UK video behavioural targeting dips in third quarter, says Videology research

However, the figure is still a marked improvement on the first quarter of 2012, which saw behavioural targeting for video, classed as location, daypart and retargeting, sink to 2.7 per cent.

Demographic targeting remained the dominant form with 67.6 per cent of the ads targeted using this method, while 17.8 per cent of the ads used a mix of both behavioural and demographic targeting – up from 13.4 per cent last quarter, according to the report.

LBi’s head of display Adam Russell said the fact behavioural targeting for video has not grown in the last quarter is “surprising” but could have been overshadowed by other major growth sectors such as real-time-bidding (RTB) in the display market.

“One of the challenges has been that agencies have been focused on getting their houses in order in the last year, and with the development of the whole RTB ecosystem the focus has been on desktop display RTB rather than video – but eventually RTB will move further into video and I’m confident in time behavioural targeting for video will increase,” he said.

Other industry developments including the EU ePrivacy Directive, which came into force this May, could also have left some advertisers uncertain as to how much focus should go on behavioural targeting methods, according to Russell. “That may have also affected growth rates but ultimately behavioural targeting is massive in display and there is no reason it won’t be as successful in video. As the worlds of TV and online converge we will end up with both sides thinking more like the other, and for advertisers this will have very interesting prospects,” he added.

Executive managing director of VivaKi Nerve Center Marco Bertozzi believes the fact video behavioural targeting has remained fairly flat since the previous quarter indicates traditional methods of TV planning, in which demographics are the core currency, have not yet evolved to match other areas of online buying and selling in display.

“Our experience is since introducing more innovation in the targeting solutions around behavioural targeting agencies and advertisers are readily trialling and making part of their campaigns so I think that bodes well for the future of VOD with more sophistication being applied,” he said.

The fact broadcasters are keen on pushing their own data solutions may also result in disparate data sets, which could be confusing, according to Bertozzi. “When broadcasters talk about pushing their own data solutions that creates the issue of each publisher having its own interpretation of an audience. In the AOD video offering, if a client asks for 18-34 dog walkers, we will deliver that consistent audience across all inventory sources, not with multiple interpretations. Advertisers are starting to see the benefits of that rather than working in silos,” he said.

The majority (95 per cent) of all video impressions served in the third quarter were online but there was a noticeable increase in those served on mobile and connected TV devices, according to the report. Mobile video accounted for 3 per cent of total impressions, representing 9,958,467 – up from 1.8 per cent last quarter.

Meanwhile the last quarter saw connected TVs draw almost even with mobile, accounting for 2 per cent of the videos served, totalling 6,536,588 impressions – up from 1.8% the previous quarter.

Starcom Mediavest associate director John Baylon said the continued growth of video impressions delivered across smartphones, tablets and connected TVs is a major indicator of where the market is heading. “The UK leads the world in Smart TV ownership, viewing of TV online and mobile usage. The UK is 5th in the world in tablet ownership. We are a nation of multi-screeners and this growth is just a reflection of this audience behaviour. This is set to gather pace in 2013,” he said.

Videology’s senior engagement manager Olivia Abraham said although the amount of mobile video is marginal when compared to online its rate of growth should not be underestimated. “The increase in mobile over a short period should not be ignored. It’s certainly important enough for brand marketers to take note of. The fact connected TVs, which are a far more recent development than mobile devices, are almost even in terms of video ads served is also very interesting,” she added.