Where Are We Now: Mobile Video
One of the major trends of the past few years has been the rise of mobile video and video advertising. For Frank Sinton of Beachfront Media, mobile video is what he does and as such, he’s given a good deal of thought as to as how it will evolve in the coming years.For Frank, the focus is on players that many people may not be thinking of, platforms other than YouTube or the emerging video giant that is Facebook. He attributes it to the fact that “There will be greater growth of mobile video on platforms outside of YouTube and Facebook than within those two [platforms.]”According to research from Bloomberg and Magna Global, the greatest growth in digital and mobile video is indeed set to occur on smaller platforms outside of the ecosystems of Facebook and YouTube. This independent marketplace is expected to grow at a compacted annual growth rate of 6% more than the two larger platforms, owing to a demand for alternative players. And as these new players emerge, YouTube and Facebook’s market share will decrease.As people find themselves moving outside of these existing players, things like Snapchat and new entrants to the marketplace continue to rise. Sinton’s own Beachfront saw 700% growth in 2015 over 2014. With the rise of these new entrants, we’ll be seeing more and more traditional ad platforms embracing mobile video. For many ad-supported platforms, the most profitable way to monetize mobile at the moment is video. To Sinton, video solves multiple problems as it has a higher CPM than display, is not as hindered by ad blockers as display, and is more engaging for the end consumer. Additionally, new technology like VAST 4.0 allows for a more seamless stich integration of the video ad with content, so “are many ways video advertising is on the forefront of fighting ad blockers.”With companies clumsily fighting back against ad blockers, be it Yahoo not allowing users access to their mailbox if blockers are in place or Forbes’ passive aggressive messages to ad blocking users, the technology is forcing the ad tech space to reevaluate the user experiences. For the video space, this does not mean simply repackaging 30 second TV spots. Sinton feels that “this could be a blip on the radar that passes on, or it could be something larger.” It’s forcing the advertisers hand to create these better experiences, but native video is once again the answer in this scenario as content simply cannot be free.For Sinton, mobile video is important because advertising itself is important for content. While people may choose to block ads, non-subscription content needs to be supported by an advertiser model. And as long as we want content, we’ll need ads. They’ll evolve in the future and come in new forms as technology evolves and things like VR become mainstream, but mobile video and mobile video ads will remain at the forefront of where things are going.
