Why advertisers need to invest in In-App Video Ads
Rethin Vipinraj
You don’t have to be a digital marketing guru to understand why video advertising is becoming such a powerful force in the digital marketing world. More and more businesses are incorporating videos into their marketing strategy simply because they provide an entertaining and engaging way to reach their audience.
Gone are the days when you could only view videos online on a niche site called Youtube. And gone are the days you would only see businessmen walking around with a mobile phone, most likely a Blackberry with a 240×240 screen and each alphabet laid out on a button. Mobile phones have evolved rapidly in the past five to ten years. One of the most notable features being phones today have a large touchscreen display.
The large screen display of today’s phones provides the perfect avenue for advertisers to run video ads. Whereas, there are about 3.6 billion smartphone users as of 2020, and each year, mobile phones entice us to spend more time with them. According to eMarketer, Adult smartphone users will use mobile internet for about 4 hours per day, with 88 percent of that time spent in mobile apps rather than browsers. That is to say, advertisers should look to invest in the fusion of in-app advertising and video advertising, known as in-app video ads.
What are In-app Video ads?
Advertisements placed in applications on mobile devices are known as in-app advertising. Similarly, when you run video ads in mobile device applications, they are known as in-app video ads.
Through in-app advertising, advertisers can leverage powerful app data to reach consumers with laser precision. Learn how to boost customer engagement and marketing ROI through in-app visuals. Additionally, Americans spend more time on apps than watching live television, according to State of Mobile report. Furthermore, in-app advertising provides a profitable marketing strategy for app developers. They can make money by distributing advertisements within their mobile app. Subsequently, in-app advertising opportunities are in plenty because of the benefit it provides to app developers. For advertisers, apps provide an effective channel to reach a large number of consumers. While there are different formats to in-app advertising, here’s why advertisers should look to invest in in-app video ads.
Why invest in in-app video ads?
High Click-through rates
Video ads generally have higher CTR compared to other formats. According to Inmobi, between 2016 and 2017, in-app video ads CTR grew 300 percent. In the U.S. in Q1 2019, CTRs for video ads were over twice greater than CTRs for native ads and over ten times greater than CTRs for banners on average.
The team at popular classic gaming site Solitaired tested video mobile ads against mobile display ads. They found that with video, they were able to acquire twice the number of users for their solitaire games compared to display with the same budget.
We all watch some sort of video on our mobile devices. Be it on Youtube, Netflix, Amazon, or a video embedded in an article. People nowadays watch videos on the move, whether while traveling in the metro or sipping on a coffee in a cafe. Mobile phones are personal; only one person operates the device. Consequently, the growth of mobile video has compelled businesses to provide a personalized experience on smartphones. For advertisers, this translates to personalized marketing for mobile users.
App developers prefer video ads
The vast majority of app users do not make in-app purchases. It means that the options for app developers to monetize directly from the app are very limited. On the other hand, Mobile video advertising provides an excellent strategy for monetizing non-paying users who do not make in-app purchases. When compared to other formats, in-app video ads cost-per-thousand (CPM) can be among the highest, which implies that developers can earn significant revenue by incorporating in-app video ads into their monetization strategy, which is why app developers prefer video ads over other formats.
Enhance user experience
In-app video ads are among the most popular ad formats because they are entertaining. When combined with the right, non-intrusive placement, app developers can improve user experience by strategically placing appealing video ads in their mobile apps, which is another reason why app developers are more open to video ads.
Video has the power of a thousand words
Most businesses nowadays look to incorporate videos into their marketing strategy. Primarily because videos are more attractive and engaging than text and images. You can include more information and creative imagery in a single video than you would be able to through just text, banners, or images.
In-app video ads formats
Outstream video ads
These are the muted videos that appear out of nowhere and play automatically as you are reading through an article. They are embedded between images or paragraphs of text. When you scroll through the content in the app, the ad plays automatically when it reaches the viewable area in the app. Because these ads only play when the user is looking at them, they have a high viewability rate. Consequently, Advertisers can extend their reach far beyond video players to editorial content publishers such as The New York Times and Forbes.
Instream video ads are standard ad placements within videos, such as pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll. Pre-rolls play before the video starts, mid-rolls play anywhere between the video, and post-rolls play after the video is over. This ad format fits perfectly with app publishers who provide video content. The most notable examples being Youtube and Facebook. They are so effective because they can penetrate the majority of video content consumers.
These are full-screen popup videos between activities within the app, such as after completing a level in a mobile game. Advertisers should invest in this engaging ad format because it fills the user’s entire screen, capturing the complete attention of the user.
A rewarded video ad is one that a user can watch in exchange for an incentive. These could be an extra life in a game, game clues, a limited-time premium subscription, or virtual currency, found mostly in games and entertainment apps. For example, regular Spotify users can get 30 minutes of music without ads if they watch one video ad. It provides the benefits of a Spotify premium subscription (no ads) without paying for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5yxijE3TuE
In-app video ads Trends
According to eMarketer, these are the hottest trends in in-app video ads:
Vertical videos are solely shot and viewed in portrait mode, resulting in taller and thinner visuals than traditional footage. With the growing popularity of mobile video apps and social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik-Tok, vertical videos have become a fiery trend. So much so that Apple created a 9-minute video showcasing this format.
https://youtu.be/4vzR5CJoRak
Most of the apps are portrait-oriented, making perfect sense to choose vertical video ads for mobile devices.
6-second video ads
These are quick and snappy ads that deliver bite-size branded messaging. These are unskippable 6-second videos that are on most mobile video ad platforms. They’re highly effective in increasing brand awareness. 6-second video ads usually have signature jingles or music that become synonymous with the brand; designed specifically to create brand recall in the customer’s mind. The challenge here is to deliver engaging creatives in the bare minimum of time. There is a need to tailor an ad to 6 seconds rather than just trimming a 1-minute video to 6 seconds.
Longform video ads
Better internet data plans and the massive increase in popularity of video streaming apps (Youtube, Netflix, IGTV) have given rise to long-form video ads. Also, another factor is that people don’t mind watching long videos on smaller screens. Much of the mobile advertising landscape and advertising, in general, was built on bite-size content. But this is starting to change with 54% of smartphone viewers video-viewing time spent on videos that are over 20 minutes long. If produced effectively, advertisers can connect with consumers through full-length branded messages. Longform video ads provide the opportunity to showcase the history, goals, and missions of a company. It helps paint the complete picture of a company that you just cannot do with shorter formats.
How to create personalized in-app video ads for mobile users
Use Rocketium to make personalized video ads, which allows you to select multiple languages based on location and add dynamic fields.
Generate videos at scale
Create one video using pre-built templates and change the dynamic fields like name and other personal details to create personalized ads in bulk.
Automate video creation
Use the power of creative automation to generate videos for personalized campaigns.
A/B testing
Create multiple variants of your videos. Experiment with text, CTA, image, and color on the video to choose the best based on customer preference.
Final Words
In-app video ads are one of the most impactful mobile ad formats. They have higher CTRs compared to native ads and banner ads. Furthermore, app publishers prefer video ads because of their high CMP. If you are looking to spend your advertising dollars, in-app video ads are your best option right now. Additionally, you could learn more about video advertising with Rocketium.
Rethin Vipinraj 
