• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, September 18, 2012

Watching videos on cell phones continues to gain speed, and advertisers can take heart that the “captive” screen is boosting completion rates and other important metrics for digital video advertising.

According to an analysis of brand campaigns run across premium Web properties in the second quarter, mobile video ad technology company Rhythm New Media, found that completion rates for in-stream video ads averaged 89%, which is 31% higher than the completion rate of most online video ads -- about 68%, Rhythm said. The mobile video company said that about 92% of campaigns running on Rhythm include in-stream video (videos that run before or during video content) as opposed to pre-roll (which can often run before an app or a game, as well), and that’s fairly indicative of the mobile video ad market, suggesting that in-stream video ads are becoming the norm in mobile video, Rhythm said.

Rhythm also found that about half of tablet owners say that they share their tablet with more than one person in a home. That’s an important finding for marketers to bear in mind when planning tablet campaigns because it suggests that tablet ads, like TV ads, will reach more than one viewer at a time. Tablet viewers are avid video consumers. About 58% said they watch more than one video or TV show per week on their tablets, while only 22% said they watch video less than once a month, Rhythm said.

Cisco has said that mobile video will comprise 58% of mobile traffic by the end of the year, up from 52% at the start of the year.

In a separate study, YuMe and media agency IPG found that mobile phones scored lowest among all digital platforms for the emotional response generated in video ad viewers. Viewers’ “arousal” level for ads on connected TVs was highest, with those viewers in a heightened emotional state 8% of the time, compared to 7% for linear TV, 5% for PCs and 4% for mobile phones.