Marketers know that customers are more responsive to video content than text, regardless of the channel it lives on. The digital advertising industry is undergoing a major shift, with digital video ad spending projected to exceed $62 billion this year—a 16% year-on-year increase and more than double the $26 billion spent in 2020.

Since that year, the share of ad spending has shifted nearly 20% from linear TV to digital video. According to IAB estimates, in 2024, digital video will attract 52% of the video ad dollars, surpassing linear TV for the first time:

1Source: 2024 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, IAB

While the size of the video ad market still pales compared to Google ad, the opportunity for video is wider and stronger, especially considering the disruption search will suffer at the hands of generative AI over the coming years (more on that here). 

Going forward, ad campaigns are expected to be more video-focused. Data shows that video content performs best among content marketing formats. This reflects a shift in consumer preferences, where visual and auditory storytelling holds precedence in capturing audience engagement. 

2Top10 best-performing content marketing formats (Source: Forbes)

Maximizing Returns on Video Ad Inventory

Digital media publishers have a prime opportunity to open up new revenue streams by capitalizing on the rapid growth of video in digital advertising. Technologies like Generative AI enable publishers to start with a well-planned video strategy, which opens doors to significant industry advantages.

Most publishers are familiar with strategies for maximizing the ROI of existing video ad inventory. These include real-time ad placements, direct deal programmatic advertising for fill rate optimization, participating in high-yield direct sales campaigns, integrating ad servers with SSPs and DSPs, and ad exchanges/ad networks that enable real-time bidding (RTB) for efficient monetization, and creative ad formats for pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-rolls. 

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However, this article is not about maximizing the ROI of existing video ad inventory. Instead, we’ll discuss some ideas and strategies for expanding the video ad inventory space so publishers can be better prepared to leverage the shifting dynamics in the video advertising space.

Metrics that Matter

While it seems logical to assume the more video advertising inventory publishers have, the more opportunities they have to sell, the economics of digital publishing can be weird. For instance, many publishers observe that cutting down the number of ads displayed raises the net revenue due to the rise in value of the remaining ad space being sold. This is because what matters above everything else is user engagement and user behavior. 

While ad impressions can increase ad space value, publishers must strike a delicate balance between traffic quality and ad load. Acquiring low-quality traffic or overloading pages with ads can harm user experience, leading to high bounce rates and decreased engagement. 

Sustained growth and good CPMs depend on attracting and retaining engaged users who align with the publisher's target audience. Such users are likelier to interact with ads, watch videos, and stay on the site. Publishers must optimize ad revenue while building a loyal audience by focusing on quality content, relevant targeting, and a seamless user experience.

How to Add More Video Advertising Inventory

Comparing display ads to video ads is not straightforward, as they measure different types of engagement. For instance, one minute of video viewing typically represents more focused attention than a single ad view. A one-minute video also conveys significantly more information; its audiovisual nature creates a stronger impression. 

If adding quality display ad inventory requires publishers to get users to view more articles, expanding quality video ad inventory necessitates driving user engagement through longer video consumption time. To achieve this, publishers can employ several strategies:


1. Place Video Units On Each Page 

This involves embedding video units within or adjacent to the content on every webpage, turning each page into a video advertising opportunity, even if the primary content is text-based.

How It Works: By embedding video ads alongside articles, publishers can create additional inventory without relying solely on video-heavy pages. For instance, adding a video player to a news article page allows for ad placement without the need for a video-centric platform.

Benefits: Increases video ad impressions across the entire site. Reaches users who may not normally visit video-focused pages, and offers higher monetization opportunities by combining text and video ad formats.

Challenges: Placement must feel organic to avoid frustrating users. The user experience should remain balanced; too many video units can lead to slower page load times or cause user irritation.

4Forbes’s Fluid XL Video offers a combination of static and video creatives 

Examples: Prominent publishers, including Forbes, CNN, The Guardian, NYT, and Buzzfeed, place video units on some, if not all, pages.


2. Leverage AI To Scale Video Content

This strategy requires publishers to produce video content that complements their written articles. This could be summaries, explanations, interviews, or even entire articles repurposed as videos—in short, a video for every article out there.

How It Works: Publishers create a corresponding video for each article to provide deeper engagement in an alternative content format. These videos can be embedded within the article page or used as standalone content.

Benefits: Because video is inherently a more engaging format, it enhances the user experience while providing more opportunities for in-stream video ad insertion (pre-roll, mid-roll, etc.). Short-form video formats popularized by social media platforms like TikTok can be leveraged for greater engagement, improving metrics like time on site and engagement.

Challenges: consistently creating quality video content can be resource-intensive, and not all articles, particularly those with limited visual storytelling potential, lend themselves well to video content creation. 

Barely two years ago, producing videos at scale was a resource-intensive, costly process beyond the reach of small and medium publishers. However, technologies like generative AI video have changed the game. It is now possible to generate a video for every article on a publisher’s website using low-lift, automated workflows, all while maintaining brand safety guidelines. This enables publishers to expand the types of ad inventory, including premium inventory placements across digital platforms.


3. Add A Collapsible/Sticky Video Unit

Collapsible or sticky video units remain visible in the corner of the screen, allowing video content to stay in view even as the user consumes the rest of the page’s content.

How It Works: A collapsible or sticky video ad can either autoplay or trigger based on user interaction. As the user scrolls, the video moves to a fixed position on the screen, keeping it visible until the user closes it or completes watching.

Benefits: Maximizes video ad viewability, as the video remains visible. It also increases the likelihood of the ad being seen to completion, which is valuable for advertisers. 

Challenges: If not correctly implemented, it can be intrusive, leading to a negative user experience. It must also be optimized for mobile apps and pages where screen space is limited.


4. Optimize Player Size

Online video players are indispensable tools publishers use across owned and operated websites, apps, and other digital platforms. Player size can affect both the user experience and the effectiveness of video advertising.

How It Works: Optimize the video player's size based on content type and device. Larger video players are better suited for feature videos or long-form content, while smaller, more discreet players work for quick clips or news bites. Here is a guide publisher’s guide to choosing online video players.

Benefits: A well-sized player improves engagement rates, as the video feels natural within the page’s layout. A larger, more immersive player can encourage longer viewing times, making mid-roll ads more effective. Test different player sizes for optimal conversion rates and user preferences.

Challenges: Choosing the right size can be tricky. Overly large video players can dominate the page, disrupting the flow of content, while small players can diminish the impact of the video ad, reducing engagement.


5. Use Video Discovery Tools

Good-quality videos alone are not enough to keep users engaged. It's the ability to deliver users the right content at the right time in the right place that matters. Netflix was one of the first to fully embrace this technology, using algorithms to suggest movies and TV shows to subscribers. This helped them stand out in the competitive streaming market.

How It Works: Discovery tech analyzes user behavior, page context, and past interactions to provide publishers with an engagement-based unit that recommends video content they love. The unit automatically skips content they don’t interact with, thus creating more opportunities for video ad placements that align with the user's demographic profile.

Benefits: Increases video consumption by delivering highly relevant video content. Keeps users on-site longer, boosting ad inventory and engagement. Personalization enhances the user experience, making them more likely to watch videos to completion.

Challenges: Requires investment in sophisticated technology to analyze user behavior and content effectively. If not managed properly, over-recommendation can overwhelm or annoy users.

Conclusion

Video content is a dominant force in digital advertising, and marketers increasingly acknowledge its power to engage and convert. To maximize video ad inventory, publishers must adopt a video-first strategy, leveraging AI to scale production and drive highly targeted advertising. This will boost user engagement and effectively influence the desired behaviors that advertisers value.