The current video landscape is being transformed by the confluence of technological innovation and consumer behavior shifts. This new media landscape created by the TV-video shift is increasingly automated, data-driven, addressable, and accountable, where audience is as important as content and context. The perceived dichotomies of television vs. video, broadcast vs. cable, and desktop vs. mobile are breaking down under the pressure of an accelerated convergence of technologies and markets. In a world of endless choices, accessibility, quality content and user experiences are key.
Sight, sound, and motion have always been the most engaging way to reach an audience, and the continued vitality of ad spend in linear TV demonstrates that the compelling nature of television advertising has not abated. The introduction of internet technologies to the TV market has certainly blurred the lines between linear TV and digital video—by introducing more data, addressability, and cross-platform capabilities—but without diminishing TV’s core value proposition. Whether viewed on a connected TV set at home, on a streaming device at the gym, or on a desktop at work, video remains an advertiser’s most powerful tool to connect with audiences, wherever, whenever, and however they may be watching.
When ad buyers—particularly brand advertisers—look at this new media landscape, they see the persistent value of television as a high-reach medium. They also see how valuable digital video is in targeting and delivering cross-platform niche audiences to advertisers, especially younger, tech-savvy, and thus highly desirable demographics. Buying only linear TV would leave out a growing audience that doesn’t necessarily tune in for primetime, but are accustomed to watching video on the go.
A key question continues to vex cross-platform marketers: which screen is most effective for reaching a particular audience or communicating about a particular product? The measurement and attribution side of video marketing is an ongoing challenge facing the converged TV-video space. These market forces have culminated in a critical inflection point, illuminating the industry’s need for a clearer and more detailed understanding of the ongoing interplay between traditional TV and digital video. This Guide to Digital Video Advertising seeks to make sense of those changes.
If TV is increasingly digital, what does digital video mean? What will it become? How can video best be used to reach, engage, and drive actions?
To start tackling these questions, IAB and its members have created this Guide to Digital Video Advertising. The guide seeks to help the industry demystify video by giving publishers, marketers, and brands the tools they need to understand the evolving video landscape. The guide is presented as a reference for all things video in the digital advertising space, providing best practices, thought-leading perspectives, and practical advice on the state of the video advertising ecosystem. It will offer a deep dive into data and targeting, automated buying and selling processes and mobile video, as well as the future of digital video—the New TV. This guide draws extensively from research papers, primers, and standards authored by IAB, IAB Tech Lab, Media Rating Council (MRC), Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG), and a wide range of external research sources. The guide provides links to all current IAB working groups with the hope to promote broader industry participation in advancing video advertising space education.
We encourage our members to read through sections of interest, share the content with their co-workers and social networks, and to communicate feedback and suggest updates to [email protected]. This guide will be updated periodically to reflect the continuing evolution of the digital video advertising marketplace.
The 2017 Guide to Digital Video Advertising was developed by the Digital Video Committee, a working group of the IAB Digital Video Center of Excellence, primary forum for discussing and addressing the challenges that arise from delivering video content and advertising. This comprehensive, practical guide to the current state of digital video is the centerpiece of the working group’s educational mission.
This Guide to Digital Video Advertising would not be possible without the invaluable input of the following contributing IAB member companies:
About the IAB Digital Video Center of Excellence
The IAB Digital Video Center of Excellence—a dedicated unit within IAB—is devoted to the advancement of the digital video medium in the global marketplace. Its board and members reflect a dynamic mix of top television brands, original digital video content producers, pure digital players, digital video technology leaders, and innovative startups spanning the growing digital video programming, marketing, and distribution spectrum. Together with its member companies and in cooperation with the IAB Tech Lab, the IAB Digital Video Center produces technical standards, research, and thought leadership critical to the field. Established in November 2014, the Digital Video Center is based at the New York headquarters of IAB, and membership is open to all IAB member companies.
For more information about the IAB Digital Video Center of Excellence, please visit iab.com/video or email [email protected].