• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 24, 2017

According to a report from ClickZ, by Andy Favell, ClickZ’s columnist on mobile, reviewing the Mobile World Congress, the most important trend was mobile video. If video is the new mobile, says the report, (Facebook CEO Zuckerberg told shareholders in February 2017 that the company was going “video-first” because “video is a megatrend on the same order as mobile”), then mobile video is the giant honeypot.

Why are these media bosses doing keynotes in Barcelona? Partly they are looking for new distribution networks for their own video content, such as Netflix.

And publishers, broadcasters, social media, content creators and creative/digital agencies are wooing brands to the lucrative branded/sponsored video market. Media publishers of all varieties now have content labs or studios available to create and distribute native, branded or sponsored video content for brands.

54% of CNN International’s revenue is branded content created by CNN Create, according to Digiday, and analysts believe this trend will continue. Business Insider Intelligence (June 2016) forecasts that native ads will increase its share of US digital ad revenues from 56% in 2016 to 74% in 2021. BI expects video ads, particularly on social platforms, to be “one of the main drivers of growth”.

Organizations that are focusing on shorter-form video, whether publishers, like CNN, or brands, such us Shell and Lufthansa are not just focusing on mobile first, but even creating content tailored, if not bespoke for particular platforms.

Malena Cutuli Group Head of Integrated Brand Communications at Shell, says that “… we do not allow anyone to produce content for us that is not mobile…. content works best… designed for the platform on its own… (and) I like to focus on a few like Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr… “

Rob Newlan, EMEA regional director, Facebook’s Creative Shop, says “… the length and style of video content… (is) determined less by the message, and more by the consumer… “… focusing less on the technology, more on “humanity… “

 “Think about how and when people are going to consume it,” says Newlan:

       On the go –shorter, snackable content

       Lean forwards moments –adapt for more engaging, more immersive moments

       Lean back is when I want (entertainment)… a long-form piece that can be as long as it is interesting… “

Rather than commissioning a single one-off piece of video, brands should be more iterative, fluid and adaptive to consumer reaction to the campaign, says the report, requiring brands and agencies rethink how they plan and produce video.

Work should deliver ROI for clients, says Newlan.“… needs to deliver against business goals… get back to the idea that advertising is stuff that sells… think about the creative arts in that way…”

The volume and size of video is having a massive impact on mobile traffic, says the report, accounting for 60% of total mobile data traffic in 2016, according to Citrix (February 2017). Video is expected to grow to 78% of the world’s mobile data traffic by 2021.

Video is well and good on a decent smartphone on a WIFI connection or 4G network, with no data cap, says the report, but the performance of even very short videos can be poor or non-existent on slower mobile connections or older smartphones, and most people have restricted data packages. Video will always be a matter of balancing video quality, performance, and download size and speed for each device and network connection.

The report concludes noting the words of Neeraj Roy, CEO of Hungama, saying that “… we started with ringtones a decade ago, and have seen the mobile business grow into a rich music, TV, and Film service… (in) the last three years it has exploded with the driver being video. We have 67 million active users, but 85% of consumption is still happening across mobile devices…”

For additional information from ClickZ, please visit here.