• by Dan Alexander , October 16, 2012

The Video LUMAscape says it all. The current video marketplace is congested with every kind of intermediary, from DSPs, ad exchanges and video ad networks, to video ad servers and ad creation firms. In just a few years’ time, the world of digital video has reached display’s level of highly congested waters, with hundreds of vendors all vying for the same advertising budgets.

Many video advertisers still view the digital world as the “wild, wild West” of advertising, unsure of what they are getting for their investment. Before video, TV was one of the few visual mediums where advertisers knew that when they bought air time, they were getting a specific audience, at a precise time, for a determined spend.

While navigating the current video landscape can be unnerving, online video is where advertisers are spending their dollars. eMarketer reports video spending jumped from $1.42 billion in 2010 to $2.93 billion in 2012, nearly doubling in two years, and is expected to reach $8.04 billion in 2016.

Now is the time to expand your video comfort zone. Ask these four questions of your video provider to get the most for your spend:

Can you guarantee brand safety?

Unlike TV, online video introduces additional layers of complexity, from choosing the right vendor, to identifying the sites, video product, length, content and platform to advertise your brand. Ask your vendor what level of brand safety assurance they can offer. For example, some vendors filter incoming click traffic to ensure visitors look and behave like humans to prevent malicious click fraud. Make sure your provider is listed as a video compliant network by a leading online media verification company.

What visibility do I have into my campaign?

Earlier in video’s history, there were providers so eager to get video dollars that they neglected to follow the rules for delivering true pre-roll. For instance, they ran a 30-second video spot in a 300 x 250 banner ad below the fold and set to auto-play. You can guess that the experience left a bad taste in advertisers’ mouths. Today many of the leading video vendors assure they will run accurate, high-quality video campaigns on brand-safe inventory. Ask to see your vendor’s publisher approval guidelines. At the end of the day, they should deliver on accountability.

Do you provide brand lift metrics?

Don’t let the wrong vendor deliver your ads to an empty theater. Traditional methods for measuring the effectiveness of online video campaigns used to be relegated to click-throughs and completion rates. Now, brand lift metrics typically applied to display campaigns, such as awareness and intent, are being spoken in video terms. Ask your vendor if they utilize a partner to monitor brand impressions and interactions to ensure your marketing funnel metrics are met.

Is post-campaign reporting provided?

Measured effectiveness will only grow your video comfort zone. Request detailed post-campaign insights with your video buy. Nielsen’s Online Campaign Ratings allow advertisers to measure reach, frequency and GRPs (Gross Ratings Points) with the same methodology used in TV. These insights provide advertisers with the number of people exposed to their campaign by demographic segment, the number of times a person was exposed to the campaign and the total delivery volume of a video message to the target audience, to name a few.

While video dollars are growing, the industry is moving at rapid speed and becoming more complicated and confusing every year. Use the above guidelines to navigate the competitive waters and gain more comfort in your video partner

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