Video-level contextual targeting is a powerful technique that allows advertisers to deliver relevant and engaging ads to their audiences based on the content and context of the videos they are watching. Unlike linear TV targeting, which relies on broad categories and demographics, video-level contextual targeting analyzes the actual video content, metadata, and user behavior to create dynamic segments that match the advertiser’s goals and objectives. This way, advertisers can optimize their campaigns for reach, frequency, performance, and brand safety, while also enhancing the viewer experience and avoiding ad fatigue.
In this post, we will explore how video-level contextual targeting works, what benefits it offers to advertisers and viewers, and how it can be implemented at scale using advanced technology and data solutions.
How video-level contextual targeting works
Video-level contextual targeting leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to understand the meaning and sentiment of each video in a publisher’s inventory. It then assigns relevant keywords, topics, categories, and emotions to each video, creating a rich profile that can be used for targeting purposes. For example, a video about cooking pasta may be tagged with keywords such as “pasta”, “cooking”, “recipe”, “Italian”, etc., and categories such as “food”, “lifestyle”, “entertainment”, etc.
Using these tags, advertisers can create custom segments that align with their campaign goals and target audiences. For instance, an advertiser who wants to promote a new pasta sauce may target videos that contain the keyword “pasta” or the category “food”. Alternatively, an advertiser who wants to build brand awareness may target videos that evoke positive emotions such as “joy”, “surprise”, or “amazement”. These segments can be further refined by adding or excluding other criteria such as geography, device type, time of day, etc.
By targeting videos based on their content and context, advertisers can ensure that their ads are relevant and appropriate for the viewers. This can improve the ad performance metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), view-through rate (VTR), completion rate (CR), and conversion rate (CVR), as well as the brand metrics such as brand recall, favorability, and purchase intent. Moreover, video-level contextual targeting can also enhance the viewer experience by delivering ads that are interesting, engaging, and complementary to the video content. This can reduce the ad skipping behavior, increase the dwell time, and foster a positive association between the brand and the publisher.
How video-level contextual targeting enables scale
Video-level contextual targeting is not only effective but also scalable. With the growing popularity of online video consumption across various platforms and devices, advertisers have access to a vast and diverse inventory of video content. However, manually analyzing and categorizing each video is impractical and inefficient. That’s why video-level contextual targeting relies on automated technology and data solutions that can process millions of videos in real time and generate accurate and granular tags for each one.
One such solution is PlayBox Technology’s ad server, a leading provider of video broadcast solutions that help publishers and advertisers unlock the value of online video. Our solution uses AI and NLP to analyze the video content, metadata, transcripts, captions, comments, ratings, and user behavior to create a comprehensive profile of each video. It then maps these profiles to a standardized taxonomy of over 20,000 keywords, 500 topics, 100 categories, and 8 emotions that cover a wide range of verticals and genres. The ad server also provides a dashboard that allows advertisers to create custom segments based on these tags and other criteria. Additionally, the ad server integrates with major ad platforms and exchanges to enable seamless execution of video-level contextual targeting campaigns across various publishers and channels.
Conclusion
Video-level contextual targeting is a game-changer for online video advertising. It goes beyond linear TV targeting capabilities to deliver relevant and engaging ads to viewers based on the content and context of the videos they are watching. It also enables advertisers to capture value at scale by leveraging advanced technology and data solutions that can analyze millions of videos in real time and generate accurate and granular tags for each one. Video-level contextual targeting is not only beneficial for advertisers but also for viewers who enjoy a better viewing experience with less ad clutter and more ad relevance. If you want to learn more about how PlayBox Technology can help you implement video-level contextual targeting for your online video campaigns, contact us today.