Demand For Online Video Ads Increases Threefold Following Super Bowl

Being seen on the big screen during the Super Bowl is not the only video strategy marketers are going with this year. Video ad platform LiveRail is seeing a threefold increase in demand for online video ads the day after the game, with the bulk of demand coming for the 12 hours immediately following the game.

Troels Smit, LiveRail's VP of demand sales, told RTM Daily that the company did see an increase in demand surrounding the Super Bowl last year, but that it was “far from the size” of this year.

“Comparing this year’s to last year’s, we would see a much higher number,” he emphasized. “This three times increase in demand is compared to an average day [in 2014].”

Sports Web sites are the obvious beneficiaries here, but Smit said the demand is high enough that marketers are having to dig a little deeper.

“Video inventory is scarce,” he said. “In the world of banners, you could just create more. For pre-roll video inventory, you can’t really do that. Sports sites will see higher budgets, but advertisers will look elsewhere because the demand is so high.”

He said music and entertainment sites are where marketers are turning next. Smit acknowledged that he doesn’t know why marketers are looking to music and entertainment sites once the sports well has been tapped, but said it’s clearly a trend. There has also been an increase in demand for mobile video and connected TV, like Roku or Apple TV.

He believes advertisers are “scared” of the possibility of not reaching Super Bowl impression goals, and has seen many turn to “programmatic direct” as a result. Essentially, advertisers are guaranteed a certain number of impressions in a private marketplace, but the impressions are still bought via real-time bidding (RTB).

This year, another major sporting event follows the Super Bowl -- the Olympics. Smit said LiveRail has started seeing video advertisers increase focus in the online world around that time. He doesn’t know if it will be as big as the Super Bowl phenomena, but said the similarities are clear.

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