More Advertisers Using Video in Digital Campaigns

NEW YORK—A majority of advertisers recently surveyed said that 59 percent of their digital budgets are now allocated to video. This represents a “steady rise” since 2016, according to Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)—a trade group comprised of 650 media and technology companies, which conducted the survey.

In its latest market research report, “Digital Content NewFronts: 2018 Video Ad Spend Study,” the IAB—which promotes more effective sales, delivery, and optimization of digital advertising and marketing campaigns—also found that over 50-percent of ad buyers plan to increase their digital and mobile video spending in the next 12 months. Compared to two years ago, this spending has risen 53-percent, to an average of roughly $10 million annually.

Investment in original digital video (ODV) programming has also climbed steadily since 2016 and is expected to surge to 68-percent by the end of 2018. The IAB report claims that 9 out of 10 advertisers consider ODV programming essential to their marketing mix, with a majority saying the online video medium enables them to reach audiences that are not watching linear TV.

[Read: Report: Local TV Faces Growing Competition For Ad Dollars]

Conducted by Advertiser Perceptions in mid-March 2018, the study surveyed 353 ad agency and marketing executives that are involved in their companies’ digital video advertising decision-making, having spent over $1 million on advertising buys in 2017.

“These findings reflect consumers’ enthusiasm for the dynamic storytelling, which original video programming delivers in spades, and the power of the medium to deliver strong ROI,” said Anna Bager, Executive Vice President, Industry Initiatives, IAB. “Marketers’ commitment to digital video—especially original digital video—has been skyrocketing over the past few years.”

Half of the ad execs surveyed also plan to increase spending on social media video advertising in next 12 months, and 44-percent have strong interest in buying interactive ads on connected TV. 

Claudia Kienzle