• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 9, 2014

A recent survey of media buying agencies, conducted by Strata, found that 45% of those polled are more interested in digital/online video than they were a year ago, while streaming/online radio saw a 53% increase. Overall, 67% of agencies said that their clients’ primary focus for campaigns is video advertising (including traditional TV, cable, and network, as well as digital video).

Client Interest in Advertising on Streaming/Online Video

• More than last year (45%)
• Same as last year (49%)
• Less than last year (6%)

72% of agencies said their clients are interested in advertising on YouTube, up 5% from last year. HULU followed at 36%, a 32% jump from 3Q13. Despite the strong growth for digital video, agencies still question the value of online video ads. 47% said they are fairly confident they are getting a good value for their money in recent digital video ad purchases, while 40% say they are unsure, says the report.

Driven by television along with digital advertising, the overall ad economy is strong, as 62% of agencies say their business is increasing this quarter compared to the same time last year, says the report.  Spot TV continues to be the top source for advertisers, as 55% say their clients are the most interested in that medium, the largest percentage in 22 quarters of the survey. For spot radio, 13% of agencies responded that that medium is receiving the most interest, up 32% from a year ago. 

Joy Baer, president of STRATA, says “… our agencies continue to ask for better ways to buy digital video advertising… long-form digital video content increasingly mirrors the 30-second TV ad experience… blurring the lines between devices… “

39% of agencies are still undecided as to whether they trust programmatic to carry out their media buying, while an equal amount of agencies believe that programmatic buying is effective in reaching their clients’ target audiences. The most popular form of programmatic buying, according to agencies, is digital, with a third of agencies polled stating they use programmatic to purchase their digital ads.

More key findings from the study: 

• 89% of the respondents plan on using Facebook in client campaigns, which is the third highest number in the STRATA Survey since 2008. YouTube (53%), Twitter (50%), LinkedIn (36%) and Pinterest (32%) followed 
• Pinterest had the largest year-to-year growth, jumping up 31% over 2Q13
• 51% project the second half of 2014 to be better than the first half, up 19% from the second quarter of 2013
• 31% are less interested in Out of Home advertising than a year ago, the largest percentage since 2008 

For additional information from STRATA, please visit here.