Video & Display On A Roll
Video has existed as a popular medium since the dawn of television. It naturally extended through to digital via various platforms like YouTube and Facebook. And then, the advent of Jio meant that more people had easier access to it than ever before. The pandemic meant that video inflated massively in terms of consumption, with both traditional TV and digital video enjoying a massive rise.
Metering the current trends, India’s video market is set to grow massively in the upcoming years. The total video market in the country is set to grow massively – at almost 10 per cent CAGR to about $18 billion (covers both traditional TV and digital video) - as per independent research and consulting firm, Media Partners Asia (MPA). There is likely to be an increase in the overall advertising revenue for the mediums, as more people will start and continue watching content online.
Origin Of Digital Video In India
Digital video first became popular with the advent of YouTube. People accessed YouTube as a form of entertainment, watching various creators showcase their content. Then, the video spread its wings and pervaded social media platforms, where it quickly became one of the quickest forms of content consumption. After some time, people reported using social media platforms as a means of content curation and consumption rather than using it for actual social media presence, as social platforms were able to better predict behaviour and showcase content accordingly. It replaced feeds as a concept. The marriage of social media and video served to boost video consumption and presence in India.
Rise Of OTT
Then came the advent of OTT platforms in the country. Initially serving as a TV catch-up medium on digital, it quickly took off with original content and various new shows, marking a dramatic influx of audience consumption on the platform. Video consumption on OTT platforms also had a massive rise with the advent of two main things – vernacular content and sports viewership.
Vernacular content’s rise meant that OTT platforms could bridge the gap with TV to build a better regional connection. Platforms started investing in original content – both in vernacular as well as English, trying to hook people to their platforms to build an audience base.
Sports content on these platforms boosted OTT platforms massively. IPL was a massive contributor in the country, building a large audience base on OTT, as platforms also offered plenty of engaging, surrounding content through a match to keep audiences hooked long after the completion of the match.
Newer Forms Of Video
There have been interesting new developments in the overall video landscape. The advent of both short video platforms and the new trend of streaming has just changed the overall consumption of video, bringing on newer audiences to digital video. Digital video is just set to grow massively – now and in the future.
Short Video Advertising
Short video advertising is gaining leaps and bounds in India. Originally present via Vine (owned by TikTok, it was a platform that proved to be ahead of its time), it did not gain a lot of traction. Vine allowed its users to create looped 6-second videos. However, Vine was launched in 2013 and became popular about 2 years later – a time when it couldn’t make use of the advantages existing today with faster internet speeds and better connectivity.
However, it was with the advent of TikTok (formerly Muiscal.ly) that short videos exploded in the country in terms of viewership. TikTok was the rage and suddenly it spread across the board – people were clamouring to use it and other platforms were aspiring to become it. Even after the ban of TikTok in the country, lots of TikTok alternatives have sprung up and are currently ruling the short video market. This trend has been adopted across platforms, leading to several short video formats across social media – the likes of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts falling in this category.
As per industry experts, India will be home to more than 600 million short video format consumers in less than 3 years. Additionally, the interesting aspect of the whole conversation is that it is not just the addition of new users but also the time spent by them on the platform which has dramatically grown. It is reported that the time spent on these platforms per user has more than doubled over the past five years – which indicates that these platforms have a high acquisition aspect to get new consumers on board and extremely engaging content to keep current users hooked and increase their time spent on the platform.
An interesting aspect of this is that a lot of growth for these platforms is now coming from generally explored markets of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Most brands realise that the subsequent stage for their growth has to come from these markets as they generally are targeted and tapped less by them. The issue generally remains the reachability of the right audience in these markets and the ability to reach them reliably outside of a few platforms.
The audiences in Tier 2 and 3 cities are not just consuming content on short video platforms (and these are new age platforms like Josh, ShareChat and MX Takatak, among others). They are actively creating content on these platforms – enabling them to become digital content creators. This is due to the vernacular positioning of a lot of these platforms. This is another aspect of the whole conversation to get influencers involved in brand conversations to reach people in these markets.
Streaming
OTT platforms enabled the growth of streaming services in the country. It has taken off like the proverbial rabbit at the start of the race and is showing no signs of slowing down. This, of course, was helped by the pandemic, which caused more users to migrate to these platforms to get away from the fatigue of repeat programs on other mediums, leading to a sharp increase in the subscriber base.
While the pandemic proved to be a shot in the arm for these streaming platforms, there was groundwork already present to support the same. With improved internet connectivity, increasing consumption of vernacular content and the new factors of live streaming, it was primed for a dramatic increase in consumption.
Regional content has been the way to increase consumption among audiences for almost all streaming platforms in the country. Every single platform (premium or otherwise) has a very strong regional connect, spreading across several languages (the likes of Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, Gujarati and Bhojpuri) making its presence felt across the top OTT platforms in the country.
Each platform has its own USPs and hooks to get consumers on board. For example, until 2022, Disney+ Hotstar had streaming content from Star networks, licensed shows from places like HBO and live sports. However, with the latest edition of IPL shifting platforms, it will be interesting to spot how the change happens in terms of positioning of different platforms, as OTT platforms are increasingly getting into different spaces to try to increase market share.
Advertising Models
Until recently, the two principal models that existed in terms of advertising for OTT platforms were AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) and SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand). However, of late there has been a new model that has made its presence felt – TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand). And with the increase in customer bases and reducing loyalty to specific platforms (as consumers focus more on content that they want to consume), we see a combination of different advertising models on the same platform.
AVOD mainly refers to platforms which use advertisements as a form of revenue generation. The best example of this would be platforms like MX Player, Disney+ Hotstar, among others (where the content is available for free).
SVOD mainly refers to platforms which revolve around getting users to subscribe to the platform for a flat fee, enabling them to access content on the specific platforms. Examples of this would be Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar Premium, among others.
TVOD refers to certain content which can be consumed transactionally on OTT platforms, the basis of either purchase of the content or a fee to rent the content for a specific duration. Examples of this would be the movie content on YouTube which can be bought or rented separately, and the partner content and newest movies on Amazon Prime Video which can be rented or bought outside of existing subscriptions.
Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar are again important examples of a combination of different advertising models. Prime Video has both SVOD and AVOD, depending on the kind of content that one desires to consume. Hotstar, with its VIP subscription, has both AVOD and SVOD – where some premium content is available (for example IPL or live sports) at the cost of having advertisements playing alongside it.
Long-Form vs Short-Form Content
With the massive surge in short-form video, it is evident that it is the future. However, this doesn’t mean that long-form video has the death knell rung for it. There are instances where long format video works well too, but it is becoming rarer, due to the ever-declining attention span of online audiences.
In advertising scenarios, there are some instances where it can potentially work
Types Of Video Ads
In-stream Ads
These are the most common types of ads that are generally seen during advertising. They can be either skippable ads (allowing the user to finish the ad after a certain duration) or non-skippable (making the user watch the entire video). These are of multiple types:
Out-stream Ads
These are ads that are not directly related to any content. The advantage of this is that it is played as a separate piece (generally seen on social channels). If a user is not interested, they generally tend to scroll out from the video.
Interactive Ads
These are ads which enable you to interact with them in real-time, allowing you to engage further with the ads. A lot of game publishers use ads like these to give consumers the feeling of using the app.
Reward Ads
These are generally in-game video ads, which give the consumer an incentive in-game if they complete watching the ad. Thus, enabling greater completion rates due to a benefit being offered to the consumer.
Interstitial Ads
These ads are generally seen a lot more on mobile. It covers the entirety of the screen, using the full length of the screen to showcase the brand. This ad can generally only be closed and cannot be scrolled through.
Tips And Tricks For Video Advertising
-Size Matters!
The attention span of consumers on digital has been steadily declining. The advent of short video formats means that it has dropped even further. Hence, the traditional way of having a long video to promote the brand on digital does not always work. Shorter video formats are more frequently consumed by today’s audience, and as such, are preferred more by brands to reach out to consumers
-Customise videos basis platforms
One size fits all doesn’t work for digital video. There are certain platforms which require a different kind of video, which needs to be implemented right from the time of shooting (vertical videos on short video platforms, for example). So, from the outset of planning the campaign, it becomes important to consider what kind of platforms we want to promote the video and create it accordingly
-Total views can be misleading
Often, brands consider the total views observed on a promoted video as a metric of success. But this is not the be-all and end-all of video metrics. A more important factor to consider would be the view-through rate of the video. It becomes more important how much of the video has been consumed by the audience, which presents a more holistic view of the success of the campaign.
-Mobile is important
A majority of India is consuming content on mobile. Due to the high smartphone penetration, videos must be made considering this factor in mind. Videos optimised for viewing on mobile (in terms of output, storytelling and length) have a much higher chance of success
-Focus on the end objective
A clear objective from the start to the end of a video is vital, as it gives the consumer a clear view regarding the action expected through the video. A call to action also becomes crucial, customised to the action the consumer is expected to take
-Regional Connect works like a charm
Vernacular content is riding on a massive wave and the same trend is reflected across videos. It is no longer sufficient to have a single language ad across regions and customising an ad to be more local works like a charm (as per customs, language – among others). It helps build a better connection with the brand and avoid any cultural issues, which can be lost in translation during this exercise
-A/B Testing helps
It always helps to gauge the reaction of the audience to any brand video. Therefore, AB testing of videos is vital to ensure better efficiency when promoting videos online
Display Ads
Display Ads are among the more commonly used advertising mediums in digital marketing. Display ads are image-heavy ads that are seen across various websites where people consume content. These are ads that are image-heavy (static or dynamic) and generally increase awareness of a brand for the audience and encourage them to take the action required.
A lot of display ads are executed basis pre-defined metrics, whether that is CPM or CPC, depending on pre-defined objectives. Through targeting and pre-defined audience segments, we can reach newer and relevant audiences.
Display Ecosystem In India
The display ecosystem is divided into various display networks through which one can get access to a variety of sites present within the network. Additionally, it is possible to be present outside of the networks through direct campaigns with certain platforms.
In display networks, generally, a principle happens where we bid on ads (through relevant targeting). This means that presence is ephemeral and that it can refresh at a high rate. How many times a user sees the ad depends on the frequency at which it is shown (wherever it is possible to control it). Outside of the biddable ecosystem, through direct deals with publishers, brands can have a fixed presence on a particular page/platform or impact presence on sites (which is generally not available through biddable means).
Display vs Search
Display vs search has been a long-standing question and there is no easy stance of preferring one over the other. It is completely situational and there is easy precedence for both mediums to have a secured place in the overall marketing approach.
Search generally does get better click-throughs as compared to display campaigns overall. But even with that, the objectives that each fulfils are dramatically different. Display is often used to drive awareness and recall among audiences. So, it becomes easier to reach people who have expressed no prior intent to be present on the brand. There are also better targeting options present on display as compared to search.
An additional benefit is the increased presence. Compared to search, which generally turns up in one space, display ads are present across the web through various websites where people consume content and spend time. It also acts as a visual aid to tell people more about the brand, which also helps in overall brand awareness.
Ultimately, display ads are the best used when we need to create brand awareness as compared to reaching a higher level of intent audience of search – and as such, both find relevant space in the same marketing strategy.
Types Of Display Advertising
There are several types of ad formats that one can consider while opting for display advertisements. Depending on the situation and the requirements, different formats can have a better impact for the same brand.
- Banner ads – These are the regular ads that appear on most websites on desktops and mobiles. They can be of different sizes, ranging from small postcard sizes to masthead banners.
- Interstitials – These are ads that take over the entire screen. They are generally purchased on a single, unique property and are used when an impact presence for a campaign is needed.
- Lighthouse ads – These are seen on several websites. They are present initially as smaller display creatives which expand in size when the user interacts with them. This means that the ad is not intrusive and relevant audiences click through to engage and learn about the brand.
- Responsive ads – For these ads, Google automatically adjusts the size to ensure the right fit across systems, formats and sizes to ensure optimal viewing of the ad.
- Retargeting ads – These are display ads that are shown, and customised to each consumer basis their action and journey on the brand website. It encourages them to complete the desired action.
- Native ads – These are ads that are designed in the same way as the content of the website. These are created to ensure a seamless flow between the content consumed and the ad involved in the question.
- Discovery ads – These ads use advanced learning techniques to ensure users are shown relevant image ads that they are likely to engage with. They are present across YouTube search results, Gmail and Google Discovery.
Tips and Tricks For Display Advertising
-Responsive ads are helpful
These are ads that automatically resize the ad to fit the ad space and the device (mobile, laptop etc). This saves time and ensures the ad is not ugly looking due to being auto-resized.
-Relevant landing page is never off-key
Having a relevant landing page for users who click on the display ad always helps in helping efficiencies and delivering better results for the display campaign.
-Accurate targeting is key
There is no substitute for correct targeting. One can use a combination of keywords (ads which show up basis content on websites which match the selected keywords), placement (which helps to showcase ads on a specific website) or demographics (which helps to reach out to certain audiences).
-Good creatives
There is no substitute for good creatives on display ads. Good content and design help attract the right audiences and has a better chance of getting them to click on the ad.
-Rich Media Ads should be considered
These ads involve an element of interaction, which helps in higher engagement with audiences. This helps keep audiences hooked and gets them to engage with the brand.
-A/B Testing helps, even on Display
Display and Video form an integral part of almostt every marketer's playbook and is crucial in enabling overall brand awareness and recall. A picture is worth a thousand words, and a video is probably worth a thousand more. Getting the technicalities right for both display and video goes a long way toward fulfilment of the marketing of brands. With the ever-shortening attention spans of consumers on digital, capturing them through shorter formats or engaging content will become the key play and the one to best harness the same will reap the benefits.
