It’s Time for Marketers To Lean Into Video Ad Formats

Editor's note: QuickFrame is a member of the LinkedIn Marketing Partner program. 

Audience engagement is becoming increasingly difficult to capture. With so many scroll-centric ad formats, advertisers need to create thumb-stopping video content to air in the right formats. For example, LinkedIn offers several video formats — including Connected TV (CTV), Event Ads, and Thought Leader Ads, to name a few — that encourage viewers to take action. Here, we’ll explore some video ad formats, how they work, and how brands can make the most of them. 

What Video Ad Formats Are Available? 

We’re guessing we don’t need to sell you on the importance of video content, but we’ve got a stat ready for you just in case. In 2025, EMARKETER estimates U.S. adults will spend an average of 6 hours and 48 minutes daily with video — four hours of that being digital video, including watching content on streaming services and social media. 

Let’s take a closer look at some of the video ad formats available to advertisers: 

Connected TV Ads 

If you’re ready to connect with your B2B audience, Connected TV (CTV) is a great place to advertise. According to research done by LinkedIn and MAGNA Media Trials, “CTV viewing is universal among LinkedIn users, with 98% watching CTV in a typical week compared to 83% who watch linear TV.” Overall, people in the U.S. spent an average of 3.5 hours per day with digital video in 2024, making it a critical opportunity for brands to connect with their audience. 

In order to meet viewers where they’re spending their time, there’s a huge opportunity for advertisers to make shifts to streaming and CTV ads. For now, however, CTV viewership continues to grow faster than CTV ad spend. According to EMARKETER, “By 2026, CTV will account for 20% of time spent with media per day by adults in the US, compared with 11.5% in 2020, but it will still only garner 8.1% of total ad spend.”  

The LinkedIn and MAGNA report found that business decision makers are open to B2B ads on CTV, with 94% of the LinkedIn audience watching CTV with ads. Learn more about Connected TV Ads with LinkedIn. 

Event Ads

LinkedIn Event Ads allow brands to interact with their audience members before, during, and after events. By using video content in the Event Ad format, you can maintain consistent communication and effectively engage with current and potential customers throughout the entire lifecycle of the event. 

These Event Ads can drive higher click-through rates (CTR) and engagement rates, as well as drive long-term growth. According to LinkedIn, event attendees are 1.5x more likely to engage with future company marketing versus non-attendees.

Thought Leader Ads

LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads are a great way to highlight employee expertise within your organization’s marketing. These ads can help you improve your brand’s credibility, distinguish yourself as a leader in your industry, and grow your company’s digital community. 

To create these ads, you can start by identifying people in your organization who are already creating incredible thought leadership video content for your industry. Ask their permission to share that post through the Thought Leader Ads format. 

While you’ll certainly find organic employee posts you want to share, you can begin to develop strategies with your employees to craft thought leadership videos specifically designed to be promoted by the company. For example, you might want a sales executive to discuss your latest research or thought leadership on LinkedIn as part of a wider promotional campaign. See this example from the latest LinkedIn CTV research mentioned above. 

How To Make the Most of Video Advertising 

Sure, you can just launch a CTV ad, promote a thought leadership piece, or promote an event and hope it reaches your target audience. But without the right elements in mind, you won’t make the most of your video ad placements. Here are some ways to prepare: 

Understand Your Goals 

Before you create your video ads, you’ll need to identify your goals for the campaign. Do you want to connect with a specific audience segment? Drive conversions? Or bring awareness to your brand? Once you have your goal in mind, you’ll be able to pick the right ad format, craft the right creative (we’ll share more on this next), and connect with your audience effectively. 

Craft the Right Ad Creative 

Your ad creative needs to be purpose-built for your goals, audience, and ad placement. For example, if you’re launching a CTV campaign, your ad creative will look significantly different than it would if you were promoting an event. 

You’ll need to keep several different elements in mind while crafting your ad, including the ad placement requirements. If you’re sharing a thought leadership video post, you’ll need to know the LinkedIn video ad specs before filming your content. Recently, we worked with LinkedIn and TD Bank to ensure TD Bank’s videos were edited and formatted properly for CTV distribution. Read more about our work together. 

Create an Engaging Experience 

If you want to make the most of these video ad formats, you need to create an engaging experience for your audience. You can do this in a couple of ways, including through your ad creative and in-platform features. When it comes to your ad creative, you’ll want to include clear CTAs, encouraging your viewers to take action. (A quick tip: make sure you include your CTA and key message both on-screen and through voiceover; even if someone runs to the fridge for a snack during the ad, they’ll still hear the most important parts of your message!) 

When it comes to the in-platform features, these will vary based on the type of ad placement you choose. For example, some CTV ad placements allow your audience to choose the best ad for them, while others allow you to include a clickable element that directs them to more information or a point of sale. 

Ways To Maximize Your Video Resources 

While television was once reserved for enterprise-level businesses with massive creative budgets, CTV has democratized the TV screen. Now, brands of all sizes can craft and launch incredible television campaigns that help them reach their target audiences. During every step of production, there are ways to keep costs in check and stay within budget. Let’s take a look at a few: 

Effectively Utilize Pre-Production

Planning everything in advance will save you from costly production changes later in the process. Consider your video marketing goals to plan your story, location, and creative elements. When you know what you want to say and who you’re speaking to, you can write a thorough creative brief.

Use Post-Production to Create Ad Variations

Similarly, post-production allows you to create ad variations by swapping voiceovers, music, on-screen text, and more. With the right post-production techniques, you can create an entire campaign from one or two days of production. 

Repurpose Existing Assets 

Another way to make the most of your video resources is to repurpose existing assets. This can allow you to adjust the dimensions of posts and utilize them across different platforms. Many brands incorporate user-generated content (UGC) into their repurposed assets. For example, brands can create compilation videos of their existing UGC creative, and with the right additional elements, turn them into a polished CTV ad. 

Learn more about Creative Best Practices for Producing B2B Video on Connected TV.

Elevate Your Marketing Strategy with Video Ads 

With the right content and strategy, your brand can make an impact with video ad formats. From CTV ads to event promotion to thought leadership videos, your brand can use these engaging video ads to connect with your target audience and drive a lasting connection. 

Read to leverage more video ad formats? Reach out to your LinkedIn representative or contact QuickFrame to learn more.