Innovation in digital video: The IAB on the next big trends
Online video is now the largest digital display format, making up 39% of the £4.18bn total display spend in 2017, and is driving the majority of growth. The opportunities that digital video present are exciting and redefine how brands and consumers interact. The IAB’s Video Steering Group – in particular Unruly and Spark Foundry – have come together to discuss the exciting possibilities that we can expect to see digital provides to brands and consumers.
Innovation in Digital Video
What are the next key trends that will drive innovation in digital video?
For many years, digital video has largely been confined to smaller, secondary screens. However, as the household penetration of connected TVs, now 42% growing more than 10% y-o-y, continues to grow, digital video has the opportunity to play an increasingly prominent role on the largest screen in peoples’ homes.
Simultaneously, as network and device capabilities continue to improve, we are seeing platforms that have traditionally been used for short-form content begin to tempt creators and audiences with higher quality, longer-form content. How this could change viewing habits on mobile devices is something to keep a close eye on.
As well as changes to viewing habits, digital video also provides the opportunity for content to be interactive, hyperlinked, and instantly changeable to provide more relevant information. Shoppable video, for example, allows for viewers to click on an object in the video so that they can go through to buy it, and dynamic videos will change information – such as text, colours, or the story of the content – to match the context of the viewer.
How can innovation in digital video further change how brands and consumers interact?
New innovations in digital video will enable more opportunities to create engaging and immersive content that will, in turn, improve the viewing experience for consumers. This will give brands the opportunity to convey themselves in a more compelling way and prompt a stronger user experience and emotional response from their audiences.
New trends such as shoppable video, as previously mentioned, will not only allow advertisers to find out more about their content but also reduce the friction in the consumer path to purchase.
The most important thing is to enrich the experience of the audience. This will rely entirely on brands and publishers investing time, and money, to produce high quality content and experiences.
Why is it so important for companies in digital video to continue to innovate?
Although it's been around for more than a decade, advertisers are still learning about what makes digital video effective. Video is one of the most emotive forms of communication available to people and organisations. That’s partly because it utilises a combination of two powerful senses – visuals and sound – to convey a message. It’s because of this that consumers turn to video arguably more than any other medium for entertainment.
To continue to entertain and offer richer, fresher experiences, companies in digital video need to continue to innovate. This is not about novelty – it’s about finding new ways to enrich storytelling and deliver more compelling messages.
The arrival of new technologies are creating new opportunities for video. Augmented Reality, for example, was once a gimmick but is now an area that advertisers are starting to pay attention to – owed in no small part to Pokémon Go.
But innovation isn’t just the ‘cool’ technologies like virtual and augmented reality. The screens we’re watching video on are changing too, not just in size or portability but crucially location – both in and out of the living room. The out of home industry is a great example of a sector that is going through a digital revolution – with video at the heart of it. To remain relevant, businesses across all sectors should spend time understanding the new and exciting ways video is being consumed.