The online video advertising market will experience its most significant growth to date this year due to advances in measurement techniques, according to a new report from Web TV Enterprise.
The online video advertising network has published its latest bi-annual research into the VOD (video on-demand) industry based on a survey of 160 media buyers. It found that almost three quarters (72%) said they expected their online video advertising spend to increase by 25% or more over the next six months.
“Online video advertising has now become higher on the agenda for advertisers and media buying agencies,” said Jamie Estrin, founder and Managing Director of Web TV Enterprise. “With the elevation of its status, buyers are now demanding more efficient measurement, greater transparency of ad placements and stronger metrics to judge the success of their online video advertising campaigns. With wider video ad metrics being created through the use of VAST ad-serving tags, the measurement of audience and ad placements is going to become more advanced. This will enable online video advertising to move to another level of sophistication, transparency and accountability. The online video market in the UK is changing and growing up. 2011 is going to see its most significant growth spurt yet.”
Web TV Enterprise’s fourth UK Online Video Advertising Market Report saw an increase in the number of digital media buyers embracing VOD, from 36% in September 2010 to 53%. This increase suggests digital buyers are responding to improvements in audience measurement techniques – a long-held barrier to entry for many.
More than three quarters (77%) of media buyers surveyed said their average campaign spend on VOD now exceeds £25,000, with 43% stating an average spend in excess of £50,000. 11% of buyers are now allocating more than £100,000 for their VOD campaigns. Incremental reach to TV (53%) and brand awareness (42%) are advertisers’ primary objectives for using VOD. Direct response featured in just 5% of respondent’s answers.
A third of media buyers stated that 75% or more of their media plans now include VOD – a similar result to last September’s survey – which indicates that VOD is now viewed as a central component of media campaigns as a brand building tool and to extend the reach of TV advertising.
“This report reflects the increasing importance of VOD to our clients,” said Simon Reed, Associate Director at media agency Vizeum. “Our key focus for VOD is to ensure that our advertisers’ campaigns are placed against the highest quality content to reach a specific targeted audience within a brand-safe environment.”
As in previous reports, media buyers reported that barriers to entering the VOD market still existed. 28% said lack of research proving VOD’s effectiveness was the main factor while 23% stated it was their clients.
“The IAB expects 2011 to be a boom year for online video advertising and Web TV Enterprise’s latest report tracking the market is further evidence of this,” said Jack Wallington, Head of Industry Programmes at the IAB. “We know that 2010 was a test year for major brands, and the fact that 11% of brands are now spending over £100,000 on campaigns shows the leaders are moving past testing to add online video as a core line item.”
Source: www.webtventerprise.com