Generate more successful ad campaigns
What makes programmatic video a great tool for brands trying to reach their buyers? Simply put, it’s the ability to tell a story that engages people and the proof is in the numbers.
According to eMarketer, mobile video ads sold programmatically in 2019 generated $19.93 billion in revenues in the US and will reach $24.87 billion this year. Plus, 80% of video marketers say video has directly helped increase sales.
Weidert Group found that:
- 66% of B2B industry representatives say they prefer to watch short explainer videos
- 86% want more videos from brands going forward
- 95% of video marketers say video helped them increase user understanding of their product or service
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves … What is programmatic video?
Programmatic video advertising is a dynamic, interactive and engaging way to connect your new product with your target audience across desktop and mobile devices. Video creation platform, Biteable does a nice job describing it as the practice of using bots to buy ad space based on set prerequisites. The advertiser defines the ideal audience in detail, provides access to the ads, and sets a budget. It uses behavioral data to find your audience and display the perfect video ad.
When you see a 10-15 second pre-roll video pop-up on YouTube or catch a video that plays between paragraphs of an article that interests you, that’s programmatic video.
Make video part of your well-balanced campaign
We’re not saying to abandon other aspects of your cross-channel marketing campaigns. When we work with clients, we look at many aspects including timeframes, audience, reach and budget. Programmatic video is a tool that’s proving it’s worth but it must make sense to the campaign goals. When it does, we recommend and develop the parameters with the client.
Bottom line is in the results
When we execute on clients’ programmatic video buys, we don’t just end it there. We look at the immediate results and are nimble in our ability to adjust and make our clients’ campaigns achieve larger results. The beauty of programmatic buying is the ability to track virtually real time and make adjustments on the go to reach the buyers most important to you.
Video outside your comfort zone … no worries, embrace it
Video use across all demographics continues to grow. There’s only a 7% difference between younger generations consuming video and Boomers (90% – 83%). Being uncomfortable with the platform is not uncommon so it’s important to embrace this option. There are plenty of platforms and experts to help you navigate the process.
Here are a few tips to get started with programmatic video:
- Look at your campaign budget mix – You don’t have to break budget. Often, brands will put the emphasis on campaign mix rather than add to costs. Programmatic buying platforms set rates based on costs per, making this a manageable budget item for your return on investment.
- Ask yourself how video fits into all of your campaign channels – A video can become a focal point for all other marketing channels. Work on percentages of the campaign mix. Allocating to video will reduce time on other platforms, but the return can still be higher as you effectively target the right buyer and even point them to your video for engagement.
- Talk to your agency about the style of the video – To test effectiveness, start simple. Video doesn’t always have to be expensive or highly produced to work. There are many ways to keep production costs down. Create a video using existing photos, in-house images, animation and music beds. There are many video production platforms that won’t break the bank.
For larger campaigns with more budget, consider producing a video featuring product demonstrations, client-facing leaders or client testimonials.
Know what results mean and how to track it – It starts before the camera rolls. Determine the goal. Views are important but what is the average time spent watching for the video? Are they watching it all the way through?
Of course, leads and sales are the end game and programmatic video can provide efficient pricing and CPMs along with leveraged audience data. Its use is growing because of the increases in data that programmatic buying affords driven by the ability to target B2B customers, machine learning and measurement benefits.
Don’t let anyone sell you on one video answer for all campaigns
Your agency should give you personalized ideas and solutions for programmatic buying. The highly targeted aspects related to doing it right require deep-dive discussions and preparation. There’s no shortcut.
Take a look at the programmatic video sample that we did for our client, Ferguson, to show their support for recruiting people to work in the skilled trades industry. The campaign achieved over 7 million impressions, and nearly a quarter of a million social engagements.
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