Have you seen the video with the funny cat that jumps into the box? How about the thousands of variations of “Sh*t {insert-your-favorite-group-here} says?” Chances are, if you did, you saw it on your mobile device. This is no surprise as a recent study cited that over 35% of US adults own a smartphone and of those that own a smartphone, 87% use their phones as an Internet portal.
Similar to how we moved on from propeller planes to jet planes; mobile phones are quickly becoming one of the main ways we consume media. At the same time it makes making it more challenging for brands to reach their ever-more fragmented audiences. For savvy marketers however, harnessing the mobile video trend has its upside and it seems the adoption has already started.
In our recent Video State of the Industry Report, ad budgets being spent on mobile video jumped significantly across leading devices, with the iPad making the biggest gain in 2011.
This 18% growth in iPad adoption could very well be attributed to the idea that it’s the most popular mobile device because it delivers the ideal mix of TV-like viewing experience and online metrics. Another possibility – since video ads take up a large portion of the screen on a mobile device, they force the user’s attention entirely on the advertisement, creating a single share of voice for the advertiser. They can be just as, if not more, engaging than online ads.
Add features like custom games and social media sharing options on top of the video and brands can create a full interactive experience for their audience. And since users can take their mobile phones just about anywhere, advertisers can target users hyper locally, even as soon as they step into their own brick and mortar.
These trends herald a new and interesting world for advertisers with considerations ranging from the length of an ad to ensuring landing pages linked out from ads are mobile-enabled. Once mastered however, mobile video has an ability to continue the extension of brand consistency across devices and further unite an audience previously thought to be too fragmented to reach, effectively.
Jazz Sahota, Account Manager for Adap.tv
Tags: advertising, audience, cross-platform, mobile, video
