Source: www.marketingcharts.com, March 2021
Marketers are putting more stock in video advertising, with more than half (52%) saying they intended to increase their video spend in the next 12 months. This is according to recently released data from Advertiser Perceptions.
Half (49%) of the more than 280 marketers and agency contacts surveyed ranked video as the most important advertising media, followed by search (19%), social (13%) and display (12%). It’s worth noting that these respondents were all involved in video advertising decision-making, so may have some bias. Nonetheless, more than three-quarters (77%) of those who will be upping their spend on video this year say that video ad spend is increasing at a faster rate than other media.
Where’s the Ad Spend Going?
OTT streaming services are set to benefit the most from the increase in video ad spend. Some 42% of respondents say they will increase their budgets in this area, with spend increasing an average of 15%.
Some 36% of marketers plan to increase their investment in vMVPDs in the next 12 months. as with OTT streaming services, spend on these services, which have seen US subscriber numbers increase, is expected to increase an average of 15%.
On the other hand, only 26% of respondents say they will increase spend on linear TV, with 14% planning, instead, to decrease spend on this channel. However, those that do plan to increase spend on linear TV will increase it by 19% on average.
Although the majority (61%) of marketers say their spend on linear TV will remain the same, and despite findings from a 2020 survey by Viant Technology revealing that about 6 in 10 marketing decision-marketers believed that linear TV ad spend was less effective than it was 5 years ago, the largest percentage (32%) of those who use linear TV believe it is the most valuable tactic. In fact, half as many respondents using social media sites or video sites rated them as most valuable (16% and 15% respectively).
Digital Video Advertising Usage
In 2019, marketers focused a lot of their digital video advertising on video sites and social media sites. However, 2020 saw digital video ads being spread out more evenly across channels. Marketers decreased their use of video ads on video sites and social media and increased it on channels such as DSPs, TV network full episode players, video ad networks and vMVPDs.
One area where digital video advertising usage was virtually unchanged between 2019 and 2020 was streaming services. When it comes to the factors marketers and agencies are considering when selecting a streaming (OTT/CTV) advertising partner, audience reach shows up as a top factor for 55% of respondents (top 3). This is an important point considering that other research revealed that few marketers believe they are reaching the right audience with their video advertising.
Other important factors considered when choosing the right streaming ad partners include the quality of programming (43% selecting within top 3), quality of advertising opportunities (38%), brand safety (35%) and precise audience targeting (35%).
About the Data: Findings are based on a surrey of 284 marketers (42%) and agency contacts (58%). All respondents were 100% involved in video advertising decision-making with an annual ad spending of at least $1 million.
