In this week’s Week in Review: AppNexus and Microsoft partner for video advertising, Snapchat has an eventful week and eMarketer acquired by Axel Springer. To receive a weekly summary of industry news and other VAN interviews and videos, sign up to the weekly Video Round-Up.
AOP’s Premium Publisher Alliance Tech Acquired by Intrinsic Europe
The Association of Online Publishers, today announced that it has sold its premium publisher aggregated solution, Symmachia Ltd, for an undisclosed amount to programmatic experts Intrinsic Europe. Intrinsic has been the managed service provider for the Alliance from the outset, and has invested in providing an outsourced operations and billing function during that time. The deal will see AOP remain a licensee for the Alliance, and they will provide ‘continued support and goodwill’.
Intrinsic say they will be reviewing the current offering and ‘will work to deliver a proposition that has evolved in line with new technologies and trading practices’. The Alliance will remain powered by Appnexus and will continue to work with yield optimisation company Alephd.
Facebook May Go ‘All Video’, Tracks Ad Shopping Effectiveness
Several new measurement tools that will allow stores to see how many people visit a store location after seeing a Facebook campaign are being rolled out on the social media site. The features also allow for optimising ad creative, delivery and targeting based on store visits and see results across individual stores or regions to better optimise ad campaigns. Facebook has also introduced 360 degree videos to its social networking site as Vice President of Facebook in Europe, the Middle East and Africa Nicola Mendelsohn, suggested that the social networking site will “probably be all video” in five years.
Snapchat Overhauls Ad API, Partners with Oracle and Moat
Messaging app Snapchat has released three updates designed to appeal to marketers and make it easier for companies to get video views. The updates include the recent addition of many new partners such as TubeMogul, Amobee and Truffle Pig, streamlined ad formats and the addition of serving ads between stories. Snapchat has also agreed a partnership with Oracle and Moat to measure the impact of its advertising.
Videology and AOL To Integrate Rogers Media Linear TV Inventory
Canadian Rogers Media’s linear TV inventory is set to be integrated into Videology’s company’s DETV™ software, allowing for programmatic access and the ability to leverage data for advanced targeting capabilities. The partnership allows clients to use Videology’s platform to build custom linear TV advertising plans in real time. AOL has also partnered with the Canadian company to create a programmatic marketplace in Canada.
AppNexus and Microsoft Partner For Video Advertising
Advertising technology company, AppNexus, and Microsoft have expanded their global technology partnership to include video. Under the terms of the partnership, Microsoft will adopt AppNexus’ Video Supply Side Platform (SSP) to monetise video inventory in select markets. AppNexus has also partnered with Taboola. The news comes alongside reports that Microsoft will also acquire social media site LinkedIn. Microsoft has pledged to continue the LinkedIn brand and its chief executive Jeff Weiner will remain in position, reporting to the chief executive of Microsoft.
Adform Hires Some of Rubicon’s Top Brass in EMEA
Adform has announced the dual appointment of Jay Stevens and Oliver Whitten (both formerly of Rubicon Project) to C-level roles within the Denmark-based outfit. The duo join as as chief revenue officer (CRO) and chief operating officer (COO) respectively. Both played a significant role in the global expansion of former employers Rubicon Project.
eMarketer Acquired by Axel Springer
Analytics company eMarketer has agreed to being acquired by German company Axel Springer. The deal will expand Axel Springer’s presence in the US while giving eMarketer an expanded reach in international markets, particularly Europe.
True[X] and Kik Partner For Video Messaging
In a partnership with messaging app Kik, True[X] will begin to integrate 15-second interactive video ads that allow Kik users to exchange attention for digital goods via Kik Points, the platform’s virtual currency. As with the video ads it places on platform partners such as Hulu, True[X]’s Kik ads aren’t “forced views,” like unskippable pre-roll.
European Video Monetisation Driven By Entertainment
There has been continued growth year-over-year of video ad views and video views (+24 per cent and +24 per cent, respectively), marking 21 consecutive quarters of growth, Freewheel’s Q1 2016 Video Monetisation Report has found. The report also shows that 63 per cent of monetisation now occurs outside desktop environments, so on tablets, smartphones, OTT, and STB VoD.
AOL Appoints New Video and Multimedia Head
Dawn Kelly has been appointed the new Head of Video & Multimedia Production at AOL UK. The appointment is part of a broader expansion of the video team at AOL to meet the growing consumer demand for editorial, original and branded short and long form video across AOL properties.
Mobile Video Ads Work Best Embedded in Articles
Eye-tracking technology has shown that certain types of video ads on publishers’ websites perform better than those on social media, a study from Teads.tv has found. The report showed that users spent 24 per cent more time watching video ads within content on websites than they did watching video ads in social feeds. The results showed that ad recall was twice as high for in-article video as it was for skippable preroll and drove purchase intent 27 per cent higher than skippable preroll ads or video ads in social feeds.
YouTube Bigger Than TV
YouTube reaches more 18-to-34-year-old Brits on mobile alone than any commercial TV channel, according to a study from online measurement firm comScore and BARB. This data was based on “monthly averages” in the first quarter or 2016.
Viewers Demand Higher Quality Video
Buffering and slow join times on VOD lead to drop-offs of 40 per cent or more, the Ooyala Q1 Video Index has shown. The report also shows that nearly one in five of all mobile views are now on tablets, the third consecutive quarter of growth.
Measurement of Viewability Continues to Rise
Over half of marketers are now using VCPM (cost per viewable impression) to assess the success of their ad placements, a report from Sublimeskinz has found. However, the study revealed that there are still significant limitations to the current measurement standards and more progress still needs to be made.
Internet Ad Revenues Hit Record Highs
U.S internet ad revenues reached a first quarter record of $15.9bn this year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). The IAB have said that the growth marks the highest first quarter year-over-year jump in the past four years.
Desktop Mobile Consumption Continues to Fall
Web consumption on desktops continues to fall , whilst mobile established itself as the dominant platform in 2015, according to Zenith Media’s Consumption Forecasts. The amount of time people around the world devote to using mobile internet will increase by 27.7 per cent this year, driving a 1.4 per cent increase in overall media consumption.
Brands Prefer YouTube Stars Over Celebrity
Marketers are more interested in working with social influencers like YouTubers over traditional celebrities, a study from the app Takumi has found. The study, a survey of over 500 industry professionals, showed that 38.3 per cent of PR and marketing experts said they worked with social media influencers on brand campaigns across platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Non-Branded Searches Ruled By Crackle and Yidio
Crackle and Yidio came top in findings on paid searches of streaming video services, according to AdGooroo. Sony brand Crackle and Yidio came first and second respectively in a study of 57 non-branded streaming video keywords from March 9 through June 6, including the terms ‘streaming movies’, ‘free movie streaming’ and ‘online movies’.
VR Video to Become Mainstay of Streaming Video
Fifty-two per cent of companies that already offer OTT services say they are getting ready to launch or have already launched VR-video content, indicating that VR is expected to become a mainstay of streaming video, a study from Level 3 Communications conducted by Unisphere Research, in partnership with Streaming Media, has found. Researchers have also found potential barriers to adoption including lack of consumer access to players, delays in the availability of VR devices and bandwidth limitations for OTT VR content delivery.
Kik Users Spend An Hour A Day On App
Users of the Kik messenger app spend up to an hour a day on the app alone, the Attention Metric produced by Kik has discovered. The Attention Metric can’t look at what content users are sharing, it can look at chat behaviour and how long and often users send messages.
New Ad Targeting Tool Makes Pinterest Ads More Effective
Three new types of ad targeting aimed at helping brands fine-tune their Promoted Pins are available on Pinterest. Pinterest is letting marketers plug in their own data to create more sophisticated campaigns, such as being able to target ads more specifically to users.
18-24 Year Olds Use Social Media as Primary News Source
Twenty-eight per cent of 18-24 year olds cite social media as their primary source of news, research from the Reuters Institute for Journalism Research has found. The report, based on a YouGov survey, found that when asked if they used social media as a secondary news source the proportion of positive responses increased to 51 per cent, fuelled by the saturation of mobile phones.
SVoD Viewing Habits to Change But Spend Will Rise
U.S. over-the-top and subscription video-on-demand revenues are set to rise substantially in the next five years, according to PwC’s “Global entertainment and media outlook 2016-2020: US edition”. This rise comes amid major changes for how people watch TV and video, according to the report.
Eight Billion Connected Devices Globally
The world now contains 8.1 billion connected smartphones, tablets, personal computers, TVs, TV-attached devices and audio devices, the IHS “Connected Device Market Monitor” report has found. On average, across the globe, this device base equates to four devices per household.
BBC Enters VR Market
The BBC has poated a number of its Virtual Reality experiments to BBC Taster, its platform for experimental ideas. These “true VR” pieces mark a step forward in the UK public broadcaster’s experiments with the technology.
Nokia To Acquire Gainspeed
US-based start-up specialising in DAA (Distributed Access Architecture) solutions is set to be acquired by Nokia. Gainspeed’s Virtual CCAP solution would strategically diversify Nokia’s product portfolio for cable access customers and expand Nokia’s footprint in this market.
YouTube Director Is Video Ad Creation Suite For Businesses
Businesses can connect more with their customers over YouTube with the video company’s new Director, a video ad creation suite for businesses. The suite of products are three products that make video ads more accessible to businesses, which include making video ads on mobile phones and automated video ads.
Traditional TV Viewing Declines
Consumers will devote more time to mobile internet consumption, which will decrease the time spent watching traditional TV, ZenithOptimedia has found. TV still remains the world’s most popular viewing medium, accounting for 41 per cent of media consumption in 2015.
Millicom and Netflix in Latin America Partnership
Latin America and Africa dedicated media company, Millicom, has entered into a strategic partnership with Netflix. The pairing will bring Netflix app preloads to Android smartphones from TigoSmart and provide promotions to TigoStar and TigoSmart customers in Latin America.
Snapchat Video Ads Outperforms Rivals
On three metrics, visual attention, emotional response and purchase intent, Snapchat has beaten its social media rivals to have the best performing ads on its platform, according to research conducted by MediaScienceLabs and commissioned by Snapchat. The study observed the usage behaviours of 320 participants on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and traditional TV.
Over 800 Million Hours Spent Watching esports
esports fans consumed a total of 803.7 million hours of esports league and event content on Twitch in the past ten months, according to research from Newzoo. During this period, esports content accounted for between 14 per cent to 31 per cent of total hours watched on Twitch.
Sky and Vodafone Create New Zealand Communications Group
Vodafone and Sky have reached an agreement to create a leading integrated telecommunications and media group in New Zealand, via a combination of SKY and Vodafone New Zealand Limited. The combined group plans to create more content offerings for consumers, as well as more attractive offers in terms of mobile and broadband.
Five Million Australians Have Netflix
Nearly all subscribing homes in Australia are paying for the Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service Netflix, with 5 million people in the country signing up. 891,000 Australians now have access to Stan through 332,000 subscriptions and Foxtel’s SVoD offering Presto now reaches 353,000 people in 142,000 subscribing homes. Netflix’s latest ISP Speed Index shows Belgium has climbed up to third place.
360 Degree Video Live Streaming on YouTube
Streambox has begun 360 degree live video streaming on YouTube. In order to make a live 360 stream easy to setup and use 360 integrates real time lens distortion correction, video stitching, and compression, eliminating the need to purchase third-party software.
Ten Per Cent Generate Sixty Per Cent of Video Traffic
Ten percent of users generate sixty percent of long-form and forty-three percent of short-form video sessions, a study monitoring twenty-four hours of digital life from YuMe has found. The study also found that smartphones are the most prevalent household device, surpassing PCs as the most prevalent household device, while streaming media players recorded the biggest growth among all video device types in 2015. Tablets have the highest reach among monthly video streamers.
Nearly a Quarter of Millennials are Only OTT Households
Twenty-three per cent of millennial households are OTT only, Parks Association reports. This number is higher than the national average of 15 per cent among all US broadband households, and 61 per cent of millennials subscribe to both pay-TV and OTT services, also higher than average.
Independent Production Companies Struggle With Connectivity
Most companies are relying on low-cost consumer broadband, a survey of how independent production companies view their connectivity services, undertaken by the Digital Production Partnership (DPP), has found.
FCC Upholds Open Internet Rules
A US appeals court has upheld regulator the FCC’s Open Internet rules. If enacted, the rules will reclassify broadband telecommunications services, subjecting them to stronger regulation and banning them from paid prioritisation of internet ‘fast lanes’.
This Week on VAN:
Branded Content on the Hooligan Frontlines: Boyle Sports’s Euro 2016 Tie-Up with Stan Collymore, read more on VAN
It’s Time For a Revolution In Video Monetization Latency, read more on VAN
How to Solve the Linear TV and VOD Advertising Puzzle, read more on VAN
Ad of the Week: Big Narstie, Don’t F*ck my Future, Adam & Eve DDB et. al
As the EU referendum debate looms, celebrities urge younger voters to participate in three quirky videos starring Big Narstie, Lily Cole and Keira Knightly.
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