According to Forrester Research, online video will jump by 23% in 2013 to a total market value of about $3.6B – with RTB representing 19% of that spend. What’s more, in-stream video ads have shown to generate a 4-6x+ higher CTR over display, rich media and mobile. Those are just a few reasons MediaMath is so excited about our upcoming video release, which will be live in August.
For many of our clients – especially those focused on direct-response – video may be unfamiliar territory, but rest assured that in the coming weeks and months we’ll be providing guidance and best practices for developing video campaigns that work toward your unique goals.
Here are a few tips to get you started.
1. Plan holistically. Treat video with the same level of preparation, if not more, like you would any other campaign channel from the planning stage forward. Define your goals as part of your larger campaign objectives, including how you plan to measure performance of your video buys and what tools you want to use to do it. Especially if your campaign will be coordinated across other channels such as social or display and mobile (even TV) consolidating your reporting into one tool is vital. You’ll want to coordinate budgets, frequency caps, goals and optimization across all components – not in silos. For instance, managing brand fatigue is more efficient and less cumbersome when a global cross channel frequency cap can be utilized. Consider mixing up impression types as you set frequency limits, perhaps weighing more heavily toward engagement-rich video ads.
2. Segment creatively. Video can present new ways to segment your audience – be sure to explore and use them! For example, if you are collecting data on video completion rates you can target partial video viewers separately from 100% video viewers to tailor your messaging. Or consider a sequential user targeting strategy to manage the storytelling aspect of your campaign.
3. Let DR and video mix. Don’t discount video’s power in a DR strategy. Video is the ideal top-of-funnel format for prospecting, building brand affinity, and grabbing brand awareness – vital engagement that could pay off immediately with an action or have an important influence down the funnel when you go for that click. Similarly, be sure you are measuring your video in terms of the goals you care about. Attribution analysis will help you understand how much and where video is contributing to your goals.
4. Watch your context. Perhaps even more than in the display world, video advertisers must be mindful of both the good and the bad sides of context. With users spending more time watching your video and investing more emotionally in the experience, you want to stay clear of publisher environments that will negatively impact that association. On the other hand, rich and relevant content can work in the reverse, reaching consumers in a positive context when they are in an ideal mindset to explore what your brand has to offer. Consider using contextual targeting, brand safety tools or site list targeting to manage ad placements.
5. Target, then verify. Video CPMs are typically higher than display, so you want to really be sure your buys are hitting your target. Explore the various audience measurement packages such as those from Nielsen and comScore to measure your targeting success and make adjustments as needed.
Of course, MediaMath’s new video release will support just these kinds of best practices – with holistic workflows, a full range of targeting strategies, data management, and cohesive measurement capabilities to help you seamlessly ad video into your online advertising mix. We would love to hear from you! What’s on your video roadmap for 2013 and beyond?