“Creating video that supports our core products can deepen our relationship [with consumers],” said Nate Checketts, Co-Founder and CEO of Rhone, at the 2019 IAB Direct Brand Summit. Rhone is a men’s athletic wear company that began with a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model, and Checketts, at the IAB summit, was discussing the benefits of video when advertising on streaming channels. The use of video throughout all available platforms can offer opportunities for brands to deliver content marketing that scales across channels.

4 Advantages Of Using Video Advertising

Video advertising can be advantageous for growing brands, which is part of why video advertising spend is expected to grow 21% year over year (YOY). Understanding the growth of video advertising, and how and where videos resonate with consumers, is important when strategizing video campaign implementation.

Videos Can Be Spliced And Diced And Used Across Channels

At the 2019 IAB Direct Brand Summit, Shane Pittson, Head of Marketing for Quip, a DTC oral care company, commented on the versatility of video. Video has improved drastically throughout the past century, with audiences now expecting sophisticated “sight, sound and motion,” which can require significant financial investment. Marketing Land recently reported on a study from the IAB, which “indicated that content quality is the dominant factor considered when allocating video ad budgets — but it’s also the biggest hurdle impeding spend increases.” The versatility of video across platforms, as mid- and pre-roll spots, used as bumper ads and on company landing pages, can mitigate some of the financial burden of video production and make for wise investments, particularly when statistics show that videos in mobile apps have a click-through rate (CTR) 7.5 times higher than that of display ads.

Email Can Be More Effective With Video

Most marketers are well aware of the benefits of email, even with new marketing channels appearing every day, video in email offers even more effective engagement when deployed using best practices. According to Vidyard, a software company that analyzes video performance, “You [Marketers] can use videos to provide news roundups, advertise events, provide event follow-up, explain products, announce a new release or offer a tutorial. Videos belong in any email where you want to increase opens and conversions.”  

Mobile-First Video Advertising Reaches Younger Audiences

Video and mobile go hand in hand, with online video accounting for more than 59% of all mobile traffic. More than 81% of users watching video will do so on a mobile device, and mobile action codes, like QR codes, often link to video including promos and product demos. Video on mobile is also likely to reach younger consumers more easily. Across generations, 74% of Millennials and 78% of Gen Z say mobile is their “most important” point of contact with the internet.

This growing reliance on mobile means video must be optimized for mobile and, when appropriate, geared toward younger consumers. Millennials and Gen Z favor people-based, authentic video content that looks good and is ideally six to 15 seconds long.  Videos that feel gimmicky or salesy are likely a hard pass for younger consumers who have high standards and know what they like.

Strategic Video Placement Can Offer Built-In Targeting

Video placement with respected partners that have similar audiences can offer a halo effect and “free” targeting, saving advertisers money because they don’t need to pay for additional targeting to hone in on their specific audiences. A video platform with a strong reputation can also offer credibility to new brands looking for name recognition, a factor both Checketts and Pittson indicated as beneficial to their brands when partnering with Hulu. Over-the-top (OTT) advertising with well-known brands like Hulu or Amazon can also allow marketers the use of advanced analytics to help create more personalized ads that cater to household viewing habits. Completion rates for OTT video ads is 98%, higher than other platforms.

Video Should Be A Part Of A Robust Advertising Strategy

In 2017, Mark Zuckerberg called video a “mega trend” comparing it to the growth of mobile. Cisco forecasting and trends predict that “[internet] video traffic will be 82 percent of all [internet] traffic (both business and consumer) by 2022, up from 75 percent in 2017.” Brands and advertisers must implement robust video marketing strategies to stay on trend and in front of eyeballs that are becoming ever more accustomed to video in conjunction with other multi-channel marketing techniques.

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