous forecasts, with this latest report forecasting digital to account for 38.3 percent and TV for 35.5 percent of global ad spend this year.
Kantar Consulting acquires Mash Strategy in the UK
WPP’s newly launched Kantar Consulting has acquired London-based brand strategy and growth consultancy Mash Strategy, it announced this week. Kantar Consulting launched last week as a merger of four existing Kantar products, and has been seen by analysts as a fightback from WPP against consultancies encroaching on its territories. Mash, founded in 2010, counts Johnson & Johnson, Samsung and Unilever among its clients.
Partnerships of the Week
fuboTV Taps SpotX For Programmatic Monetisation of OTT Content
SpotX this week announced a strategic partnership with fuboTV to power the programmatic monetisation of fuboTV’s live over-the-top (OTT) content. fuboTV previously monetised content primarily through subscriptions, but turned on ads this past summer, and has now chosen SpotX to drive further monetisation for both private marketplace and open exchange traded campaigns.
Yospace and NexPlayer Announce Integration for HTML5 Live Stream Monetisation
Yospace and NexStreaming have pre-integrated Yospace’s HTML5 SDK into the NexPlayer HTML5 player which they say will allow Yospace’s server-side dynamic ad insertion to be accompanied by real-time, client-side tracking. The integration will also give new interactive capabilities to ads by allowing viewers to click on ads for more information on the product.
Comcast DLVR Announce Partnership to Deliver Quality of Experience Across Any Screen
Comcast Technology Solutions and DLVR have secured a deal which will bring together Comcast’s content delivery network (CDN) and Origin service paired with DLVR’s multi-CDN switching and analytics capabilities. The two say the integration will give customers an out-of- the-box, turnkey multi-CDN solution that they believe will lower delivery costs and provide an optimized viewing experience.
Hires of the Week
Wavemaker Hires Oleg Korenfeld as Global Chief Platforms Officer
WPP’s newly launched Wavemaker announced this week it has picked Oleg Korenfeld as its global chief platforms officer. Korenfeld’s role will see him work with GroupM’s global Platforms team and key clients and prospects to connect Wavemaker’s data and products to [m]Platform, according to WPP’s announcement.
Xavier Rees Takes on Helia CEO Role
Havas London’s chief executive Xavier Rees has agree to take on the top job at Havas Helia too, replacing Tash Whitmey. Rees, who joined Havas London in 2016, will take on his additional responsibilities from the end of this month, and Havas hopes his joint role will encourage further integration between the two companies.
Simulmedia Promotes Kyle Hubert to CTO
Simulmedia has promoted Kyle Hubert, previously chief scientist, to the position of chief technology officer which has been vacant since the beginning of last year. “Kyle is also a true visionary in how technology can make television advertising not only work better for marketers and media owners, but also make the consumer experience much better, something that has eluded the digital ad industry so far,” said Simulmedia CEO and founder Dave Morgan.
SpotX Appoints Gavin Buxton as Asia MD
SpotX has appointed Gavin Buxton as managing director of Asia, where he will take charge of expanding the company’s presence in the region. Buxton joins from ad tech company S4M, and currently sits on the board of IAB Singapore.
Rosa Markarian Become Head of Global Digital Marketing at Schwabe
Pharmaceuticals company Schwabe Pharma has appointed Rosa Markarian as head of global digital marketing. Markarian’s role will include setting up the company’s global digital marketing strategy.
The Week on Van
ePrivacy Makes GAFA the Gatekeepers of Personal Data Collection, Warns Teads’ Chappaz, read more on VAN
Why GDPR Might Actually be a Good Thing for Advertisers, read more on VAN
Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings Brings will Bring GRPs to YouTube Mobile App Inventory, read more on VAN
Three Great Reasons Why 2018 is the Year of Opportunity for Ad Tech, read more on VAN
Ad of the Week
Ad Council, Seize the Awkward, Droga5
This ad effectively aims to rebrand the ‘awkward silence’, painting it as a positive opportunity to seize on the awkwardness and broach slightly uncomfortable topics with friends. The positive tone of the ad helps it seem a less daunting task, while still highlighting the importance of the issue at hand.
