Although they now have a huge competitor, TV ads will not be going away in the near future. Most brands and companies still use them despite their extensive digital advertising efforts. It seems, however, that marketers are still putting most of their time and effort into TV when it comes to video advertising. Digital video advertising has become incredibly popular, but it appears that this level of popularity has not reached nearly as high as it could. According to a recent report from Kantar Media, a marketing insights, information and consultancy agency, there are still quite a few video marketers that have not tapped into digital video as a source of marketing results.
By analyzing ads appearing on both TV and some of the leading online video advertising sites from over 4,100 brands, the report found the numbers in favor of TV ads. Only 23% of brands used online video, with 12% using both online video ads and TV ads and 11% using only online video ads. That left 77% of brands that, for their video marketing, used TV ads exclusively and did not use online video whatsoever.
In regard to which brands are using online video and which are using TV, here is what Kantar reported in their highlights:
According to analysis of data from the tracking service, of the industries that used both national TV advertising and online video advertising during October 2012, restaurants and automotive were the most likely to use both channels, at 43% and 30% of brands advertising respectively, while Internet communications and content companies as well as resort and travel companies were the most likely to use online video advertising exclusively, at 39% and 28% respectively.
Now, with the enormous switch to digital online content by a majority of marketers these days, it is surprising to see that so many marketers are still hung up on TV advertising. Just recently in November, comScore showed us that 88% of online users viewed an online video in the month of October. Even if just one video is being watched for each user, 88% is a huge number in comparison to the entire user base of the internet. Online video is certainly taking over the video advertising industry, and with 77% of video advertising still shooting for results on TV, it is difficult to see how they might be making a good move.
Of course, TV ads are still seeing decent results, because the American consumer is always going to be interested in television. However, television is even being viewed online more and more, so should the ads not go online as well? Soon enough, advertisers will begin to more rapidly make the switch to online video, as the relevance shifts more drastically than it already has.
George Carens, President of Kantar Media Intelligence North America, states, “Consumer interest in online video is surging, but to date companies have had little insight into how this important channel is being used for marketing and advertising campaigns.”
So, are advertisers just late to the online video game, or are they simply sticking to TV, which is what they know best?
