6 Video Advertising Predictions For 2017

If 2016 proved anything it’s how tricky making predictions can be. From the political fallout sweeping Europe since the Brexit vote to Trump’s successful bid to become the most powerful man in the world, this year has certainly had its fair share of surprises. So what to expect from video advertising in 2017?

1. Vertical is changing the video landscape. Vertical creatives will be the rule rather than the exception by the time 2018 rolls round.

With a recent Unruly study finding that mobile vertical video views drive 6x the interaction rate of horizontal mobile video, expect to see more brands and publishers shifting to a vertical-focused experience on mobile in 2017.

Changing consumption habits are making mobile the norm rather than the exception and by 2018, two thirds of all video viewing on the web will take place on mobile (source: Mediatel).

This means that vertical video (shot in portrait rather than landscape format), originally dismissed by content makers as an amateurish mistake, has become a key format for advertisers and publishers alike. In 2017, vertical video assets will no longer be an afterthought or optional add-on. With so many more mobile-first video makers and digital production teams offering vertical video as part of the digital content stack, slicing up horizontal content will not cut it for savvy marketers in 2017.

2. Augmented reality has the scale but VR will have a deeper impact on marketers in 2017.

With a smartphone user base of nearly 2.1 billion people globally (eMarketer), the opportunity is huge to augment videos and create entertaining AR experiences - Pokemon Go proved that when it became this summer’s global gaming hit. Couple that with the creative scope of creating personalized brand experiences and AR should be a home run. But it’s nowhere near as immersive as VR, and it’s this quality and intensity of consumer attention that brands are craving in an era of media saturation and consumer cognitive overload.

Active VR users are tipped to grow 147% by 2021 (Orbis Research), brands like Coke, McDonald’s and Volvo have already made their mark on the VR landscape, and 31% of Media and Entertainment Managers in North America say they’re prioritizing expanding their VR use in 2017. So while the medium still lacks scale it will warrant serious attention, innovation and investment from storytelling brands in 2017.

3. Video "in the round" will boom as brands use 360 ads to bridge 2D and VR video campaigns.

When the Tate gallery shot a 360 video to promote its Georgia O’Keefe exhibition, it quickly became their most popular video ever. And when Displaced won a Cannes Lion for their VR film, the whole industry sat up and took note. Not surprising then that in a recent survey, 43% of media buyers predicted that 360 will be their highest area of video growth in 2017 (source: ExchangeWire). 360 video can be consumed in several ways. Firstly by simply moving the the screen with your finger, secondly by rotating your phone and utilising the accelerometer/gyroscopic technology that already lives within your phone. And thirdly, for the most engaging experiencing, by tapping the Cardboard icon and viewing through a headset.

The Google Daydream VR platform and subsequent YouTube app will allow exploration of the entire YouTube library and, of course, viewing of ‘made-for-VR’ content. This will further encourage brands to include VR as part of their cross-platform marketing campaigns as they seek to engage with their audience on an emotional level.

And as well as helping brands to start exploring the storytelling potential (and complexities) of VR, 360 videos offer access to massive audiences today (In fact, we distributed our first Unruly 360 campaign with Professor Green for Doritos in 2011!). In 2017, we predict that more brands will treat 360 as a key transitional format, one that can deliver scaled audiences in its own right as well as driving brands and viewers to experiment with more immersive VR experiences.

4. The revolution will be live. Publishers and marketers will figure out live-casting ads.

Facebook reports that people spend 3x longer watching live video compared to playing back a pre-recorded clip. As live broadcast truly makes its way into the hands of the masses and people become used to consuming live broadcast content across a multitude of platforms, advertisers will be looking for access to live audiences and platforms will be keen to monetize live streaming. So we predict that ad formats which allow brands to reach consumers within live video environments will start appearing in 2017; the more contested question is what form they will take, with some reports suggesting we may see a return of the ad break, in the form of mid-roll ad slots.

5. Outstream video ad spend will exceed Pre-roll.

No one likes to be forced to watch an ad. Studies show that forced pre-roll in particular puts consumers off brands and sites that use the format. Advertisers have been taking note and the growth in viewer-controlled outstream formats has coincided with the steady decline of pre roll - the market share of which dropped from 75% in March 2015 to 60% in April 2016 (source: eMarketer).

In fact, outstream video spend grew 440% YOY in H1 2016, accounting for 40% of all digital video spend, up from 11% in 2015 (PwC/IAB Report 2015 & 2016). This dramatic leap means 2017 will likely be the year that outstream reaches a tipping point and overtakes pre-roll formats.

6. There'll be a Flight to Quality for programmatic (and a race to quantify it).

Quality of context, quality of content and quality of view. All 3 will be in advertisers sights in 2017 and rightly so! Whether it’s the IAB’s polite, consumer-friendly LEAN standards, MOAT’s new video score metric or Unruly’s EQ content testing, the industry is working harder than ever to define, quantify, and track quality environments, quality views and quality ads.

In conclusion

Standing on the cusp of 2017, it feels as though a year has never offered so much opportunity for marketing pioneers and digital innovators to change the face of marketing. For sure there will be challenges - data privacy regulations loom large for EU ad tech for example - but with VR, AR, 360, mixed reality, the Internet of Things and audio all taking off, 2017 promises to be a re-defining year for innovating scaled video ads. If you need more of a predictions fix, don’t worry - you can see the rest of Unruly’s video marketing predictions here.