65% Of Advertisers Say Online Video Delivers Better Results Than TV [Report]

BY: 

Dave Forde
September 28, 2012

As online advertising continues to grow quarter by quarter, advertisers and marketers are paying more attention to the opportunities with online video as a way to help connect brands with consumers.  Digital video advertising company BrightRoll released their 2012 Canada Video Advertising Report as part of last week’s IAB Canada Mixx Conference, this is the second year for the report which gathers insight from more than 100 advertising executives at top agencies across Canada, addresses emerging trends in digital advertising and highlights significant changes taking place within the industry.

Last year’s findings revealed Canadian advertisers had been slow to match advertising dollars to the increasing viewership of digital video. The 2012 report highlights Canada’s explosive growth in digital video consumption, where more than 91 percent of the country’s online population – 25 million people – regularly watch videos online, according to comScore. As consumers watch more video online, coupled with the rapid adoption of mobile, Canadian advertisers are re-evaluating their digital media strategies to better engage viewers across the four screens – including online, mobile, tablet and connected TV. This year, 45 percent of survey respondents indicate that more than half of their RFPs during the last year included a digital video ad component, a 10 percent increase from 2011.

Digital video ads are more than just in demand – they are delivering results. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of respondents say digital video is equally or more effective than traditional television. Furthermore, 82 percent think digital video is more than or as effective as display advertising. But the report indicates there remains a clear need for standard metrics and measurement tools that allow agencies to compare digital video to traditional television in order to demonstrate campaign effectiveness, and in turn, drive revenue toward online and mobile video advertising.

Targeting continues to be an essential area of interest for Canadian advertisers. While effective, multi-screen targeting capabilities within digital video are the most valued, targeting priorities have started to shift. Behavioral targeting is now most important to advertisers (32 percent) while demographic targeting slipped to 19 percent in 2012 from 32 percent in 2011. Audience targeting has seen the most dramatic shift, from one of the least important forms in 2011 (8 percent) to the second most important in 2012 (20 percent).

“Canada’s digital video landscape has shifted, and is growing at a dramatic pace, making the country a fertile ground for digital marketers and advertisers to invest in digital media,” said Chris Williams, President at IAB Canada. “With digital video established as an integral part of most advertising campaigns, the industry will continue to work toward the creation of standard measurement and actionable success metrics.”

Additional key findings from the report include:

  • Pre-roll continues to dominate across all video platforms – 96 percent of agency respondents say they use pre-roll in online campaigns, 26 percent in mobile and 30 percent in tablet campaigns
  • Looking ahead, 50 percent of respondents predict they will use pre-roll on mobile and 56 percent on tablets in the next year
  • In an effort to deliver the same user experience to consumers across multiple screens, 22 percent of advertisers would like the ability to repeat the same creative across platforms, compared to just 6 percent in 2011
  • When asked to rate their preferred inventory channels, two-thirds of respondents said they prefer to buy video from either broadcasters (50 percent) or ad networks (28 percent)
  • Interestingly, respondents rank the translation of GRP to online video buying (26 percent) as their top area of interest for additional research, yet GRP is deemed the least important success metric (5 percent) for video campaigns

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Dave Forde


Dave “The Connector” Forde has been involved in the marketing, public relations and technology industry across Canada for over 20 years in various sales and marketing roles, he launched The Connected One network of business sites which connects buyers to the right sellers. Profectio and PR In Canada covers news about the marketing and public relations industry each day helping professionals advance their career and businesses. He also serves as an advisor to a number of businesses across the country. Find Dave on LinkedIn and Twitter.


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