Facebook Keeps Focus On Video With New Search Engine

What Happened
Following the launch of a dedicated live video discovery hub on its mobile app on Wednesday, Facebook continues to build out its video products with the addition of a video search engine. In addition, users will now also see Live Videos under the Trends panel in search. Over the last few months, Facebook has been suggesting that content creators tag their videos with keywords in preparation for this new feature.

What Brands Need To Do
Digital video ad spend in the US is on the rise, with eMarketer expecting it to reach $9.84 billion and represent 19.6 percent of total digital ad spending this year and reach $16.69 billion by 2020. By integrating video search into the search bar, Facebook is making it easier for users to discover and consume original video content on its platform, which can also help brands get more eyeballs on their pre-roll ads or branded videos. As Facebook continues to improve its video ad products, brand advertisers should also consider reevaluating their media mix and reallocating the video ad spending.

Remember to check back next week for our coverage of Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference for updates.

 


Source: TechCrunch

Header image courtesy of  Facebook Newsroom

How Netflix Uses Contextual Ads To Promote “Friends”

What Happened
Netflix has launched a YouTube pre-roll campaign in France to promote the debut of the classic sitcom Friends on its service. Working with Ogilvy Paris, Netflix tagged some of the top-searched videos on YouTube and created pre-roll spots from Friends footage that are contextually relevant to the content that YouTube viewers are about to watch. For example, viewers set to watch a makeup tutorial would see a pre-roll ad with Joey’s Japanese makeup while those searching for cat videos will see a clip featuring Rachel’s hairless cat.

What Brands Need To Do
Earlier this month, the Lab’s research team partnered with Zefr for a joint study on the effectiveness of running video ads alongside contextually relevant content on YouTube, which found that contextually relevant ads can improve the ad experience and drive as much as 63% higher purchase intent (read the full report here). This clever pre-roll campaign from Netflix is tapping into the power of contextual relevance we explained and quantified in the study. More brands should consider improving their video ad effectiveness by tailoring their ads to the contexts with which they are served.

 


Source: AdWeek

Header image courtesy of Ogilvy Paris’s YouTube

Algorithmic Feed And Longer Videos Coming To Instagram

What Happened
Instagram is ch-ch-ch-changing. The Facebook-owned, photo-sharing social network has started testing an algorithm-based feed. Instead of showing posts in reverse-chronological order, the posts will be rearranged based on their importance and popularity determined by an algorithm. The new feed is expected to roll out to all users in the coming weeks.

In related news, Instagram is also extending its video length from the previous 15-second limit to 60 seconds, giving users and content creators more space to showcase their videos. Previously, the company increased the length limit of its video ads from 30 seconds to 60 seconds.

What Brands Need To Do
It is likely that this change to Instagram’s feed will have the same impact on reach for brand posts as similar changes have meant to Facebook’s News Feed. Those changes at Instagram’s parent led to lower organic reach as Facebook further monetized their platform. While brand posts on Instagram can be as popular and successful as any other, it appears that we may have reached the peak of organic reach. Brands can encourage users to turn on post notifications for their accounts to stay informed, as many influencers have been doing. The increased video length can help familiarize users with longer videos on Instagram, which should be a good news for brands trying to engage viewers with video ads on Instagram.

 


Source: CNET & The Verge

 

AOL Introduces Two New Video Ad Formats To Enhance Viewability

What Happened
AOL is introducing two new video ad products to round out ONE by AOL, the ad platform it launched for publishers earlier this year. Out-stream Player is an in-article video format that only plays while at least half of the video is visible on the screen. Designed to ensure viewability, this ad formats expands while playing and pauses whenever less than 50% of the video is in view. The other new ad format SideView allows publishers to pin their videos in the sidebar and automatically resizes the video player according to browser size.

What Brands Need To Do
These two new video formats from AOL point to a way that video ads can be less interruptive and better integrated into the general user experience without sacrificing viewability. Brands should work with their agencies to make sure their video ads is deployed with the most effective formats.


Source: AdWeek

Facebook Now Offers Brands Daily Breakdown Of Video Views

What Happened
Facebook has been steadily building out its video products to attract content creators and compete with YouTube for the huge ad spending shifting from TV to digital videos. Now, the social network has updated its video data dashboard to give brands daily breakdowns of video views, which include the three key metrics – total views, total time spent on a video, and the number of times the video was viewed for at least 10 seconds – that Facebook introduced in February to enhance its video measurement.

What Brands Need To Do
This new daily breakdown of video views can offer brands a more granular look at how their video content is performing on Facebook and better inform their digital video strategies. As Facebook continues to improve its video ad products, brand advertisers should also consider reconfiguring their digital ad mix and diversifying the video platforms they choose.

 


Source: The Next Web

 

IPG Lab + Zefr Release The Power of Relevance: Content, Context, and Emotions

The ad industry often uses people’s web behavior data to serve them ads. But, targeting based on demographic data could easily reach the wrong person with the wrong ad. Contextual targeting uses the video content people are watching to serve them the right ad at the right time.

Today IPG Media Lab, in partnership with Zefr, released their joint study on the effectiveness of running video ads alongside contextually relevant content on YouTube. The research includes almost 9,000 consumers, 5 different industry verticals and examines 4 different types of contextual targeting methods. The IPG Media Lab also employed next gen tools to track consumer attention while they watched the ads.

The study answers the following questions:

• Does contextual targeting improve the consumer experience?
• When consumers are in different mindsets, do their brains interpret the ad differently?
• Does placement alongside contextually relevant content make ads work harder against brand KPIs?
• What types of contextual targeting are most effective, if any?

Interested in learning more? Download the full report below to dive into the results. Or, you can follow a more visual narrative with the link below.

Download the full Power of Relevance deck here.

Or, walk through a visual narrative here.

YuMe and IPG Media Lab Evaluate the Impact of Digital Video Ad Lengths

Research Test Ads Provide Insights Regarding What Ad Lengths Work Best Across Device and Location

Click here to download the full report.

Shifts in the way people consume video content are changing how marketers strategize about video advertising. Increased consumption of snack-sized content, for example, has made shorter video ad formats more popular. Concurrently, longer video ad formats have become increasingly prevalent as marketers start to invest in custom content created for digital platforms. While marketers are clearly experimenting with new video ad lengths, they are faced with increasing complexity about what works most effectively.

To help address these questions, today, YuMe, Inc., the global audience technology company powered by data-driven insights and multi-screen expertise and IPG Media Lab, the creative technology arm of IPG Mediabrands, unveil our latest joint research, addressing the effectiveness of different video ad lengths, looking at micro and longer form ad formats, devices and consumer perspective. Key findings include:

  • Ads perform differently based on length – developing a creative length strategy is imperative for success
  • Micro ads have a leg up on smaller screens, where video takes up 100% of screen real estate and short content is the norm
  • Having grown up with short form content, millennials respond best to micro ads, and also tend to see them as higher quality and more enjoyable than older consumers do
  • Shorter ads can serve as a quick reminder of established brands to drive top-of-mind awareness and longer ads can be employed to educate about a new brand
  • While every device performs differently, the 15 second mark is the shortest amount of time for making an impact on persuasion metrics

AdLengths Infographic_2-29-1

(Click on the image for the full-sized infographic.)

 

Click here to download the full report.

 

 

Instagram To Start Showing Video Views

What Happened
Instagram is starting to display video views as it revs up for more video ads. Starting Thursday, select accounts on the popular photo-sharing network now show how many times their videos has been viewed at where the “likes” used to be (users can still click through to see the like counts), with global rollout planned for the following weeks. This marks the latest change the Facebook-owned platform has been making to make it more brand-friendly. Last week, it extended the length of video ads from 30 seconds up to one minute.

Instagram view count

What Brands Need To Do
Although this may seem like a fairly small tweak, displaying view counts can be a kind of morale booster for brands publishing videos on Instagram – video boasts a huge number of views may encourage more people to give it a look. Moreover, this change can help the popular video creators stand out, making it easier for brands to discover and evaluate the social influencers to work with via content partnerships or product placements.

One thing that brands need to keep in mind when it comes to video ads on Instagram is that it follows Facebook’s viewability criteria that counts three seconds of playback as a view. To learn more about the impact of viewing time on ad effectiveness, be sure to check out our new Viewability study here.

 


Source: AdWeek

Image courtesy of Instagram Blog

Spotify Readies Video Streaming Product

What Happened
After a long period of speculation, Spotify is finally ready to add video content to its roster. The popular music streaming service has confirmed the plan to launch a video-streaming product later this week with content from media partners such as BBC, Comedy Central, ABC, and ESPN. The videos will be packaged into category-specific playlists, such as “News of the Week” or “Laughs at Lunch,” just as Spotify does with its music playlists. Contrary to most apps’ iOS-first strategy, Spotify will make this feature available on its Android app first later this week, with the iOS version arriving by the end of next week.

What Brands Need To Do
Spotify has already introduced video ads to its service in 2014, allowing users to watch a video spot in exchange for 30 minutes of uninterrupted listening. Expanding its content offerings can help Spotify better compete with rival streaming services such as Apple Music or YouTube’s Music Key. Although there is currently no detail on how Spotify plans to monetize the video content, it is safe to assume that it would soon be open to ads. For now, brands that are reaching consumers on Spotify should consider developing branded content or sponsorships with the aforementioned media partners to get in on Spotify’s video product.

 


Source: Engadget

 

Pinterest Open to Video Advertising

What Happened
Pinterest has been steadily rolling out a variety of new ad products to help monetize its platform, including Cinematic Pins and Buyable Pins. Now the social scrapbooking network is reportedly looking to introduce video ads as well. This comes a month after the company’s decision to narrow the focus of its ad support to retail and CPG brands. Retail happened to be the top spender on digital video ads in the U.S. in 2015, according to a recent study by Pathmatics.

What Brands Need To Do
Online video ads, estimated by Magna Global to grow by 39% this year to $15.3 billion in their latest U.S. Ad Forecast Report, represent a fast-growing category in the booming digital advertising business. And with Facebook raking in big ad dollars with its eight billion daily video views, it makes sense for Pinterest to start developing its own video ad product as well, even though its platform is not traditionally known for video consumption. At the very least, this should give brands that are already trying out Facebook videos a new channel to reach new audiences and make a lasting impression with engaging video content.

 


Source: Digiday