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It didn’t happen as quickly as it did in display advertising, but last year saw a tipping point when the majority of US digital video ad spend was transacted through programmatic technologies, according to eMarketer. It is no wonder these systems are forecast to account for 74% of video spending by 2018 - advertisers now have an insatiable appetite for video inventory, and they are pushing publishers to offer space using the same data-driven trading technologies they currently enjoy in display.

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According to the FreeWheel Video Monetization Report: Q1 2017, 16% of all ad views took place on short-form video clips. However, in Q1 2017, 58% of all video starts were clips (less than 5 mins) and while less time is spent and fewer ads are served compared to long-form and live content, the monetization strategy and user experience of short-form content, given its sheer volume, is of great importance to premium video providers.

The FreeWheel Council for Premium Video set out to study the impact on the viewer across different ad experiences when watching short-form video. Partnering with RealEyes, a leading emotion measurement platform, we exposed 2964 adults aged 18-49 to a set of nine different scenarios of premium video content and ads, to measure the different levels of engagement and emotional reactions through facial recognition technology, as well as surveying them on their overall experience.

The results of this unique study were really interesting:

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Don’t blink or you might miss it.

Last week, it was reported that Mars and Duracell are each airing two six-second television ad spots during this Sunday’s Teen Choice Awards. Fox announced that the ads, which take the place of a single 15 or 30-second ad, will be part of new 29-second pods that will begin by telling viewers to stay-put for four six-second ads.

The reasoning behind this move should come as no surprise - today’s teens show a clear preference for short-form content and clearly seem to be influenced by short ad lengths.

But the news underscores a bigger issue - are demographics the key driver of shorter ad lengths?

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Digital video is quickly becoming the new hero of the ad world, thanks to its combination of the power of TV and the targetability of digital.

But in a fragmented media environment, with consumers viewing content across multiple screens, executing video buys can be a complicated undertaking. For maximum effectiveness, audiences need to be targeted and pieced together from a number of sources. Hence, digital video requires multiple buying styles, unlike the relative ease of buying a TV timeslot.

Programmatic approaches can help manage these complexities. Savvy marketers are making it their business to not only understand programmatic principles, but to flip traditional planning and buying methods, by partnering with the major supply sources to effectively plan for the best outcomes and ensure brand safety.

If you’re confused on best practice for planning video across screens, here are five tips to help navigate the minefield.

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More people are paying for more streaming video. Netflix’s Reed Hastings and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos have insisted that people owning multiple subscriptions will be the norm. On Netflix’s recent Q2 earnings call, Hastings emphasized that Amazon’s success in certain markets has not taken away from Netflix’s.
 
A recently published report from IBB Consulting shows the underlying trends behind these claims, revealing that half of paid streaming users subscribe to at least two services. Streaming users are also prepared to spend on additional services or even pay more for the subscriptions they already have. In fact, based on average SVOD pricing, a majority (61%) of SVOD subscribers are willing to pay at least 20% more for their favorite service. 29% of paid OTT video subscribers plan to add an additional paid service within the next six months.

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When an uncharted territory is discovered, it’s human nature to want to explore it. Consumers’ dramatic adoption of digital video presents just such a new frontier for programmatic advertising: how to leverage Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) to help media providers effectively commercialize the high-quality, long-form video experiences that consumers love.

Digital advertising is booming, and spending on digital video in particular is hitting new heights. This year, marketers in the U.S. will spend more money on digital ads than on TV1 and digital spend in the U.S. will grow 15.9 percent—an additional $83 billion in revenue. Perhaps more remarkably, by 2020, fully half of the rising spend on digital video will transact via programmatic channels in automated marketplaces.

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Execs from broadcasters, content owners and tech companies recently joined 100,000 of their peers at the NABShow 2017 convention in Las Vegas. A key focus for many at the show was how to drive breakthrough multiscreen experiences, get consumers to engage more and fully monetize the many opportunities that are emerging.

During the Online Video Conference's “Breaking Through With New TV Experiences” session I moderated, attendees heard about the latest efforts underway by industry leaders to bring more personalization, discoverability and innovation to content delivery. Consumers have an incredible range of choices of multiscreen services that now span beyond VOD and linear to include fast-evolving OTT offerings. Representatives from Comcast Technology Solutions, Amazon, Gracenote and TiVo joined the discussion to shed insight into ongoing work, challenges ahead and what it takes to deliver industry-leading multi-screen experiences. Panelists also pulled back the curtain on the back-end capabilities that will be required to support these increasingly complex services.

 
IBB Consulting works closely with operators and content owners to help design and execute multiscreen distribution strategies. Many of the efforts and activities that we heard about from the panelists are being undertaken or considered by a range of stakeholders today.

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There’s a lot happening in programmatic video advertising today – new ad formats, new measurement standards and new placements. For a major multinational brand that’s relatively new to the medium, there’s a lot to consider.

It’s even more perplexing in an industry that tends to promote "the next big thing" before it’s really ready for prime time. A classic example of this was when the industry was poised to abandon Flash and head full-tilt into HTML5, when most of the available inventory was still exclusively in Flash. Today, there’s so much talk about connected TV and native video, many brand advertisers may be adding budget lines for these shiny new objects.

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