• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, May 2, 2016

Advertisers and media buyers have increased spending on original digital video programming 114 percent over the past two years, according to the IAB's third annual “Digital Content NewFronts: Video Ad Spend Study.” The survey queried 360 marketing and media-buying professionals and was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions for the IAB. 

Confirming the importance of the NewFronts, 8 out of 10 respondents said their attendance at the 2015 NewFronts resulted in increased spending on original digital video content in the 12 months that followed, and/or motivated them to increase original digital video budgets overall. Buyers who primarily focus on TV were more likely to commit those extra dollars at the NewFronts (64% vs. 42%), while digital-focused buyers were more likely to spend them throughout the year (49% vs. 41%). 

Nearly three-quarters (71%) of those surveyed also said they plan to attend the 2016 NewFronts and expect to spend more than a third of their overall digital video budgets for the year at the annual marketplace. 

In addition, the study revealed that more than two-thirds of marketers and agency executives (68%) believe original digital video will become as important as original TV programming in the next 3 to 5 years. In order to close the gap between digital video and TV programming, both groups want to buy digital video that makes it easy to reach target audiences and delivers more concrete ROI metrics. 

While the majority of buyers surveyed plan to spend more overall on all digital video (63%) and mobile video (62%), original digital video content has grown in importance, now accounting for 44% of a typical digital video budget, up from 38% two years ago. Native advertising has also established a foothold in dollars spent on original digital video, accounting for one-third (32%) of that investment.