Going 'viral' starts with the right video advertising strategy
As video streaming continues to gain popularity in APAC and more brands funnel more ad dollars to video advertising, it is increasingly crucial for brands to invest their resources in the right video advertising approach – or they risk being overcrowded and overlooked, warns Kenneth Pao, the executive managing director, Asia Pacific at Criteo.
Brands who are looking to embark on video advertising may have more questions than answers
Most of us have binge-watched a new series or rewatched blockbuster movies more than we ever have in the last two years via streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, considering how the pandemic accelerated our use of online streaming services as we seek to stay entertained from the comfort and safety of home.
The data has spoken: global online content consumption has rapidly doubled since the pandemic, from an average of about three hours to seven hours daily. If you are watching shows via streaming services rather than the ones aired on your television, your video consumption habits resemble the majority of consumers (two out of three) in Australia, Japan, India, and South Korea.
Now that video streaming is becoming the preferred mode of entertainment in the Asia Pacific region, brands can now reach the same audience, if not more, through online videos and video advertising.
However, with the proliferation of videos uploaded on the internet every day, this is not a sure-fire way to successfully engage your target audience, unless a proper strategy is put in place. This is especially so, in APAC, home to an increasingly growing pool of diverse online users – case in point, 40 million people in Southeast Asia came online for the first time in 2020.
Brands who are looking to embark on video advertising may have more questions than answers, and I hope to address a few key topics in this piece. Specifically, what streaming services and video content are APAC consumers interested in, what type of video ads do consumers prefer, does timing matter, and how can marketers encourage sales conversion with relevant ads?
What are APAC consumers watching?
To formulate a winning video advertising strategy, it’s crucial for brands to first take a few steps back and focus on understanding the streaming services and content that APAC consumers are interested in.
For instance, while there has been accelerated video viewing of all types among APAC audiences, from video live streams to on-demand videos, Criteo’s State of Video & Connected TV survey found that paid video streaming saw the highest viewing increase – with two in three consumers saying they watch more paid streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV.
The top channels for video streaming in APAC include YouTube (64%), Netflix (55%), and Amazon Prime Video (30%), with a key motivation being the flexibility it offers for consumers to watch anytime and anywhere. Most importantly, three in four viewers in APAC use the same email to log in across all video streaming platforms, websites, and apps.
This implies that for brands to reach target audiences via video streaming platforms effectively, it’ll be advantageous if they seek the right advertising partner that can help connect viewing habits across channels and devices to specific online shopping activities using additional commerce data.
Sequence, entertainment, interaction – the qualities of a “viral” video ad
Given video streaming’s rising popularity, it comes as no surprise that video advertising is the most preferred online ad format in APAC. What is surprising though, is that the sequence of an ad placement might matter a lot more than you think. For instance, APAC consumers prefer if video ads play after the video content (26%) instead of before (19%) or in the middle of the video content they are watching (14%).
Keeping this in mind, brands should ensure that video ads are well-timed, or they will risk having their video ads skipped.
Apart from timing, consumers also expect their video ads to be entertaining and engaging, with two in five claiming that they would prefer interactive ads. To break through the ad clutter, brands should invest in interactive video ads. Take Hong Kong Airlines’ 360-degree virtual cabin walkthrough video ad for instance, where viewers could not only learn more about features of the cabin by tapping hot spots in the video, but also make flight reservations via the ad, allowing Hong Kong Airlines to educate consumers on their services in an interactive manner.
Japanese automobile company, Honda’s The Other Side Campaign was another impressive and successful example – a dual-story video ad was created to allow viewers to toggle between storylines by pressing and holding different keys on the screen. Given its novelty and highly interactive nature, it comes as no surprise that the video ad was very well-received.
Overcoming the final hurdle to conversion
While the earlier insights on understanding consumer preferences and best practices for creating video ads are crucial, brands often face the last hurdle – turning consumer engagement to sales conversion.
This is where personalization comes into play. Did you know that if consumers understand the value of sharing data – such as the ability to receive more personalized video ads based on their recent shopping behaviors, 1 in 3 would willingly share data with advertisers? Consumers are often motivated to get useful and relevant information or enjoy an exclusive offer, based on the information that they share.
The implication for brands? Make ads relevant and useful with first-party data. This way, brands can deliver relevant ads to addressable audiences while enhancing their first-party database with additional commerce data, thereby having the ability to take a 360-degree view of consumers, including information on consumer purchase intent.
Furthermore, most consumers watch video ads with a “buy” mindset and are willing to browse and purchase from a brand that they may have just discovered. Our survey found that more than half of consumers will purchase the products they see in video ads while 3 in 5 consumers will search for the products and services they see in the ads.
Brands need to use a platform to engage new customers on a global scale by activating first-party data using privacy-by-design measures, which means creating personalized engagement for their audiences.
It is hence beneficial for brands to run awareness, consideration, and conversion video campaigns with the same technology partner to drive audiences from one stage of the customer journey to the next.
Level-up your video advertising strategy
As video streaming continues to gain popularity in APAC and more brands funnel more ad dollars to video advertising, it is increasingly crucial for brands to invest their resources in the right video advertising approach – or they risk being overcrowded and overlooked.
I am excited to see how video advertising in the region will continue to evolve in the new year, and I’m confident that brands in APAC can level up their video advertising strategy by creating well-timed, entertaining, and interactive ads and leveraging first-party and commerce data to reach addressable audiences. Ultimately, succeeded in translating consumer engagement to sales conversion.
Kenneth Pao is the executive managing director, Asia Pacific at Criteo