Digital Video Instead Of Television. Audiences Are Shifting!
The consumption of digital video is increasing with each day. This happens at the expense of a decreasing television audience. It’s a sign of growth potential in terms of monetizing digital revenue.
Most digital-video viewers are mobile users. There are a number of reasons why:
- The growing popularity of smartphones.
- Wi-Fi zones are everywhere.
- Phone-subscription data plans are getting bigger without changes in pricing.
- More and more publishers opt for a mobile-first approach, which makes using the internet on your phone much easier.
Mobile vs. desktop
The proportion of devices used when browsing the web is changing as well.
The number of mobile users seems to be outgrowing desktop users. Experts forecast that the trend will sustain. According to MAGNA Reports, mobile will be dominant by 2022. This isn’t something anyone would have guessed when smartphones first came out!
Magna Global
Mobile advertising (ad sales generated through smartphone impressions and clicks) grew by +31% this year to reach $71bn. This is now more than television and twice as much as desktop-based revenues. It reflects the ever-growing role smartphones have taken in our lives. Meanwhile, desktop-based ad sales declined by -4% hit by lower consumption and by adblocking.
Publishers should definitely take this into account when planning a strategy for their business in the next three or four years. How will the future of advertising look?
Desktop gives more ad impressions per session, for lower eCPM. Video has up to 10x higher eCPM, but significantly lower volumes. As a publicist, it is often difficult to create video content to show pre- or mid-roll. This is also why we now see very large growth around out-stream formats, i.e. to display moving ads in a banner. Also, integrated players on the page without content are becoming more popular now.
When video advertising came out a few years ago, it was a format few wanted to deal with. Now, statistics from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)’s AdEx Benchmark report show how the numbers change!
Rewarded ads
Another interesting way to increase the advertising layer for video is the concept of rewarded ads. It started a few years ago within mobile game apps, where users could opt to watch a video ad in exchange for free play, extra lives, more points, etc.
This now applies not only to games but news publishers that have a site, specially adapted for mobile, where you can find full-page video ads in between swiping through articles. Users must watch the short video ad to continue on to the content. This is exactly how TV and radio advertising has worked throughout time. You have advertising breaks, and then you can continue to watch and listen.
Growth Manager & Co-Founder
