Telemetry Says Engagement Matters in Online Video Advertising

"For me the most important thing is to get engagement from the audience. So, it's one thing to hit your 16- to 24-year-old male. The more important thing is to get them engaged with your advertising. The right audience might not be engaged in every instance. It depends on context, it depends on time of day, day of week, et cetera," said Andy Sarfas, director of special projects for Telemetry, an online video advertising distribution and analytics company with offices in New York and London.

Sarfas was speaking at the recent Streaming Media Europe conference held in London. He explained how Telemetry measures user engagement:

"We attempt to tell the advertiser and the publisher whether the audience is engaged. You may have found your right audience online, but are they watching your video or all the way through?" asked Sarfas. "Are they watching your video to the key point in the ad where you've got your message or call to action? What are they doing whilst they're watching the video? Are they looking for a Close button? Are they looking for a Skip button?"

Telemetry is able to monitor mouse movements while an ad is playing, giving it a measure of how fixed the viewer is on the video's message. That engagement is crucial for improving the effectiveness of ads.

"If you can get the consumer actively engaged in your ad, as long as the creative agency have done their job correctly, then you're going to sell more product," noted Sarfas.

Testing ads is important, as ads that are effective in one part of the day may work less well in other parts. Getting solid data lets advertisers optimize their campaigns.

"You can test different creative to see if it's engaging with your audience. Some creative might engage with the audience during the daytime and not at night," said Sarfas.

For the full presentation, watch the video below.

Leveraging the Power of Targeting in Online Video

Moderator: Phil Cooper, European Managing Director, BrightRoll

Ryan Keene, European Director of Business Development, AudienceScience

Andy Sarfas, Director of Special Projects, Telemetry

Jana Eisenstein, Publisher Services Director, Videology

The ability to target highly defined audiences at scale has long been the calling card of the online advertising industry. Combine that with the sight, sound and motion that are the hallmarks of online video, and you have a powerful tool to engage consumers with targeted, relevant and compelling messages. As the pace of innovation in this space continues to accelerate, media buyers face the challenge of staying on top of the tools that are available to help them execute data-driven video campaigns at scale. In this session, the presenters will discuss the current targeting technology available, giving real-world examples of how it can help brands ensure that their campaign budgets are optimized to reach their core audiences.

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