Top 5 Publisher's Question About The New IAB Video Specifications

We've broken down publishers' top questions to assist them in putting together a workable action plan to implement new IAB Tech Lab standards in the future.

To begin, let us quickly review the updated definitions of video ads:

Instream

when a page's primary advertisement appears before, during, or after user-requested video content, the player must indicate the user's purpose in watching the video (e.g., click-to-play).

Accompanying Content

when a video advertisement appears before, during, or after discoverable content (isn't the page's main focus but isn't ad-only). The player can choose to become sticky or floating once the video has just played once while in view. Remember that any Instream player that changes to sticky or floating later on becomes accompanying content. 

No Content / Standalone

This is a video ad without any streaming video content.

Interstitial

This video ad must occupy most of the viewport during playback, be the main emphasis of the website, and be unable to be scrolled out of view.

The New IAB Video Specifications FAQ for Publishers

1. According to the revised definition, what qualifies a video as instream?

The most recent specification also classifies a video as instream if the user intends to watch it. This means that user requests and content matching are crucial. Regardless of whether the video plays automatically with sound, it is considered instream if it is the page's primary content. It's also crucial to remember that when a player changes to floating, it becomes accompanying content. 

2. With the new rule, which KPIs do buyers prioritize the most when deciding their video content?

there is a prediction that the key performance indicators (KPIs) that buyers presently use to monitor the effectiveness of campaigns—like viewability and video completion rate (VCR)—will stay the same. The major change will be ‘how important the content relevancy to the audience.’ To cope with this, Ampliffy has a unique technology helps marketers ensure their advertisements appear in relevant contexts and reach audiences with the correct message at the right time. 

3. How will these standards benefit publishers?

Publishers that prioritize providing their readers with high-quality experiences through instream and contextually relevant accompanying material according to the new standards will gain greater budgets from advertisers and audience engagement. Additionally, purchasers will gain more successful video ad campaigns. We anticipate seeing much more investment in video in the future and an improved overall customer experience, and these new standards are enhancing connectedness and transparency between buyers and sellers.

4. With these reidentifications, will there be changes or drops in CPMs?

Based on the conversation among publishers, there haven't been any CPM consequences until now. However it is predicted that limited availability of instream inventory will cause an increasing price in the near future. So, marketers focusing solely on instream will face pressure from rising prices, so they must refocus their strategy to include alternative formats and associated content. In this case, we think that accompanying content video ads will be a great prospect in the future. There will be interest in out-stream as well, but since it will be a standalone ad experience and in less relevant surroundings for users, it will only be used in certain situations with more performance-driven advertisers. These adjustments will generate fair market value for high-quality, engaging content in relevant locations, even though the pricing dynamics will change temporarily.  Long-term, publishers who can produce meaningful instream and supplementary content experiences will be the most equipped to handle these changes. 

Check out Videoffy if you are a publisher seeking solutions to help you produce more instream content. Videoffy is a white-label video site supported by AmpliffyTV, which provides short-form videos on different topics.

5. Is Ampliffy already applying these changes?

Ampliffy is continuously developing to meet any recent changes and standards. With our technology, Ampliffy will allow publishers to notify their inventory based on the updated values dynamically. This can be made available to all sources of demand. Publishers can easily engage in this activity through Ampliffy control panel to gain a better understanding during the process. On the other hand, we are communicating the new values to more DSPs, which will encourage publishers to contact premium advertisers.

What is Audience Segmentation in Advertising

Audience segmentation Audience segmentation aims to offer more individualized messages and build better connections by identifying subgroups within the target population.

Demographic factors like region, gender identity, age, ethnicity, wealth, or degree of formal education can be used to create subgroups. Additionally, subgroups may be created based on past purchases or other activities. When you know your audience's personality types, values, attitudes, and beliefs, you may use psychographics. One way to categorize people would be to divide them into groups according to their family affiliation, individualism or traditionalism, leadership or subservience, adventure, or domesticity.

To save time, a lot of inexperienced advertisers develop an ad campaign and spread it widely. But audience segmentation employs a more sophisticated tactic; it lets you divide contacts into more manageable groups so you can cater to their actual needs.

The importance of audience segmentation

By increasing the personalization of your advertising campaign, audience segmentation helps you avoid mediocrity. It has the importance of:

• Identify the audiences you want to reach.

• Make your ad campaign specifically targeted at them.

• Address a particular requirement that will enable you to boost conversion rates.

• Build a connection with your consumers to gain their trust.

• Encourage prospective customers to accelerate sales.

Customers are more inclined to listen to your ad when your message is tailored specifically for them. 

But where should we begin? Developing a fictional character or customer profile that represents the ideal customer is the first step in most marketing and advertising strategies. The person's age, work location, marital status, and hobbies may all be included in their profile.

Through profiles, you can interact with your clients on their level, particularly when it comes to understanding their issues and how you can assist in resolving them. You can group those profiles after you've created them.

Audience segmentation types

Advertisers frequently categorize individuals according to their behavior, demographics, and stage of the buyer's journey. The product or service you are offering will determine the audience segmentation method you employ.

For example, you might not want to classify users from different geographic areas differently if your website sells ski equipment as most of them most likely have to go to ski. However, grouping people according to their interactions and conduct can be useful. Individuals who have followed sports for a long time and are familiar with the goods you provide are likely to engage with your business differently than those who are just getting started despite the location.

Let's examine the approaches you may use to divide up your audience.

Demography

This approach of audience segmentation is the most popular and typically the simplest. You can utilize demographic factors such as age, income level, job type, and geography to categorize your audience. This approach is well-liked because it is effective.

Selecting customers based on when they are most likely to require your goods is one kind of location-based segmentation technique. For instance, equipment purchases made by an agricultural enterprise are more likely to occur during harvest. 

Behavior

This tactic goes a bit further than just dividing people by demographics. Seeing what people buy, how frequently they buy it, and why they buy it are all part of the process of analyzing behavior.

For example, a customer who regularly makes little purchases needs different signals than someone who makes major purchases only occasionally. This is due to the fact that those individuals have distinct needs and most likely purchase for various motives.

With behavioral targeting, your ad campaign is delivered to clients at the exact moment when they are most likely to convert. Potential customers, recent customers, loyal customers, and dropouts who have moved to a different brand are a few examples of these groups.

Interest

Everybody has distinct interests. You can better target the right people with the correct message by segmenting your audience based on these interests and creating distinct consumer groups.

For instance, you may leverage the information that a large number of your clients have about a certain sport or sports team to make interesting, tailored advertisements for that demographic.

You can also divide up your audience into groups according to the aesthetics they like—whether it's a simple, contemporary design or something more conventional and antiquated. This is very important to determine the design concept of your ad campaign.

Customer journey

By employing this tactic, you can customize your communications according to the customer journey stage. The customer journey phase consists of awareness, consideration, and decision.

A customer who is just starting out may have recently realized they have an issue to resolve. On the other hand, someone who is almost done understands what to buy and is prepared to make a decision. By using segmentation, you can address the individual needs of each buyer and address any queries they might have rather than just providing them with the same message.

Level of interaction

Different marketing is needed for contacts that engage with your brand on a regular basis compared to those who do so less frequently. A person who often purchases from you or subscribes to your newsletter indicates that they are interested in your business, so they are probably more open to receiving your message than someone who only sometimes interacts with it. Of course, you don’t want to bombard all of your customers with the same message that might result in losing them.

This doesn't mean that you should minimize or ignore users who are not very engaged. You may launch campaigns with customized messaging for these users. 

Utilizing devices

Users will not all visit the internet in the same manner. 50% of your visitors will likely be coming from mobile devices to access your website.

Your ad campaign should adjust to both desktop and mobile device usage patterns. Certain adjustments are obvious, like reshaping your ad campaign’s mobile version to fit smaller screens. However, consider the context in which it will be viewed as mobile customers are more likely to have limited time to read lengthy postings. So, Keep lengthy content exclusive to your desktop audience and keep it short for mobile users.

Implications of the New IAB Definition for Video Ad on Audience Segmentation

Recently, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has introduced a new definition for video ad, which has significant implications for audience segmentation in advertising strategies. This definitions is crucial for advertisers seeking to tailor their messages effectively to different audience segments. By understanding how audiences consume video content across various platforms, advertisers can optimize their targeting strategies to deliver more relevant and engaging ads based on the new IAB video ad definition.

4 New Video Ad Definitions: Which Is The Best?

Unbelievably, 92% of video marketers in 2023 claim that their return on investment from video is at an all-time high. It shows us that video advertising represents a fundamental change in how companies approach.

As a website publisher, you may be wondering how to be on this trend correctly. It's not as easy as placing a video advertisement on your website and waiting for the money to come in. Making smart decisions is necessary, especially when deciding which video ad type is best for your platform.

2024 is quite a challenging year for website publishers as IAB Tech Lab and Google have set new video ad definitions and specifications. With these new definitions, publishers should analyze their inventory in-depth to see how the updated definitions impact their ad placements. Today, we will look at those types and learn the pros and cons of each type. Later, you will have enough information to decide which is best to monetize your site.

Understanding In-Stream Video Ads

Let’s identify “in-stream video ads.” It’s a phrase that is widely used in digital advertising. But what exactly are they, and why should this matter to publishers?

In-stream video advertising plays inside video content where the video itself is the main content. It can appear before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll), or after video content (post-roll).

In-stream advertisements offer publishers a great chance to draw in viewers and encourage interaction, which could increase CPMs. The main requirement to apply for an in-stream video ad is to have a main video content or a dedicated video site.

Pros: In-stream video ads are difficult to ignore and increase engagement from the audience. 

Cons: Some viewers may find in-stream video ads irritating. So, we need to be very careful at which time to place the ad to make it less irritating.

Understanding Accompanying Content Video Ads

Accompanying content video ads are also served in pre-, mid-, and post-roll with text-based supporting content within. This kind of video ad will start to play as soon as it enters the user’s viewport at 50%.

As the video player is not the main content, an automatic “sound-on” is unnecessary for accompanying content video ads.

Pros: Accompanying content video ads have a massive visibility and reach. 

Cons: Viewers may miss these advertisements if they are completely uninterested in the video content, as the main content is text-based. Besides, they also rely on the availability of video content and a compatible video player.

Understanding Interstitial Video Ads

Interstitial video ads fill the screen when a user tries to access a website. They usually show up during transitions and natural breaks.

Pros: A greater level of engagement. Publishers know exactly who, when, and how frequently a user sees these advertisements using interstitials. As this ad appears while users wait for the next content, publishers can clearly know their characteristics and interests. When combined with an effective approach, interstitial video ads can help publishers monetize their pages without sacrificing the user experience.

Cons: Users do not click to see them. Users have no control over whether or not to view interstitial advertising, in contrast to rewarded video ads. This could be intrusive to the users.

Understanding Standalone Video Ads

These are video advertisements that don’t need video content to be played. They are visible without causing too much interruption by appearing on the website aside from the content.

Pros: Great user experience, as they are regarded as one of the least intrusive forms of video advertising.

Cons: Standalone video ads sometimes make some websites load more slowly. This could affect the site’s SEO and user experience. So, try not to use them excessively.

A Detailed Comparison to Consider

Let’s have a detailed comparison among those video ads based on three important factors: monetization potential, placement and integration, and user experience and engagement. This will help publishers keep informed before deciding which types of ads suit the site:

Monetization Potential

• In-Stream Video Ads: They usually generate higher CPMs (Cost Per Mille) because of their great visibility and interaction potential. 

• Accompanying Content Video Ads: With high-quality content, publishers can guarantee that viewers are more receptive to accompanying ads.

• Interstitial Video Ads: Interstitial video ads often generate greater CTRs because they have greater creative room due to their larger size. Additionally, they are more effective at grabbing users’ attention because they take up the entire screen without being intrusive as users can skip or close the ads.

• Standalone Video Ads: They offer a non-intrusive ad experience because they are positioned outside the content. 

Placement and Integration

• In-Stream Video Ads: They are more appropriate for websites that primarily contain video content since they are displayed before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll), or after (post-roll) a video. To function properly, they need a video player that supports them.

• Accompanying Content Video Ads: They are placed like in-stream video ads, the difference is that the video content itself isn’t the page’s main focus. The player can be sticky or floating once the video has played.

• Interstitial Video Ads: They are displayed on the site’s interface until the user closes them. Users can skip it after five seconds. Usually, they appear when the page loads. Users can close the interstitial ad or tap it to proceed to the brand’s landing page.

• Standalone Video Ads: Because standalone video ads are placed aside from the content, viewers can choose whether or not to interact with the advertisements. In this manner, it doesn’t interfere with users’ surfing or viewing experience.

User Experience and Engagement

• In-Stream Video Ads: Users are likelier to notice them because they are integrated into the video content. This can, however, occasionally be a double-edged sword. These advertisements can potentially negatively impact viewers’ experiences if they are excessive.

• Accompanying Content Video Ads:  Even while viewing the video content may not have been the main reason for the user’s visit, accompanying content video ads can be exposed to the users. Only when the video enters the viewport, the ad can begin to play. Publishers can encourage viewers to watch more videos by providing contextually appropriate accompanying content, while advertisers can engage consumers with content related to their interests.

• Interstitial Video Ads: Selecting the ideal times to show these advertisements can improve user experience and increase interaction. Finding natural breaks is crucial when choosing where to display interstitial video ads. Users are less likely to feel disrupted and more likely to be responsive to advertisements at these times. 

• Standalone Video Ads: They can be positioned throughout a page and more successfully grab users’ attention.

Choosing the Right Format

1. Know Your Audience: Understanding the behavior and preferences of your audience is essential. Do they interact with video content more often? Do they mind if advertisements break up their videos, or do they prefer less intrusive commercials when they browse? For a viewership that enjoys watching videos, in-stream advertisements may be ideal.

2. Set Specific Monetization Goals: In-stream advertisements may be your best option if your main objective is to maximize revenue from high CPMs. On the other hand, other formats can be the best option if your objective is to monetize more of the content on your website without compromising the user experience.

3. Your Content:  In-stream advertisements might be a great way to monetize your website if it primarily features video content / a video site. On the other hand, other formats provide a way to include video advertising without producing video content if the majority of the material on your website is text or image-based.