With publishers increasingly investing in video, a new study from the Association of Online Publishers in partnership with top accountancy firm Deloitte has shown how important it now is to advertisers.
The research revealed that annual online video revenue for UK publishers increased by 23.8% in the third quarter of this year. The figures also showed that mobile advertising revenue had a year-on-year growth rate of 16.2%.
Tablet falls
One thing that bucked the positive trend was the fact that tablet ad revenue was still found to be in decline, marking a 23% decrease in the third quarter of 2015 when compared with the same period in 2014.
However, interim managing director at the Association of Online Publishers Richard Reeves said the overall figures were “promising” and proved that publishers are increasingly investing in video.
Reeves explained: “Many premium publishers have invested a lot of time and resource into ensuring their online video offer reflects their brand identity and resonates with the audience, enhancing the overall reader experience rather than detracting from it.”
He went on to say that content marketing type formats are continuing to move forwards and future AOP research will collect more specific data that will look at exactly how its members are utilising these to drive digital publishing revenue.
Positive expectations
The study also asked AOP board members how their businesses had been performing in terms of growth.
More than two thirds (65%) of respondents said they had been experiencing positive growth since Q3 2014, and for 22% of them, this meant an annual growth greater than 25%.
Deloitte media partner Howard Davies commented on the good feeling by saying: “The optimism that we have seen in the industry over the last few months has been proven with positive year-on-year growth rates for both mobile and online video advertising.
“Significantly, the growth in online video has surpassed that of mobile for the first time since Q4 2014. Not only is this an indication that publishers have an improved understanding of how to use the advertising medium, but audiences are also more accepting of online video advertising.”
