Dive Brief:

• According to eMarketer, in 2015 spending on U.S. video ads increased more than 80%. Spending on mobile is expected to increase at a higher rate than spending on desktop video ads through 2019, although desktop will continue to command a majority of video ad budgets.
• The growth rates of mobile video ads are expected to exceed all other subsets of display ads including banners, rich media and sponsorships.
• Research from comScore Inc., Nielsen and ZenithOptimedia found average daily time spent watching video on mobile devices surpassed desktop viewing for the first time last year, and mobile time is expected to almost double desktop by 2017.

Dive Insight:

Even though mobile video is a growing ad category, eMarketer warned that desktop and connected TVs should still be part of marketers’ digital video ad strategy. Meaning, ad creative that works on one screen might not work on another so marketers should budget to design ads for each digital screen.

EMarketer’s report, “The Essentials of Digital Video Advertising,” also pointed out some of the main bad video ad practices that advertisers, publishers and platform providers all share blame for: serving the same pre-roll video ad more than once during a content session, forcing long-form ads in front of short-form videos, autoplaying as with audio without the user’s permission, and reusing video spots across screens without taking screen aspect ratios into account.

With more consumers spending so much time on mobile devices, it's clear that marketers have to adapt their campaigns to both that medium, but also in ways that will both serve and engage the user. Video ads have seemingly taken the lead in terms of profitability and engagement, and advertising platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat are evidence that while traditional ad forums like TV aren't going way, the tide is turning toward digital.