Mobile Video – Digital Advertising Superhero in the Age of Viewability

The digital ad industry has been in overdrive to solve the problem that is digital media viewability. Advertisers and media agencies are all calling for a stricter display viewability standard, with giants like GroupM demanding 100% viewability as tables stakes. It makes sense for all companies in our ecosystem to invest in the solution, as it strengthens confidence in consumer exposure, engagement, and the end goal of conversion.

On the flipside, you have publishers and SSPs who are rightfully concerned that under the new standards, their inventory will be devalued and expensive vendor technology will be required to further validate inventory and bring back their revenue. Just recently, I read that Lenovo is requiring all partners to work with Integral Ad Science – this impacts publishers, agencies and other tech providers. Additionally, publishers might need to dramatically redesign their sites to account for the new standards, which risk audience engagement and adoption.

Given the abundance of display inventory and cheap prices, some have suggested that the industry obsession with viewability may actually swing the pendulum back in favor of publishers. Publishers would be forced to commit resources and creativity to improving their user experiences that would validate their content and audiences, which would drive up inventory prices and yield.  It remains to be seen whether many publishers will take advantage of this opportunity. But if you are a brand marketer, you know that if they don’t, there are clearly other viable options in the marketplace.

With this in mind, it makes sense that mobile video and connected TV inventory are quickly scaling as an attractive opportunity for media buyers. This emerging inventory has some clear-cut advantages over display media. Personalization, full-screen media and high engagement rates all make mobile video a darling to brand advertisers – and now with connected TV you can often beam your mobile video from a 6 inch screen to a 40 inch+ screen in your living room. The ad is beautiful and worth the production time because it’s viewable.

This post was written for the Mobile Leaders Alliance, follow the link for full article!