Are video ad units as innovative as presented? Considered as the Eldorado of digital advertising, video has experienced a real boom in recent years. But what is it really? In this article, we tell you everything there is to know about video advertising. Follow the guide!
The early days of video advertising
In the 30’s, the profession of advertiser developed, but it was only after the democratization of television in the 1960’s that advertising really took off with the first video advertising spots. From then on, video advertising grew exponentially.
Then the arrival of the Internet gave a new breath to advertising. From SMS to social media posts and emails, the communication channels for marketers are constantly growing.
From those first TV spots to today, video has also evolved. Technological innovations are constantly improving the quality of videos and innovations are improving the messages distributed so as not to shock consumers with a commercial message that is too strong. This includes storytelling, a method that is becoming more and more widespread.
Today, Youtube is taking over the distribution of videos with its vast choice. YouTube’s success is not because people prefer to watch videos online; it is because YouTube uses search and recommendation technology to provide a platform where anyone can share their content, creating an environment for the knowledge economy. The primary purpose of Youtube is not advertising, but rather social interaction between people sharing their content. Remember, Youtube is primarily considered as a social network.
Video ads are concentrated on this platform. Advertisers use Youtube to display ads relevant to the user’s interests, and they target them with a number of behavioral and demographic information.
Nevertheless, we can observe a growth of video ads on sites through many new ad units made available by ad networks to publishers.
The different ad units available
Video advertising has been popular for a long time. But its popularity is increasing since they can be watched in different ways and are more attractive than some other formats.
The most popular video ad units include pre-roll, banners, native outstream and deactivatable. Pre-roll videos are displayed before the content on a website or an app. Video banners are displayed at the top of an article or a page with a link to the advertiser’s website. Outstream videos are integrated into websites or apps without another link; they play seamlessly with the site interface.
While brands continue to change their advertising strategies and their online budgets, video ads have become a necessity. This switch in performance marketing created new opportunities for advertisers to enhance the engagement and conversions thanks to the video.
The most efficient video ad unit
Video ad units are developing little by little and are offered by an increasing number of SSPs. Their integration to your website will not pose any problem of accessibility to our panel of partners.
In-text
This in-text format is quite special. Thanks to its placement in the text, the video ad is not subject to the user’s will, it starts when the format appears on the screen or when the mouse hovers over it. Easy to set up, it is strategically located between two paragraphs and can thus capture the attention of the reader during his reading. Compatible desktop & mobile, this non-intrusive video ad unit diversifies greatly from other static advertising formats such as the banner or the skyscraper. However, the effectiveness of this format will depend on the originality of the creation and the attractiveness of the visual produced by the advertiser.
The format standard for digital advertising requires banners, text ads and video ads. There are many types of digital ad units with different requirements, such as mobile-friendly formats or responsive formats. To find out about other ad units we offer, visit the dedicated section of our website.