Video investment continues to significantly outpace the rest of the ad market and is set to continue throughout 2021 according to new research. The Attitudes to Digital Video Report released today by IAB Australia found that 68% of agencies expect investment in digital video advertising to increase in 2021. The report also found that 94% of agencies using digital video for increasing brand awareness expressed satisfaction with their campaign results, while the ability of digital advertising to reach audiences at scale was identified as the number one reason why 59% of agencies continue to use or recommend digital video advertising.
IAB also provided a preview of key video advertising data points from its PwC Online Advertising Expenditure Report scheduled to be published in full next week. That report will show that video advertising grew 41 percent in the final quarter of 2020 to reach $642.7 million making it the fastest-growing digital advertising segment, attracting more than half of digital display advertising.
Over the calendar year 2020 digital video advertising investment grew 17% to over $1.9billion.
Video creative and metric alignment were identified in the Attitudes to Digital Video Report as two key areas the industry must focus on to support the continued growth of video advertising. It found that nearly four in ten agencies rarely or never develop digital video advertising creative to the specific media environment. Consensus from leading advertising effectiveness research vendors is that creative is a key driver of campaign effectiveness. Given the strong impact from creative, the potential upside in developing strong impactful video creative adjusted for the media environment is significant.
The Report also found a mismatch between campaign objectives and metrics selected by agencies to measure success. While 81% of agencies use digital video advertising to increase brand awareness, only 38% use brand awareness lift metrics to evaluate their campaign success, opting instead to use delivery metrics such as reach and frequency, completion rates and CPM.
Additional findings from the Video Report include:
Reaching audiences at scale is the number one reason 59% of agencies use or recommend digital video advertising
Increasing brand awareness is the predominant objective for digital video campaigns with 81% of agencies reporting using digital video for increasing brand awareness.
Digital video advertising is also used by agencies to increase purchase/action intent (61%) and increase sales or conversions (47%).
78% of agencies using video advertising for increasing sales or conversions were satisfied with their campaign results
37% of agencies are not yet preparing for people-based marketing that will enable planning, activating, and measuring interactions across media into the future when third-party cookies are no longer available to use.
Gai Le Roy, CEO of IAB Australia commented. “The growth in digital video advertising investment over the last few years has been phenomenal, fuelled by continued innovation in environments, formats as well as an explosion of CTV opportunities. This Report helps to identify key areas for industry focus and development to support the market in 2021 and beyond.”
James Young, Co-Chair of IAB Australia’s Video Council and Managing Director Australia for Magnite said, “The findings of this study further underscore the importance of video as a central part of marketers’ omnichannel advertising strategies. No other advertising medium is more effective for brand building and mass awareness. From our vantage point in the industry, digital video growth is being fueled by the ability buyers have to tap into premium, long-form video with effective reach for their campaigns.”