Five Takeaways From GroupM’s ‘The State of Video’ Report

In its new The State of Video report, media agency GroupM reaches a handful of conclusions about the future it says are certain.

They are;

  • Linear viewing of ad-supported TV is not going to grow.
  • The economics of ad-funded OTT are questionable.
  • Subscription fatigue is inevitable.
  • Advertisers will, as we have said for some time, get used to making video that is relevant to the user and the platform use case. This is essential if they are to benefit from a data-rich, multi-platform world
  • It is only going to get harder to get audiences to sit through interruptive ads.

“Video (television particularly), is overly associated with top-of-the-funnel, 'faith-based' marketing that contrasts with fact-based alternatives in digital environments. As data becomes applied to TV in its linear, OTT, VOD and addressable manifestations, the 'fact gap' narrows,” the report said.

“Perhaps it’s better to get back to basics, the report continues. “The purpose of advertising is to create demand and then harvest it. All channels have the potential to contribute to both. They do that best when they create a great user experience for both viewers (users) and advertisers.

“As markets have become fractured, too much time has been spent in pursuit of single-channel metrics ('my search budget performed better than your programmatic spend'), and not enough time has been focused on cross-channel allocation, optimization and attribution. This is the only way the market stands a chance of correcting the interruptive deficit,” GroupM said in the report. 

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.