Q1 has seen nothing but an uplift in online video advertising and there’s no doubt that currently everyone is excited about video ads. Publishers are able to sell an interactive ad format to brands that and brands are able to experiment with a new type of advertising that can engage the user to become part of the experience.

To put in perspective on a global scale, Deloitte predicts a 56.4% year-on-year ad spend growth in the UK, making the market incredibly optimistic. Similarly, Brightroll’s annual video survey revealed last year that 69% of advertisers believed online video advertising was more effective than social media.

So what does this mean for media spending? 

Nielson, a global information and measurement company, produced this graph for a better understanding of the industry.

Online video ad spending is predicted to nearly double in only four years from $4.14 billion dollars in 2013 to $8.04 billion by 2016, a 25% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

One might be quick to jump stating this is the end of TV; however, advertisers are often seeing online video campaigns as an addition to TV advertising and part of an integrated 360 marketing campaign rather than a full-on replacement (See: Gillette How To Series Campaign). To simplify,  display advertising is getting gutted while TV ads are experiencing a thinning and although TV is not going away, the money between the two is getting split from a budget once dedicated only to TV.

Canadians have always been internet savvy, leading the pack and we are still among the world’s most devout users of online video advertising as stated to a new report by Baltimore-based digital advertising firm Videology.

Videology’s report states that Canada continues to outpace other global markets in terms of “cross-device” video advertising. Across all devices, online video advertising in Canada grew 119% on a year-on-year basis, with online video advertising on PCs/computers seeing 63% year-on-year growth.

The industries taking advantage of using online video are diverse; however, it is consumer packaged goods companies who maintained at the top, followed by automotive, beverave alcohol and entertainment.

It’s also substantial to note that popularity of online video contributes to its ability to target not only with age and gender but also location and behavioural targets. This has contributed to 95% of advertisers using some form data-driven targeting in the first quarter, a 13% increase over the fourth quarter of 2012. See VMG’s campaign for Longo’s Leaside launch targeting a 7km radius. 

Additional highlights from the Q1 Canadian Video Market Statistics:

• In Q1 of 2012, 30 second spots accounted for 37% of all online video advertising. In Q1 of 2013, 30-second spots were up over 52%.
• 72 percent of video buyers’ budgets for the medium increased in the last year.
• The average spending increase of those whose video budgets rose was 53 percent, compared with just 20 percent the year previous.
• Of those whose video budgets increased, 39 percent of buyers shifted spending from TV budgets compared with just 27 percent in 2012.  Similarly, 41 percent of buyers shifted money from display advertising to fund increases in online video.
• The average amount of TV spending tapped for the increase in online video was 11 percent.
• 76 percent of marketers plan to add video to their sites, making it a higher priority than Facebook, Twitter and blog integration.

Exciting times for the Canadian online video landscape! 

Awhile back I attended a copywriting workshop where the instructor proposed a question regarding the constant evolving marketing industry and technological advances. As he went around the room seeking an answer, he wanted our input on what we thought was the best business to consumer strategy. While I looked around, I could see people staggering to his question unable to provide a solid response realizing that perhaps it was no longer so easily defined… As we all further discussed this, the only concrete observation we were able to conclude with indicated that companies are now more than ever investing in 360 marketing and incorporating new nontraditional media channels. Social media and digital distribution are becoming a necessity as they are now greatly integrated with TV and print in attempts to continuously engage the public and acquire every possible wandering eye (and finger) …

So which one is most effective? Well that’s yet another question to which the answer is not straight forward but speculations often lead in the same direction. The speed in which trends evolve on the internet can often be baffling; however, with more and more Canadians increasing their time spent online specifically on social media websites, social media marketing is definitely experiencing a steady and fast paced accumulation.

Marketing Magazine hosted a study which found that social networks get a lot of press and are becoming the dominant communications tool therefore making the increasing concentrations of people at these types of websites very attractive to online marketers and businesses. For example, 56% of all online Canadians now have a social network profile up from 39% just 18 months ago and of those with a social network profile, 85% are with Facebook.

“As the consumer continues to spend increasing amounts of time in the digital world, businesses and marketers are paying increasing attention to the Internet,” says study author Mark Laver. “However, online social networks tend to be extremely personal and this creates a dilemma for marketers and businesses—how to communicate in a personalized setting without upsetting the target audience.”

This leads us to the next question:

How (and why) should marketers use social media to their advantage?

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YouTube is the premier destination in watching and sharing online videos. Increasingly companies have been jumping on the bandwagon and using YouTube in order to reach their target markets, as well as develop interactive relationships with their audience. It appears as though everyone has migrated online.

The core reasons for YouTube’s success lay in unique areas that cannot be covered by traditional marketing methods. YouTube is more effective for both the consumer and advertiser because of an instant lead to a product/service through a website, an interaction with the audience (unlike TV + print), cheaper cost,  and it’s unrestricted availability 24/7 at the consumer’s convenience. What other method of advertising can you say that about?

Success stories:

“ Family Guy”
Seth MacFarlane of “Family Guy” and Media Rights Capital knew they needed to be creative and break through the online cluster so they created a web-only collection of episodes called ‘ Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy’. Instead of simply building a website and hoping people stumble upon it, they pushed the content to the public by creating YouTube channels that were distributed through out YouTube and Google’s Content Network.
End result? In just a short time, ‘ Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy’ became one of the most popular phenomena on the web.

Lionsgate
In promotion of “ Forbidden Kingdom”  Lionsgate  did not simply want to be airing trailers on TV. They also made sure to take their Internet presence beyond simply the film’s website. The Google ad network extended the reach everywhere from search ads to buzz targeting. It gave a reason for the audience to “come back” to view the brand. And come back they did, 3 million times.

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I recently read an article from the Wall Street Journal about Viral Video that instantly sparked some interest. It focused mainly around Judson Laipply, or as most would know him, the guy from “The Evolution of Dance” video. The article explains that when he uploaded his video on YouTube in the spring of 2006 he had little to no idea what a viral video was or the amount of success he was about to receive. Without any advertising at all the video spread across the Internet eventually reaching 100 million + views.

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