A changing market – a new study suggests that the number of people viewing video content is dramatically increasing, opening doorways for new media and advertising opportunities.
As smart phones, portable tablets and public wi-fi networks become more and more commonplace, and large desktop computers and laptops are considered bulky and unappealing, video and media companies, online advertisers and SEO agencies have to be aware of the medium that their content is being translated. With screen sizes changing and rapid developments in entertainment technology, tracing the trends has never been so important.
Ooyala captures 3.5 billion analytics events each day in order to follow these shifts. Having ingested and transcoded over 100 million minutes of video in 2014, Ooyala is now continuing the process in 2015.
According to its recent study, the Q1 2015 Global Video Index, 42% of all online video views are watched on mobile devices. Of these mobile devices, smartphones outranked tablets four to one, with mobile devices making up 34% of all online video plays. This statistic is unsurprising, due to the popularity and accessibility of the smartphone, however the trend pushes upwards.
Since Q1 2014, video plays on mobile devices have doubled with a 100% increase, and over the last two years they have beyond tripled, with a 367% increase. In this year alone, they have increased by 24% from January, and with it the potential market, advertising space and customer attention.
Yet the audience itself ought to be considered. Broadcaster content was played on mobile devices 53% of the time, with PCs making up the other 47%, a major shift in distribution, the scales tipping in favour of mobile devices, a number most likely influenced by younger viewers. From this consensus, it could be argued that mobile advertisements on broadcaster videos would be sensibly aimed at Millenials, yet the study shows that advertisements are less likely to be completed on mobile devices, as opposed to PCs.
Only 79% of advertisements that began to play on a mobile were completed, compared to 89% of those that started on a PC, and publishers saw a similar trend. However, the large volume of mobile devices, and the growing favour towards smartphones, would help combat any loss in mobile advertising.
The report also investigated the power of personalised advertising, with personalised content recommendations providing 50% of total viewed content for consumers. As this demand for mobile content increases, so does the need for marketers and businesses to build comprehensive video and product marketing plans.