Editor’s Note: This article is part of our 2019 Preview feature, which looks at the big topics facing the industry next year. Click here for the 2019 preview in the wireless industry, click here for the 2019 preview in the video industry and click here for the 2019 preview in the wireline industry.
Video advertising has undergone countless changes since the advent of the television commercial break. 2019 will continue the trend toward more targeted, relevant ads being served across more screens.
Ad-supported streaming platforms can stand on the shoulders of giants like YouTube and Hulu and keep growing by attracting more premium content. Facebook Watch could expand its audience in 2019, while AVOD services like Tubi, Pluto and Xumo along with platforms such as Roku snag more partnerships and distribution deals.
At the same time, traditional programmers like NBCUniversal will offer better targeting for their ads, and broadcasters will start using ATSC 3.0 technologies to take in viewership data that can be used to make television ads more addressable.
David George, CEO of cross-platform advertising firm Pixability, said that even as the video ad ecosystem becomes more fragmented in 2019, the keys will remain reaching consumers on their mobile and living room screens.
"Advertisers will have to take a hard look at their video strategy to understand how to optimize holistically from mobile to living room—and most often, they'll need to rebalance their investment across an incredibly vast array of platforms, creatives, personas and devices. This complexity is a challenge, but marketers shouldn't shy away from it—by looking to the data, marketers can figure out what’s working, develop a calculated approach, and deploy a winning strategy to impact their audiences,” George said.
Jerem Febvre is co-founder and president in the Americas for Sublime, a company specializing in tech for delivering digital ads. He reiterated the importance of video advertising on mobile and said high-impact ad units with video embedded will become more prevalent on mobile screens in 2019.
" … High impact is more critical for user engagement and marketer success. Marketers will increasingly tailor their mobile experiences to leverage user-initiated high impact ad units that incorporate short dedicated video content that is more mobile friendly," Febvre said.
As video advertising continues to evolve and become more dynamic and personalized, old truths such as peoples' love of staring at their phones and TVs will remain the same. — Ben | @fierce__video