Video Advertising Explained: Everything You Need to Know

Video remains very popular as technology grows and people find new ways to enjoy content. It’s not surprising. Our busy lives mean we prefer quick and easy-to-digest formats over long texts. Video advertising is highly preferred these days.

What Is Video Advertising?

Video Advertising is showing ads in or around online videos. These can appear before, during, or after a video (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll) or as standalone ads. Automated systems with various targeting options purchase, sell, and display most video ads.

Types Of Video Ads

Linear Video Ads: These ads play before, during, or after the video content, similar to TV commercials.

Non-Linear Video Ads: These ads appear alongside the video content so viewers see them while watching.

Companion Ads: These ads feature text, images, or multimedia content that do not disrupt the video.

Where Are Video Ads Shown?

Video Ads Can Appear in Several Device

• Web browsers on laptops and mobile devices
• Mobile apps
• Over-the-top (OTT) devices like smart TVs
• Platforms Used in Video Ad Delivery

Platforms Deliver Video Ads from Advertisers to Publishers are

Video Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs): Software brands, advertisers, and agencies use to buy video ad space from publishers through real-time bidding (RTB) auctions. They offer features like bidding algorithms, behavioral targeting, and campaign analytics.

Video Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs): Software used by publishers to manage and sell video ad space to buyers through RTB auctions. They include analytics, yield management, and inventory management tools.

Video Ad Servers: Platforms that store, track, and deliver video ads. They help manage campaign tags and decide which ads to show.

Video Ad Networks: Software that gathers ad space from different publishers and sells it to advertisers. They facilitate the buying and selling but usually do not own the media.

How Are Video Ads Served?

Steps Involve For Serving Video Advertising

A user visits a site with a video player requesting video content from the publisher’s server.

• The server sends code to the browser, telling it where to get the video content and how to display it.
• The video player fetches the main video content and then requests a video ad from the publisher’s ad server.
• The publisher’s ad server selects an ad and sends the ad markup to the video player.
• The video player uses the ad markup to request the ad from the advertiser’s ad server.
• The advertiser’s ad server sends back the video ad file, usually hosted on a content delivery network (CDN).
• The platform displays the video ad to the user, and additional platforms may be involved if the ad space is sold through RTB or direct deals.

The Role of the Video Player

The video player is crucial in Video Advertising, acting as the interface between the video and the viewer. It must communicate with ad servers and the device or page. Because different devices use various systems, a standardized method ensures ads play correctly across websites and devices such as desktops, mobiles, connected TVs, and tablets.