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Video content is a huge component of the digital user experience and marketers who leverage it correctly are able to efficiently reach their audiences for maximum impact. In a recent
survey
, 92% of marketers who use video said that it's an important part of their marketing strategy, with 88% reporting that it gives them a positive ROI.
If
you’re
using video advertising in your strategy, keep in mind that each video placement has its own look and feel, and consumers respond best when a brand’s video ad aligns with the right context. Here, we’ll dive into the available video formats and how to master them to achieve your business goals. Take a look.
Available Video Formats
Instream: A video ad that plays before (Pre-Roll), during (Mid-Roll) or after (Post-Roll) video content. This format gets its name because the ad is served somewhere within a stream of video content, like when you watch a video news story and an ad appears before the story begins. The majority of video web inventory is 15 seconds or 30 seconds instream pre-roll. Outstream: A video ad that plays out of a stream of video content. Most often, outstream videos autoplay and are found between paragraphs of text content. Outstream can be any length, but it’s best to keep the video under 30 seconds. Vertical Video: A video ad that is filmed and played in a vertical or portrait orientation instead of the traditional landscape. The vertical video appears most often in-app between game levels where interstitials are frequently used. Vertical videos are consumer-friendly since they do not require turning your phone to appropriately view the ad, and they’re brand-friendly since they leverage 100% of the phone’s screen. This format is not widely used in the marketplace. Longform: A video ad is typically considered longform if it’s over 60 seconds. However, there is no industry standard length. Longform video is best used by a brand that needs to convey its message in more than the standard 30 or 60 seconds. YouTube: A video ad that plays a brand’s YouTube video across YouTube and Google video partner sites and apps.* Viewers opt in to videos that interest them and advertisers receive views from audiences they know are curious. YouTube formats include skippable in-stream, six-second bumpers, discovery and non-skippable. *Google Ad Manager publisher inventory with a YouTube inventory player embedded. Native: A video ad that plays natively in content specifically designed for a web page or app to limit disrupting a user’s experience. Native placements include branded video, sponsored articles and content feeds. Native video is not supported on all exchanges but is easy to activate since buyers can serve videos in native display inventory and pay display rates.Best Practices For Setup and Use
Now that I’ve shared the different formats, let’s dive into video best practices: Video Specifications When creating and uploading videos, consider the following specifications, and make sure your brand’s logo or app icon is present in the video.:- File format: .mov or .mp4
- Dimensions:
- Landscape/horizontal: 1280 × 720, 1920 × 1080, or 1440 × 1080
- Portrait/vertical: 720 × 1280, 1080 × 1920, or 1080 × 1440
- Codec: H.264
- Frame Rate: 23.98 or 29.97
- Bitrate: At least 20 Mbps
- No black bars or letterboxing
- SpotXchange hosts the majority of CTV inventory.
- Magnite (fka Tremor and Telaria), SpotXchange, Connatix, Teads, and FreeWheel specialize in video inventory so focus there first when running video.
- DV360 native video integrations include ShareThrough, TripleLift, Nativo, Taboola, LiveIntent, Match Media Group, YouTube and more.
- DV360 outstream video integrations include Teads, Taboola, Kargo and more.