With so many marketers increasing their spending on video advertising, it’s fair to wonder where the money’s coming from. Advertiser Perceptions recently took a look at this topic. The company’s analysts also outlined which video formats are most effective for various stages in the sales funnel.

Of the 300 advertisers who responded to Advertiser Perceptions’ 2019 Video Advertising Convergence Report, 55% say they’ll spend more on marketing this year. The average increase will be about 14 percent. A significant percentage of the higher spending will go to ‘sight-​sound-​motion video strategies.’ The estimated 51% bump in sight-​sound-​motion spending will be fueled by:

• Overall budget increase for paid advertising 37%
• Dedicated linear TV budget 30%
• Other non-​digital (print, OOH) 17%
• Other digital media (display, search) 10%

Andy Sippel, executive vice president at Advertiser Perceptions, cautions that “the video expansion is not an either-​or proposition.” Instead, marketers use different video formats to target shoppers in different levels of the purchase funnel.

The Purchase Funnel and Video Formats

At the upper funnel level, marketers want to make consumers aware of their brand and their products or services. To accomplish that goal, 33% use linear TV. Once the awareness goal is achieved, marketers move on to mid-​funnel activities like conversion. Digital mobile video serves as the favorite format for 29% of businesses. Interestingly, digital mobile video is also the top choice for 32% of marketers who focus on low funnel activities like ensuring the purchase takes place. 

The Video Formats Advertisers Favor

Advertisers show specific preferences for premium digital video advertising. For example, 74% of advertisers want to purchase ads on video sites like Netflix. They’re keenly interested in reaching specific audiences and they believe these sites have more quality content than other options. Sippel says, “The more [inventory] you have, the greater the reach and targeting you can provide. And the more you can do for an advertiser’s media plan.” Currently the following percentages of advertisers use these formats for lower funnel marketing:

• Programmatic linear TV 10%
• OTT/​Connected TV 5%
• TV Network Full Episode Players 8%
• Data-​enabled linear TV 3%
• Addressable TV 11%
• Set-​top box VOD 3%

While marketers appear to embrace new digital video formats, they still have concerns. Brand safety continues to be an issue for 58% of marketers. They’re also struggling with the lack of standard measurement (57%) and the inability to buy media seamlessly (46%).

You can help your clients target consumers who respond to TV advertising by reviewing the AudienceSCAN profiles available on AdMall from SalesFuel​.com.