A new report from eMarketer indicates that digital video ad spending will go through the roof this year, reaching $7.77 billion (a 33.8 percent increase over the previous year). On top of that, mobile video ad spend will also rise 70.4 percent to reach $2.62 billion by year’s end. But those numbers are just the beginning — by 2019, we’ll see an increase to $14.38 for digital video ad dollars in general, and $6.86 billion on mobile.
This shows that video ads have a way of staying fresh in people’s minds. However, that doesn’t always mean it’s for the better, as some videos have a tendency to annoy.
A poll by AOL asked users between the ages of 13 to 54 who watch video on a mobile device at least one a month about ad recall. Out of those polled, eight out of ten remember digital video placements in each option, with 84 percent recalling them on tablets, 83 percent on smartphones and 82 percent on PC’s.
However, it’s not always for the better. There are complaints about these video ads, and some of them can be hard to miss. For instance, a majority of those polled indicated that they were tired of seeing the same ads over and over again (a problem that consistently happens on YouTube, since certain partners are highlighted for each day). Following close behind is the complaint that too many ads play during most videos, such as Hulu. Finally, the length of ads for some videos can run too long, with some users complaining about how long it really takes to drive the message home about a product.
This seems like a wake-up call to advertisers who rely on video ads to meet their marketing quota, in the hopes that they make ads that seem to reach out more to consumers, rather than bother them. Granted, the set-up of some networks can be to blame as well, as some channels like ABC and NBC rely on multiple commercials to run before online programs, so they can meet a similar quota to television airings.
It’s doubtful that too many changes will be made, but here’s hoping we see more online ads that make a difference, rather than leaving those wanting to change the virtual channel.
