• by Tom Alexander , Op-Ed Contributor, May 8, 2017

Video is one of the fastest-growing ad formats, as it encourages users to engage with a brand and helps them to understand its value proposition. According to a 2016 eMarketer survey, digital video ad spend is expected to tripled  ifrom $9.9 billion today to $28 billion by 2020.

Video is a highly successful medium for reaching consumers; however, the 20% boost in overall Internet-based ad revenue between 2014 and 2015 saw a corresponding increase of only 5% increase in desktop display ads. Most of that growth can be attributed to mobile ads, per Adweek.

Pouring resources into video and then relying on only one marketing channel to disseminate it isn’t nearly as effective as using multiple distribution channels. Video can draw viewers into the purchase funnel, but it needs to be enhanced with other types of media to drive them through to a full conversion.

4 Ways to Enhance Your Video

New options for enhancing your video include companion banners, which can be purchased from most publishers, and sequential messaging and retargeting, which are relatively easy options that don’t require rich media-type servings.

Another option is to overlay a custom creative unit on top of your pre-roll ad that invites users to skip the pre-roll and jump straight to the content video by interacting with your brand. The benefit is being able to capture both “skip” actions and completed views.

Here are four enhancements that will help you prepare your video for repurposing across multiple channels and boost overall consumer engagement with your brand.

1. OTT Branding

While traditional advertising delivers your brand message to a viewer just once, over-the-top branding focuses on building long-term relationships that turn leads into loyal customers. Solid OTT strategies create opportunities to deliver relevant messaging to people who actually want to receive it on an ongoing basis. Instead of focusing only on broadcast placements, brands should consider adding OTT to their video strategies.

2. Sequential Messaging

Placing retargeting pixels within creative allows you to display a second message for users who have already been exposed to your campaign. And it helps keep in contact with potential customers.

Customers frequently transition between devices, which means you have to deliver your message to them multiple times. Each message should build off the previous ones, tailored to the device they’re using at any given time. The most crucial element of this tactic is identifying the same customer across multiple devices.

3. IAB Rising Stars Ad Units

Consider ways to create more engagement opportunities, one option is the IAB's Rising Stars ad units, which are ad formats that take up more space upon opening or as the page expands.

Rising Stars can play video in the billboard or filmstrip units of a Web page to provide a more interactive experience for users. Billboard ad units appear above the main content on the page, and filmstrip units provide a large space to fit content and visual elements. These larger interactive ad units with rich content appeal to customers more than traditional ads, furthering engagement.

4. Interactive Elements With Pre-Roll

With customized interactive overlays, completion rates for video ads hit almost 95 percent.

By keeping users engaged as the video plays and encouraging them to click to see more content, click-through interactive elements outperform pre-roll alone. They also increase the percentage of ads that users actually finish viewing in their entirety.

Video is an effective ad format, but it’s most successful when accessible on multiple media channels.

Don’t just rely on any one piece of content to make a campaign perform for your brand or client. The aggregate of all channels provides the largest lift and the best chance for conversion.