Perspectives What's this?

Over the past several months, we’ve watched the largest video platforms make large-scale improvements to address brand safety. They honed their filters, updated their monetization policies, invited top independent measurement providers to the table and improved transparency.

It’s clear that the platforms feel and bear the burden of eliminating brand-unsafe content – the undeniably reprehensible videos that no advertiser would want to appear beside.

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Advertising technology is a fast paced business driven by trends in innovation. In the last twelve months, the video industry has been dominated by headlines devoted to the rise of header bidding and brand safety. But what is next on the horizon? For advertisers and media owners, streamlining costs and efficiency in video advertising remains paramount, which is why the latest trend is the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). But what exactly is it and why is it such a hot topic right now?

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Fresh off the show floor at NAB Show in Las Vegas, I was struck by three very clear trends:

- Broadcasters are keen to understand what they need to do to adopt ATSC 3.0, the IP-based over-the-air (OTA) TV broadcast standard that combines broadcasting and broadband internet,
- Many are working to reorient workflows to support 'Advanced Advertising' and cross-screen measurement, and
- Cross-screen multi-touch attribution is now a 'must-have' for the sell-side to merchandise their unique value to buyers.

Meanwhile back in New York, the annual TV Upfronts and Digital Video Newfronts are in full swing. My only hope is that we're not going another year planning our Marketing efforts in separate linear vs. digital siloes.

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The rapid rise in video consumption – good news?

Video consumption is going through the roof. According to a forecast published in the Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI), total Internet video traffic will be 79% of all global Internet traffic in 2020, up from 63% in 2015.
This sounds like great news for the video industry, and it should be. But for thousands of video service providers and OTT platforms worldwide, this exciting statistic is a cause for a lot of stress, because it brings with it a set of growing challenges and an uncertain future.

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Video is fundamentally different from all other digital advertising formats, and it must be planned, executed, and measured as such. What’s more, video has converged with OTT, VOD and essentially all programs accessible via Connected TV, which brings both opportunity and complexity. Finally - based on the availability of cross-screen audience and ratings data - video is on a collision course with linear broadcast, cable, and satellite TV, which has its own arcane processes, systems, and economics.

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OTT viewership has increased dramatically in the last year. So, it is no surprise that ad dollars are pouring into the category. Reports estimate that advertising revenue in the market just exceeded $50 billion for the first time. And as more OTT options and channels emerge, and as OTT advertising capabilities and measurement grow more sophisticated, investments will continue to rise.
 
Beyond growth, however, how else will the OTT ad landscape evolve this year? 2017 saw a number of unique developments, from more traditional broadcasters entering the space to a surge in acquisitions. But what will happen in 2018?

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Creating a Leakproof Life Preserver to Save Journalism

It was Jeff Zucker - then head of NBCUniversal, now running Donald Trump’s favorite, CNN – who coined the famous cautionary phrase, trading “analog dollars for digital pennies” nearly 10 years ago. He warned of an economic Armageddon as digital advertising drained high-priced, high-margin volume away from traditional TV broadcasters.

He was right. In fact, a decade has meant the continued crushing of the revenue streams of more than just the broadcast networks, but journalism at large. Newspapers are increasingly shutting down their print editions; many magazines have it even harder. Relentless innovation in programmatic advertising gives marketers the ability to navigate autonomously to the highest value/lowest CPM impression.

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Video has attracted the interest of advertisers, which means that it has become a point of emphasis for publishers as well. This has brought on increased competition for traditional pre-roll inventory, forcing both advertisers and publishers alike to explore new units that can deliver video experiences.



One area that has grown immensely in popularity is native video, with publishers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Hearst, Forbes, The Huffington Post and BuzzFeed all exploring native models.

 Native’s growth isn’t simply due to the fact that it’s available and fulfilling the market demand for more inventory. Instead, it’s growing in popularity - and performance - for reasons that fly in the face of conventional ad industry wisdom. Here’s a look at what’s driving native video’s growth.

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