There are reasons to be excited about what’s trending in video. From compelling content to expanding audience sizes, digital video, which includes TV shows, movies, news and ads is experiencing its fair share of healthy growth.
There are reasons to be excited about what’s trending in video. From compelling content to expanding audience sizes, digital video, which includes TV shows, movies, news and ads is experiencing its fair share of healthy growth.
As technology advances, so do users interactions with it. US adults are spending an hour and 13 minutes per day viewing digital video. While digital video use increases, time spent watching traditional TV continues to decline. Thus, marketers have responded by investing in digital video and video ads to reach audiences. By 2021, eMarketer forecasts advertising spend on this channel to grow to $22.18 billion – a 40 percent increase from where it is today. Below are key factors driving digital video growth and insights for each.
Spoiler alert: video is a hit among Millennials
Millennial audiences have a different definition of what “television” is relative to previous generations. According to research from and Hulu, they’ve redefined TV viewing as watching video via a digital source. As a result, content curators like YouTube, Netflix and Hulu that serve audiences with video-on-demand have built a loyal following among young users. Some Millennials cite lack of interest in traditional TV programming while others list cost as reason to utilize digital video over more traditional TV options.
For brands, these insights are crucial pieces of information for crafting an appropriate advertising strategy for video. If your goal is to reach Millennials and younger audiences, there’s plenty of data that demonstrates utilizing video is paramount and the good news is this audience is open and accepting of ads as a way to pay for their favorite digital programming. In fact, Millennials are 112% more likely to share video ads they like online as compared to other demographic groups.
Digital video powers the cord-cutting charge
The emergence of online video platforms such as YouTube, Hulu and Netflix have helped power the cord-cutting movement, i.e cancelling a cable television subscription in favor of digital video options.
In fact, eMarketer projects cord-cutters to grow by 30 percent – from 15.4 million people in 2017 to 21.8 million in 2020. As these audience members move away from traditional TV subscriptions, opportunity exists to message to them via digital video ads through their platform of choice.
For brands looking to employ an advertising strategy on any digital platform, it’s worth paying close attention to how the content is consumed. For example, users prefer viewing YouTube on mobile rather than desktop. More than three-times as many YouTube videos are watched on mobile devices compared to desktop computers. In contrast, most of Hulu’s audience consumes content in a traditional living room setting. With Hulu invested in long-form pieces of content that lead to binge viewing marathons, it’s no surprise that more than 75 percent of their video is watched on bigger screens.
Thus, if you are a marketer looking to employ digital video, ensure your message is crafted to work best in the platform most used by the audience rather than a one size fits all approach. Along with viewing habits, engagement rate is paramount to understand. Not all video ad lengths perform equal across all platforms. For example, eMarketer data notes Facebook videos ads that were between 30 and 60 seconds performed better than videos less than 30 seconds for Q2 of 2016.
Evolving technology & services
The creation of and research into new technologies and digital video offerings will continue to give audiences reasons to abandon traditional TV. Live video powered by Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat have provided audiences opportunities to consume live content without relying on traditional TV. Virtual and augmented reality present experiences not currently available through traditional TV offerings but possible as digital platforms continue to expand services. The success of Pokemon Go illustrates virtual reality can be accessible to mass users. As these video technologies emerge, there is little doubt opportunities for marketers will be created.
As digital video consumption continues to rise, marketers must continue to focus on who the audience is and how they interact with each platform rather than a one size fits all approach. To create messaging that resonates, focus should be placed on audience habits when determining video length, message and campaign goals.
Curious for more trends and help figuring out where to start with digital video? Awlogy can help. Reach out to us today.
