How are mobile video trends impacting the digital publishing industry these days? For starters, the once-verboten vertical format is coming back with a vengeance.
The phrase mobile video trends combines two challenges for publishers into one daunting mega-challenge, but one worth taking on: conquering cross-device advertising and mastering multimedia with strong production and distribution platforms. More and more, the two go hand in hand: If digital magazines are going to succeed on tablets, smartphones, and phablets, the thinking goes, they’re going to need more than just strong content and good design. They’re going to need mobile savvy and video chops.
But the good news is that the gap is closing, and mobile video trends are becoming more accessible for even small enthusiast publishers. And the even better news? Advertisers are ready to spend.
Let’s start there today, with an AdWeek article on the state of mobile ad spending. They’re also all over video this week, with news of an interesting shift in video consumption.
Mobile Ad Spending Skyrockets
Mobile ad spending jumped 65% last year, amounting to $31.9 billion, AdWeek reports, relaying findings from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Mobile display ads accounted for 88% of that growth from 2013 to 2014, totaling $15.1 billion and 47% of total mobile ad spending, AdWeek reports. Search, meanwhile, generated 46% of mobile ad spending to the tune of $14.7 billion. Mobile messaging apps: $2.1 billion.
According to AdWeek, North American mobile ad spending climbed 77% year-over-year, and represented 45% of global buys.
Mashable, Following Mobile Video Trends, Going Vertical …
Who says vertical videos are unwatchable? That thinking is obsolete, as more and more brands try the tactic with cross-device targeting and find success with consumers. This frees up publishers to experiment, and Mashable is doing just that, AdWeek reports, adding that more than half of Mashable’s audience is on mobile.
[text_ad]
“Phones are the dominant device for content consumption with the young, digital generation, and with our new vertical video player, we’re bringing video to our community in an aspect ratio that’s native and natural for mobile,” Mashable Vice President of Product Management Darren Tome told AdWeek.
… Does This Mean All Publisher Video Should?
Well, now that you asked, yes.
“It’s hip to be vertical. With smartphones held upright rather than sideways, such full-screen video started gaining big buzz last year as a way for Snapchat to build out an advertising business,” Lauren Johnson writes in AdWeek. “Now, ‘vertical’ has become the biggest buzzword in digital marketing. Periscope, Meerkat, Mashable and even YouTube have latched onto the concept, and with wider acceptance, traditional creators and designers are finding ways to adapt for video shot straight up.”
Periscope’s User Base Is on the Rise
Speaking of Periscope, the Twitter-owned social video platform is boasting big numbers. The company said last week that it has surpassed 10 million users in just four and a half months, AdWeek reports. The equivalent of 40 years’ worth of livestreaming footage – 21 million minutes – is viewed daily on the app.
Which mobile video trends are you keeping tabs on? Let us know in the comments!
To read more about mobile video trends in the news, visit AdWeek.
