The number of smartphone and tablet ads that digital video ad network YuMe served up in the second quarter nearly doubled from the quarter before, another promising sign pointing to the rapid growth in mobile video advertising so far this year.
Granted, YuMe’s numbers are unique to one ad network, but they do provide an interesting window into shifts in the digital video marketplace quarter to quarter, especially given YuMe’s reach. The network serves about 750 million video ads each month across more than 2000 publishers.
Specifically, mobile impressions accounted for 7% of ads served in the second quarter, up from 4% in the first quarter, YuMe said. Meanwhile, the percent of pre-roll ads served overall dropped to 76% of the total from 84% the quarter before, as advertisers requested more custom creative ad units across screens. Completion rates rose slightly to 65% on average, up from 62% for 30-second spots. Completion rates also rose slightly for 15-second ads and for ads longer than 30 seconds.
YuMe said that people 25 to 54 remains its most requested demographic by marketers, comprising 22% of RFPs, and that’s a 6% rise from the first quarter. This upward tick might suggest that online video is being viewed more broadly as a branding vehicle and that marketers are starting to use it more frequently in that role.