Top marketers know that digital video is one of the most powerful tools to increase consumer engagement and brand loyalty. In fact, according to a new study from Clinch, a creative technology company that powers dynamic, personalized video advertising, brand marketers are ramping up their production of digital videos with an emphasis on creating campaigns specifically for Facebook and YouTube.
However, their lack of investment on personalized creative for each platform may put them at a disadvantage.
The study found that 78 percent of marketers plan to increase their production of video ads in 2018, while only 43 percent of marketers plan to increase their production of static banner ads this year.
Social is video
When it comes to digital video campaigns, Facebook reigns supreme, representing 46 percent of all video ads produced. When adding Facebook-owned Instagram into the mix, this number leaps to 74 percent. YouTube comes in a close second at 41 percent.
“It’s no secret that Facebook and YouTube dominate the digital media landscape and we don’t expect this to slow down, particularly with the Facebook algorithm change which requires brands to pay in order to be seen,” said Oz Etzioni, co-founder and CEO of Clinch, in a news release.
“In 2018 brands will increase spend and leverage the rich data that these platforms provide. However, the data and platform are just two pieces of the puzzle. Creative is the critical third piece. If brands aren’t uniquely tailoring their creative specifically for each platform and by audience, opportunities will be missed and ROI will be lowered,” he added.
While digital video continues to grow, nearly three quarters of marketers adopt online video from their TV commercials with 44 percent indicating that they don’t shorten commercials for each platform’s suggested length. While TV ads remain a critical source of video content, the user experience of each social platform is very different than traditional TV. For example, TV ads are 15 to 30 seconds long but Facebook and YouTube recommend six second videos.
Etzioni continued, “We were really surprised to learn that marketers were taking a one size fits all approach to video. In 2018, marketers will awaken to the fact that investment in creative will increase ROI and personalization at scale will become the norm for digital video as it has become for static ads.”
Defining social personalization
While 50 percent of respondents say they personalize their video campaigns, brands can be doing a lot more. Those that are personalizing their creatives based on data are seeing big results. Nearly 90 percent of respondents who have customized Facebook or YouTube video ads reported seeing benefits. Furthermore, 70 percent of those who customize said that they have seen improvements in their key performance indicators (KPIs).
“In the next few months, the definition of personalization will change. Rather than creating a handful of versions—one for men, one for women, one for the East Coast and one for the West Coast, we expect brands to be using data insights to personalize at scale. This means hundreds if not thousands of versions of videos where the message and creative is tailored to their specific needs and interests. This will create a more meaningful experience for the consumer and transform video campaigns from simply brand awareness to direct response opportunities,” Etzioni concluded.
Download the full report here.
This report was based on a survey of 227 brand marketers nationwide who are part of the Brand Innovators community, 157 of whom engaged in video advertising on digital platforms.
