Report: Media aggregators 47% of ad impressions
December 10, 2020
Extreme Reach has published its Q3 Video Benchmarks Report – an industry report outlining trends and ad performance metrics for impressions served from its AdBridge platform to CTV, desktop, and mobile devices for July through September.
Key findings from the report include:
- CTV leads in the share of impressions by device: At 39 per cent, the share of impressions served to CTV continues to lead other devices. ER sees a wide range of preferred devices across its client base with some clients devoting as much as 72 per cent of their impressions to CTV, while others focus largely on desktop and mobile. Because ER is the ad server of record for so many Direct-to-Consumer brands that optimise in real-time to measurable behaviors, the data includes a wide variety of strategies for CTV. The aggregate share of impressions across all ER clients served to CTV remained nearly flat from Q2 to Q3.
- 30-second ads remain the preferred ad length for advertisers: Data from the report indicates that 30-second ads accounted for 81 per cent of ad impressions served by Extreme Reach in Q3 2020, compared to 79 per cent in Q2 and 66 per cent in Q3 2019. This marks an all-time high and the continuation of a trend that began in Q2 2018, when 30-second ads first overtook 15-second spots in ER’s quarterly report.
- Desktop benefits as WFH continues due to COVID-19: In Q3, desktop accounted for 21 per cent of ad impressions, a 40 per cent YOY increase. As remote environments for work and study remain the norm, ER sees more impressions going to desktop to achieve brand goals as consumer behaviour adapts to the new digital and virtual environment. Video completion rates (VCR) for ads on desktop remained steady at 70 per cent, though lower than rates seen for mobile app and CTV (where skipping ads is generally not an option).
- Media aggregators hit a new high: Similar to the growth seen in Q2 2020, media aggregators surged to 47 per cent in Q3, an increase from 35 per cent in Q2 and just 20 per cent in Q3 2019. While premium publishers still lead in share of impressions served, at 53 per cent, this is the lowest percentage reported for premium publishers since Extreme Reach’s first report in Q1 2017.
“2020 continues to bring challenges to marketers and each quarter our data reflects shifts in strategy to account for the current circumstances,” said Mary Vestewig, Senior Director, Video Account Management at Extreme Reach. “We see many digital native DTC brands focused on attribution and favouring ads on mobile and desktop over CTV. Others, looking to grow brand awareness, invest far more heavily in CTV. What’s clear is that no single media mix suits every client and I believe that remains a constant even as many factors in digital advertising evolve and change.”