Web Video Boom will fuel massive advertising shift.

Skyrocketing traffic to Websites that offer videos will drive a massive shift to digital Web video advertising, according to the latest report published by Contentinople Insider.

The Web Video Revolution: From Eyeballs to Ad Networks Faith analyzes the growth in Web video traffic and how new digital advertising networks and standards will support them. Skyrocketing traffic to Websites that offer videos is providing a huge opportunity for new forms of video advertising to reach consumers. With all the major broadcast and cable TV networks distributing ad-supported videos online, viewers are spending more time on Websites to watch primetime series and video clips. Ad spending is beginning to shift to online video. Based on these shifts, video ad spending is expected to jump more than 50 percent in 2009.

In order to achieve that growth, Web publishers, advertisers, media buyers, ad agencies, and advertising networks that aggregate inventory from multiple Websites must agree on standards for producing and delivering video ads on the Web.

“With skyrocketing traffic to Websites that offer videos, advertisers that once relied only on display and search advertising are turning more to Internet video advertising to reach consumers,” notes Steve Donohue, research analyst with Contentinople Insider and author of the report. “However, in order to achieve growth, those that aggregate inventory from
multiple Websites must agree on standards for producing and delivering video ads on the Web.”

A set of standards for Internet video advertising is crucial for the video ad market sector to succeed, Donohue says. “Advertisers must be able to easily create digital video ads and distribute those spots across multiple advertising networks and Websites,” he adds. However, not everyone sees the point Donohue makes: “While the Interactive Advertising Bureau has
developed guidelines for advertisers, ad agencies, Web publishers, and advertising networks, not all industry players adhere to the IAB guidelines.”

Other key findings of The Web Video Revolution: From Eyeballs to Ad Networks include the following:

— Spending on Internet video advertising is poised to take off, with advertisers using pre-roll advertising and other linear ads, in addition to interactive overlay ads to reach viewers.

— Web publishers and advertisers must reduce the cost of running video ads online face in order to sell video advertising.

— The Interactive Advertising Bureau released guidelines for digital video advertising in May 2008, covering several ad formats. The report summarizes these formats.

— While video advertising represents a small percentage of media spending today, it is expected grow to $850 million in 2009.