Blog Archives | Page 9 of 13

Show Me the Incentive, I’ll Show You the Outcome: Will Google Follow in Apple’s Footsteps?

By Rotem Shaul | October 15, 2020

Following years of Safari changing the way it treats user privacy, Apple announced that its upcoming operating system IOS 14 will only share IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) when users opt-in. Some say this will be the deathblow for personalized advertising on Apple devices, as fewer than 5% of users will choose to opt-in. Criticism of this move has ranged from accusing Apple of wanting to control the publishing world, give its own ad network an unfair competitive advantage, to a desire to harm Facebook and Google.

Here’s a different theory for why Apple would make such an aggressive decision. Charlie Munger once said, “Show me the incentive, I’ll show you the outcome.” To understand Apple’s incentive, we need to better understand who their clients are. Apple reports for Q2 2020 show that selling hardware accounted for 77% of Apple’s revenue, while services accounted for the remaining 23%.

Apple services itself is comprised of many products – Apple Music, App Store, Icloud, Itunes, Apple Books, Apple Pay, AppleCare Licencing, and more. In terms of revenue, the only product that is related to advertising is the App Store, but, even here, most of the revenue is driven by app downloads that came from search or in-app purchases and not from paid advertising.

Upon understanding that Apple’s revenue has little to do with advertising, figuring out an alternative agenda for IDFA and Safari changes becomes easier. Apple’s clients are the end-users buying hardware and services, so the incentive is to please them and gain more market share by answering the trend of users demanding more privacy. Taking more advertising dollars from the market can be a nice upside, but not the main agenda.

Also, Apple blocking dozens of 3rd party trackers also earns them trust from their already loyal base of consumers. Those consumers won’t mind Apple using first-party data as long as Apple is the sole company to gain access and they commit to not sharing this data with other ad tech companies they never heard of.

Apple’s incentive to gain market share along with recent privacy trends will result in more privacy initiatives in the Apple ecosystem, regardless of what Tim Cook’s company decides to do in the ad space. This can help us tackle the elephant in the room, how Google will react.

The Google Angle

Google has a diverse revenue stream, so they need to balance more types of clients and incentives – brands, agencies, publishers, O&O assets (YouTube, search etc), Android and, finally, the end-user.

Because there are more types of incentives, analyzing the outcome becomes harder. This is why I believe Google hasn’t made up its mind on what to do. It releases ideas to the market to figure out how the public and the industry will react, while buying time for new technologies and trends to emerge.

My prediction is that the incentive map for google will change and Google will do the same thing Apple is doing, the reasoning behind it is again, the incentive map. As time goes by we will see two trends. Growing pressure from users demanding more privacy combined with some good tech currently being developed to support a cookieless ad ecosystem. Those two trends will change the incentive map enough so it will be in Google’s best interest to do the same thing Apple did and is still doing.

Conclusion

Looking at the incentive map it is easier to understand that it was in Apple best interest to kill 3rd party cookies and IDFA sharing. As a company that mainly sells hardware and user experience, their clients pay extra to enjoy the closed garden Apple experience. Apple might use this opportunity to gain a new ad revenue stream, but there is a small upside and it won’t be the main incentive for their actions.

Google seems to be stalling as the balance between privacy and revenue is not decisive yet. As time goes by, the threat for the advertising part of the business will grow smaller and the potential harm from the user part of the business will grow larger. This pincer movement will change the incentive map for Google and it will ultimately be in their best interest to do what Apple is doing now. When they do, it won’t be to control publishing, fight facebook, or because of any other conspiracies. It will be because changing incentives drive changing outcomes.

Political Video Advertising in 2020: The Campaigns Behind the Campaign

By Rinat Avrina | October 7, 2020

It happens every other year. Elections in the United States boost ad-spend, especially towards the end of the year. While political ad spend never stops, especially on the big platforms, these election seasons take it to another level entirely. In election years (presidential or midterm), and around November in particular, political advertisements can become a significant share of total revenue for publishers and ad tech vendors.

In addition to the political climate being exceptionally heated this year, another wrinkle has entered the equation; the ongoing pandemic. With online becoming more appealing for political advertising, spend has shown a big leap since the initial drop due to the onset of the lockdowns, and, according to Primis data, that spend has increased by 441% over political spend in January.

This is also reflected by the share of political ad spend out of Primis’ total revenue. Although many other ad categories managed to recover in Q3, after the initial shock of COVID wore off, political budgets have taken an even bigger share. Political video ad spend has grown from just 4.2% of overall ad spend to 12.4% in just the past two months. This trend is predicted to hit a crescendo in November.

Political Media Buying: The KPIs You Need to Know

There are certain factors that media buyers should look for in political campaigns. We’ve gathered here the most important aspects to consider when assessing the quality of ad traffic.

Contextual Targeting

The importance of ads fitting naturally in context cannot be overstated. Ads that are contextually relevant are 43% more engaging.

When it comes to political advertising there is an additional layer of importance. While it’s common sense that political ads should be shown on articles that discuss politics or current events, it is also important to place the ads alongside topics that don’t conflict with their political leanings.

Geofencing

Geofencing is a way to obtain very specific location data (e.g. around a business, shop, etc.) from a mobile user and target them with relevant ads. In 2016, Donald Trump’s campaign used this technique to push catholic churchgoers in Wisconsin toward voting. That helped him win the state by fewer than 23,000 votes.

Smart targeting of audiences is key in political media buying. Cross-referencing that with data, like voter rolls is a powerful combination.

Data

While many ad campaigns rely on data, there is no doubt that data will make or break the success of a political campaign. Whether it’s 1st-party data or 3rd-party, data is necessary to reach a desired audience. It can also be helpful in finding and targeting voters who are still struggling to decide.

Scale

Usually, all of the previously mentioned targeting options mean that the audience is limited. In order to reach your desired audience, budgets must be diversified across various platforms and formats so that the specific audiences can be found. That can include web, apps, CTV and more.

Summary

As with any digital campaign, constant optimization is key for a successful campaign. Monitor your campaign’s viewability rate to make sure your ads are being seen. Also, completion rates can help identify if the ad was interesting for the user and to constantly monitor the effectiveness of each ad. Keep an eye on brand safety so that your budgets will be spent in appropriate settings.

Having these stats aligned is a pretty good sign that you are on the right track.

There are a lot of shared attributes between succeeding in political media buying, and buying media for other campaigns. However, the need to scale quickly, yet reach users in a safe and effective manner truly raises the stakes.

These 5 Video Content Creators Know How to Drive Engagement

By Omri Polak | October 7, 2020

As we’ve shown before, video consumption has been on the rise since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Engagement rates have also enjoyed a surge. Now, it’s time to dive a little bit deeper to better understand what is driving this golden era of video.

Here are a few examples from some of our leading partners, like Video Elephant. All of the statistics are from August 2020.

Krispy Kreme Expands to Walmart Shelves, Cheddar

This tasty update came from Cheddar’s main channel, covering business and market news. It really hit the sweet spot with users across the Primis network of publishers, having a well-known and well-loved American brand as the topic helping it generate a high engagement rate (9.96%).

The strengths of this video lie in its length (an efficient 2 minutes) and an intriguing headline, creating a desire to hear more details about this announcement.

Dream Theater’s John Petrucci Plays His Favorite Riffs, Loudwire

At first glance, you might miss this pearl by Loudwire. Luckily, users that came across it when featured by our various music publishers identified its true value – a rare peek into a master at work. Dream Theater’s lead guitarist, John Petrucci, shares intimate stories about his guitar skills, ranging from his childhood in Long Island to Dream Theater’s biggest moments.

What makes this such an engaging video? The opportunity for viewers to learn from a true legend. This caused 2% of the users to click on the “Stay” option in Primis Next and view it in an uninterrupted experience.

Blizzard’s controller support isn’t about consoles: it’s about accessibility, Bang Showbiz Gaming

The gaming vertical is the big winner of the pandemic, demonstrated in the trend analysis published earlier this year. Eye-catching graphics of gameplay made this short video, about one of the most successful games of all time – World of Warcraft, a must-see piece. One aspect that helped it stand out above the competition is its thumbnail image, garnering a 1.5% click-through rate when appearing as part of the playlist.

Man faints in front of Prince Charles & Beirut Blast: Aerial Footage Shows Scale of Destruction, ITN News

These two videos by ITN’s news channel stood out in their respective vertical on a very simple basis – meeting the expectations the users developed from those great titles. Unlike so many videos you’ll come across the web, failing to deliver what they promised in a bombastic title, these videos truly deliver. This invites the users to engage with the timeline to view the interesting footage again and again.

Supermarket Squat! Doctor Leads Workout Sessions for Customers Waiting in Line at Grocery Store!, ZMG Buzz60

This feel-good story about a Canadian doctor encouraging his fellow shoppers waiting in line to get their daily dose of exercise popped on our radar at the start of the pandemic, dating back to mid-March. Since then, it’s been a constant hit with users, generating all types of positive engagement and feelings about our ability to work together to overcome Covid-19. 1.45% of users opted to view the video in full screen, 1.8% unmuted it and 1.65% clicked on its thumbnail image when they encountered it in their playlist.

Driving Video Engagement in 2020

So, what have we learned?

A good thumbnail will help you break through the clatter
So can an interesting title
Users are losing patience with videos that don’t deliver on a bombastic title
Viewers appreciate real high-quality video over slideshows
Feel-good stories do better during these challenging times
There is no substitute for good storytelling.

Video Discovery: The Cheat Code for Gaming Website Monetization

By Adar Kleinman | August 17, 2020

The online gaming industry is a highly lucrative, yet highly competitive, category. Almost 500M users globally are estimated to be taking part in the pastime, and about half of them are deeply involved. Growth of the sector has been showing double digits YOY, both in user growth and in revenue

Leveling Up During COVID-19 Outbreak

While the sector was growing fast before the virus took over, it seems to have really gained traction and public attention since the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns. According to numbers on the Primis network, video consumption doubled(!) and video engagement rates have tripled from pre-lockdowns. And, while it can be seen as a quick form of escapism and an activity that doesn’t require groups of people or leaving one’s home, its effects will probably be felt in the long run.

A Tech-Savvy Audience That Loves Video

But, while the market is expanding, so are the users’ expectations. In an industry that is led by multi-billion dollar platforms, independent websites find it harder to compete for user attention and time. Publishers need to work hard to deliver the level of user experience that their audience expects.

Video is a big part of that. While many gaming websites are focused on teaching gamers how to upgrade their skills or providing the latest esports news, many gamers expect to have video integrated into that experience. Many enthusiastic gamers will even keep on videos of gameplay-footage while they work, shop, or surf the web.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of video content. Gamers create massive amounts of self-generated videos, while brands cater to users’ needs with sponsored content promoting new releases, an official launch or a trailer. The large number of videos, coupled with users’ thirst for them, provides gaming publishers with great video monetization opportunities, but also with difficulty.

Opportunity or Challenge?

Users who are more focused on video, stay longer on the page, and raise the website’s page duration. That, in turn, has a very positive impact on ad revenue. In fact, according to Primis numbers, gaming sites on the Primis network shows CPMs 61% higher than the network’s average. This is propelled by gaming sites having duration rates 108% longer than average!

However, to garner these kinds of numbers, publishers need to offer a tip-top video user experience. Besides getting their hands on the best videos out there, publishers need to provide them with a lightweight, bug-free, user-friendly video unit. The gaming audience will not be forgiving with underperforming video content OR video experience. With such a tech-savvy and demanding audience, the user experience has to come first.

Focus on User Experience, Revenue Follows

When planning a video strategy for gaming websites, the first thing to consider is putting the user’s needs first. The revenue will follow, guaranteed. Gaming users want video to accompany them as they scroll through news, forums, guides, simulators, or stores. It is absolutely vital that they are offered great (and relevant) videos that start muted, and do not interrupt their content consumption.

With ad revenue targeting gamers growing in the double digits YOY, creating additional video inventory is a win-win for both user experience and publisher ROI. The more video is consumed by users on a publisher’s website, the more quality and lucrative ad inventory they have to sell to advertisers.

Strategic Growth Driver for Gaming Websites

Understanding all these facts makes it clear that gaming publishers looking to thrive, or even to survive, need to put video content and its monetization at the core of their business plan. The good news is that today there are trustworthy companies that can help it be done with minimal effort on the part of the publisher. Furthermore, for those publishers who incorporate video into their strategic plans, the rewards in revenue and user satisfaction are enormous.

COVID Category Index Update: Video Engagement and Consumption Rates

By Omri Polak | July 30, 2020

Just a couple of months ago, we used Primis data to give an overview of engagement and consumption rates during the first phase of COVID lockdowns. The report spanned several categories, indicating varying changes in the users’ video consumption habits. Since then, things have continued to change, but the trends are less extreme. Overall, we are seeing a rise in engagement that is the highest since lockdown began for many countries in early April, a full 67% higher than pre-COVID. We are also seeing a positive trend in consumption rates, although less drastic than the beginning months of the pandemic.

Quick reminder: User engagement rates (ER) are an important indicator. When engagement rates are high, it signifies that users are more immersed in the content that they are viewing. The rates since the lockdown, across the board, have been very positive. While this could be partly attributed to improvements in Primis’s Discovery Algorithm, that is not the only reason users are more engaged with video content than before.

After analyzing data points from all categories across the Primis publisher network, we were able to paint a picture of what is happening across the different verticals. We’ve again provided both how many are interested in a certain category (measured by overall impressions), and also how interested they are (measured by user engagement).

Key Takeaways

It seems as though the Gaming vertical is the category that is growing the strongest, not only doubling (!) the consumption but almost tripling engagement rates. With such a strong and consistent trend, gaming could be seen as symbolic of the COVID/lockdown era, representing a growing form of escapism combined with an engaging activity that doesn’t require groups of people or leaving one’s home.

The DIY and Home categories have shown strong growth at the start of the lockdowns, both in consumption (85% and 198%, respectively) and in engagement rates (48% and 22%, respectively). However, in May, they dropped in both metrics. Over the past few weeks, they are showing a strong recovery. This may be because people are realizing that they may be in this situation for the long haul and that improving their home experience is therefore more urgent.

Sports is the most exciting part of this index with a bounce back to pre Covid-19 numbers in terms of consumption (and even reached a 41% increase over them in the second week of July). The Engagement rates are soaring as well (47% increase at the start of July) – the sports-starved crowd is eager to consume content on the recently restarted NBA season and playoffs, the baseball season, PGA golf and more. The positive trend isn’t slowing down for the past 8 weeks.

In the News category, after an initial uptick, there has been a consistent, slow decline in the past months. It is a possible indication of people wanting to block out the bombardment of worrying news. However, in the past few weeks we are seeing a rise both in consumption (26%) and engagement rates (83%), perhaps due to the upcoming elections and a more hopeful outlook with vaccines pending and public areas reopening.

The Food category has been showing interesting fluctuations. The category started strong at the beginning of lockdowns, probably people wanted to learn how to cook at home as eating out was no longer an option. Soon after, came a steady decline in consumption, which seems to show that either people memorized their recipes, tired of their cooking, or that delivery and pickup systems adapted to the new situation. Or all of the above.

Unfortunately, the Travel category is yet to see any significant uptick. Even travel from home initiatives didn’t pick up any steam. However, expect it to make a comeback, much like sports did, when the time comes.

The Kids / Education vertical, a topic of great controversy and debate in certain parts of the world, is starting to normalize in terms of impressions after a long stretch of increased consumption. This is likely due to the summer break and the possible reopening of schools.

The Numbers by Category

The benchmark for all graphs are impression numbers and engagement rates from the start of February.

News

While we’ve seen an increase in consumption since early March, there was a steady decline starting in early May that has been rebounding in the past couple of weeks.

Sports

Consumption in March was very high, followed by an understandable crash. Since the second half of May it has shown consistent growth, coupled with a growth in engagement.

Gaming

The big growth in consumption since the beginning of lockdowns has since stabilized. Interestingly, the rise in engagement is keeping on growing, reaching 331% growth at one point.

Food

Here we are seeing a disparity between the first and second phases of the lockdown. While, at first, consumption and engagement grew significantly, the second part showed a decrease in consumption to pre-lockdown levels.

Travel

The vertical has experienced an expected drop of 95% in consumption rates. While the end of May and start of June showed some minor signs of recovery, the trends have flattened again.

DIY

Having experienced a powerful and long-term growth since the start of the pandemic, the DIY category saw a drop from mid-May to pre-lockdown levels, both in engagement and consumption. However, there has been a positive trend over the past couple of weeks.

Home

A very consistent rise in consumption of Home-related content, while the engagement rates have remained stable.

Kids/Educational

The lockdown has promoted a huge uptick in consumption and engagement rates. After a huge initial 300% jump, there has been a correction, possibly due to public places reopening and summer break from homeschooling.

Video Advertising Glossary

By Simcha Weil | July 22, 2020

Like any industry, digital video advertising has plenty of jargon. It’s a great form of shorthand between experts but can be intimidating to those not in the know. In the interest of making video monetization terms more accessible, we present to you our video advertising glossary.

Ad Inventory

Digital advertising inventory or media inventory is the ad space available on a digital asset (website/app/platform) for advertising. For digital publishers who monetize their websites with ads, this term signifies half of the revenue equation, as it is the amount of “product” they can sell, while CPM signifies the price. Naturally, publishers are searching for ways to scale their ad inventory, especially with high CPM ad formats.

Learn more: https://www.quora.com/What-is-ad-inventory

Ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers)

A method for publishers to confirm who (if anyone) is authorized to sell digital advertising slots on their behalf. It’s designed to counter scammers fraudulently selling slots they don’t really have access to. Not publishing an ads.txt file can cause problems in getting revenue through some major programmatic channels.

Learn more: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/7532444?hl=en-GB

API Integration (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a set of requirements that defines how one software should communicate and interact with another. Almost any action performed on the web involves an API, as it is the part of a server that receives requests and sends responses. For example, any time a user enters a website, their browser is interacting with the server hosting the website, which gives it instructions on what to display to the user. Companies also use custom-built API integrations to serve their clients by giving them automated access to the data they need.

Learn more: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-is-an-api-in-english-please-b880a3214a82/

Audience Segments

In advertising, the marketer is always looking to target the most relevant audience. In video advertising, this usually means going beyond simple demographic targeting such as “18-24 males”. Instead, it can cover particular interests, buying habits, or even attitudes and values.

Learn more: https://www.iab.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/iab_guide_to_digital_video_advertising.pdf

Bid Throttling

The act of preventing a bid from competing in an auction is termed “bid throttling.” The rise of header bidding, which lets publishers generate multiple ad requests for many partners, has caused a huge increase in the number of queries sent to advertisers. To reduce the load on infrastructure, DSPs will not even process most of the bids, typically only processing opportunities and bids on sources that best serve their needs. SSPs understand this and will try, through sophisticated methods, to only send relevant ad opportunities to each specific DSP.

Learn more: https://pubmatic.com/blog/bid-throttling-efficient-infrastructure/

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The CCPA grants California consumers specific rights regarding the collection, use, storage, and sale of personal data by businesses. It grants consumers new privacy-related rights:

The right to know what personal information is being collected
The right to know if (and how) their personal information is being shared or sold
The right to opt-out of the sale of personal information
The right to access their information
The right to have their personal information deleted (with exceptions)

However, uncertainty exists around the final requirements to comply with the CCPA, and the potential creation of new laws makes it especially difficult for businesses to comply.

Learn more: http://localhost/primis-temp/insights/what-ccpa-compliance-who-does-ccpa-apply-to/

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA)

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) is a set of rules and regulations set in place by the Federal Trade Commission. It focuses on websites and online services, such as apps, that are geared toward children 13 years of age or younger and collect personal information from them. It governs the collection or use of children’s email addresses, personal information, videos, photos, audio files, or screen names if they don’t use their email addresses.

To gather or use such information, you would need to obtain opt-in consent, parental permission, and verification of a parent’s identity. These rules limit the targeting and advertising options for children, and therefore it is advised to work with monetization companies that are experienced with sites that cater to children.

Learn more: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule

Content Syndication

Content syndication means republishing the same piece of content—an article, a video, an infographic, etc.—on one or more websites. Publications, big and small, like to syndicate content because it helps them deliver fresh information to their readers. The original authors also benefit from this practice, since it gets their brand in front of new audiences. It’s a win-win. Additionally, using branded content is advantageous because it creates alignment between a publisher’s brand and the branded content that is displayed.

Learn more: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/how-to-syndicate-content

Contextual Targeting (Advertising)

Contextual targeting traditionally refers to the process of matching ads to sites or articles with a related topic. It is conducted through an algorithm that analyzes keywords, URLs, topics, and other factors, or manually uses specific requests from advertisers. Ads that are contextually relevant are more engaging, more memorable, and more likely to prompt purchases, rather than ones that lack relevance. In a digital landscape that is learning to respect user privacy, contextual targeting is rising in importance.

Learn more: https://adage.com/article/gumgum/why-contextual-intelligence-key-new-cookie-less-world/2248971

Contextual Targeting (Editorial)

Using the same rationale and the same neuro-function as in advertising, contextual methods are being used in the editorial process. Just like their ad-operation counterparts, digital editors want users to engage with their content and discover another article or video. Applying the same methods to help users discover additional editorial content, whether manual or technological, allows digital publishers to keep users on their site longer, viewing content they appreciate.

Learn more: http://localhost/primis-temp/insights/contextual-targeting-comeback/

CPM (Cost per Mille)

Among the most common pricing set-ups for video ads, the ‘M’ comes from the French word ‘mille’ meaning a thousand. Basing rates on a thousand events comes from early web advertising where a single pageview would only command payment of a fraction of a cent.

Learn more: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cpm.asp

Cost Per View (CPV)

As opposed to the standard pricing model of cost per 1000 impressions, CPV is a unique pricing model for video advertising, where one pays for each video view. Back in 2011, it seemed like the perfect solution for translating the more display-oriented Impression to video terms. However, the big platforms could not agree on what exactly defines a view, hindering the unanimous adoption of the term. For example, while the IAB defines it as a pricing model where the advertiser only pays for a video start, Google defines it as when a user watches 30 seconds of a video ad (or the duration if it’s shorter than 30 seconds) or interacts with the ad.

Learn more: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2382888?hl=en

DSP (Demand Side Platform)

A technology that lets an advertiser access multiple publishers – and multiple ad networks – in one place. Advertisers can set preferences such as user location or known interests and then set their budget. The DSP then bids on ad slots to try to get the most effective purchase for the advertiser’s needs.

Learn more: https://digiday.com/media/wtf-demand-side-platform/

Fifth Generation (5G)

5G is the next generation of mobile broadband that will eventually replace, or at least augment, the 4G LTE connection. With 5G, users will see exponentially faster download and upload speeds. Latency, or the time it takes devices to communicate with wireless networks, will also drastically decrease. This will have a big impact on browsing behaviors and expectations, especially with richer data content, like videos and online gaming.

Learn more: https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-5g/

Google Ad Manager (GAM), formerly DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP)

Google Ad Manager (GAM) is an ad management platform for large publishers who have significant direct sales. Ad Manager provides granular controls and supports multiple ad networks, including Google’s AdSense, Ad Exchange, and third-party networks.

DoubleClick for Publishers was a SaaS platform designed to manage the process of delivering ads to websites and other digital assets. In 2018, it merged with DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX), which was one of the biggest marketplaces to buy and sell display advertising space.

Learn more: https://support.google.com/admanager/answer/6022000

Header Bidding

Header bidding is an automated way for a publisher to reach out to multiple demand sources simultaneously, before an ad call is served, to ask for bids. The publisher can then send the ad to the highest bidder among those queried and, therefore, theoretically generate a greater return. In 2019, almost 80% of the 1,000 most popular sites that advertise programmatically have used header bidding. When implemented in video advertising, the practices are a little different.

Learn more: http://localhost/primis-temp/insights/header-bidding-made-simple/

Iframe/SafeFrame

In the context of a web browser, a frame is a part of a web page or browser window which displays content independent of its container, with the ability to load content on its own. SafeFrame is a managed API-enabled iframe that opens a line of communication between the publisher’s page content and the iframe-contained external content, such as ads. To avoid disruptive ad behavior and the potential security risks of serving ads in line with the page, publishers may choose to have ad content served into an iframe. However, when implementing ads in a SafeFrame, some measurement analytics are lost to advertisers, especially viewability, which can have a negative impact on revenue.

Learn more: https://www.iab.com/guidelines/safeframe/

In-stream Video

In-stream video ads allow advertisers to place video ads alongside video content. In-stream video ads can be displayed either before, during, or after the video content is consumed.

These three types of ads are determined based on when they are shown to the user:

Pre-roll is the classic form of digital video advertisements. It is a video advertisement

played before a piece of content. Running an advertisement before the content is practical, as the audience is still engaged and interested in the forthcoming content.

Mid-roll ads, on the other hand, receive a higher completion rate than both pre- and post-roll

Ads. Mid-roll ads are played in between the video content, so viewers have already watched some of the video content. If they make it to a mid-roll ad, it means they have remained engaged through roughly half of the video. Because a large chunk of video remains, they are more willing to be patient.

Post-roll ad placements occur after the video content. While this method can be very effective, it must be used strategically. Post-roll works best in some very specific circumstances. For instance, this ad placement works great as a call-to-action following a sponsored video.

Learn more: https://greenbuzzagency.com/pre-roll-mid-roll-post-roll-which-ad-placement-is-best/

Invalid Traffic (IVT)

While there are many different definitions and criteria, invalid traffic (IVT) refers to ad inventory that is not legitimate. One example from Google defines invalid traffic as traffic that either does not come from a real user or one without a genuine interest in the website/product/service. It can come in the form of accidental clicks, fraudulent clicks, bot traffic, crawlers, and other more sophisticated means, and it’s meant to artificially inflate an advertiser’s costs or a publisher’s earnings.

Learn more: https://www.google.com/ads/adtrafficquality/invalid-activity/

Lazy Load

Lazy loading is the process of loading content only when it is about to go into view. This reduces the download of extra content, which a user may never get to, and also frees up the browser for improved performance. A website’s performance is a critical metric when it comes to ad monetization, as even a few milliseconds can make a huge difference in a site’s RPM (Revenue Per Thousand).

Learn more: https://www.monetizemore.com/blog/10-ways-increase-website-speed-2020/

Over The Top (OTT)

An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content. It also includes connected TV (CTV) users who watch video streamed via apps on smart-TV or set-top-box (STB) devices such as Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire, Roku, etc.

Learn more: https://blog.pixalate.com/what-is-ott-connected-tv-video

PMP (Private Marketplace)

A set-up where specific advertisers get the first opportunity to bid on a specific slot before it goes on to the Open Market. Another variant has a small group of select advertisers taking part in a closed auction. A PMP can work well for publishers who want more control over what brands appear in ads on their site.

Learn more: https://video-guide.iab.com/video-automation-or-programmatic

Private vs. Open Marketplace

Private marketplace (PMP) is a direct relationship between sellers and buyers, that sometimes includes a pre-agreed fixed CPM. PMPs allow both parties to control the KPIs and set specific targeting according to their needs. An open marketplace is an exchange that connects multiple buyers and sellers. This allows a broader reach of inventory to sellers and a variety of buyers for the publishers.

The private marketplace is used with a higher priority than the open marketplace, which ensures the inventory will be exposed to an identified buyer first, and in case it doesn’t fill the requests, the opportunity will continue to the open marketplace.

Learn more: https://www.iab.com/insights/guide-to-digital-video-advertising/#index-87

Prebid (Prebid.js)

Prebid is an open-source solution that makes the implementation of header bidding and the potential of increased ad revenue accessible to all publishers. Today it’s one of the most popular wrappers used by publishers and a feature-rich header bidding platform for the web. It includes more than 150 demand sources and 15 analytics adapters, while providing support for currency conversion, GDPR, common ID systems, and multiple ad servers.

Learn more: http://prebid.org/

Programmatic Advertising

This term refers to the action of automatically buying ad inventory to display digital ads, as opposed to buying the inventory directly from publishers. According to Zenith’s Programmatic Marketing Forecasts, in 2021, 72% of all digital media worldwide will trade programmatically.

Learn more: https://www.iab.com/guidelines/programmatic-rtb/

Queries Per Second (QPS)

Queries per second (QPS) refers to the number of times a request is sent to a server. Big DSPs support trillions of requests, which are very heavy on infrastructure costs. This leads smart DSPs to narrow down the number of requests they receive by accepting only relevant and quality ad inventory. This is done via bid throttling.

Learn more: https://theonlineadvertisingguide.com/glossary/queries-per-second/

Real-Time Bidding (RTB)

Real-time bidding (RTB) is a means by which advertising inventory is bought and sold on a per-impression basis, through programmatic instantaneous auctions. Advertising buyers bid on an impression and, if the bid is won, the buyer’s ad is displayed on the publisher’s site. RTB allows for addressable advertising: the ability to serve ads to consumers directly based on their demographic, psychographic, or behavioral attributes. This means there may be privacy problems in implementing RTB, and so anyone using this method must be sure they are complying with the latest privacy laws.

Learn more: https://www.iab.com/guidelines/real-time-bidding-rtb-project/

Reseller

In programmatic advertising, the seller is the publisher, and the buyer is the advertiser. Technically, any company that buys and sells inventory and is not a publisher or advertiser is considered a reseller, as they are selling ad inventory that was previously sold to them. Publishers and advertisers try to avoid resellers who don’t add any value, because when the supply route is shorter, a higher amount of revenue is allocated toward media purchases. However, ad tech partners who exhibit the capabilities to enhance ad offerings—through data, technology, connections, content, or otherwise—can greatly benefit both advertisers and publishers.

Learn more: https://jouncemedia.com/blog/2020/5/18/programmatic-reselling-whitepaper

RPM (Revenue per Mille)

A way of measuring ad revenues across one event that needs tracking – be it one page, or ad unit. It’s calculated by taking the total revenue received by publishers, divided by the number of impressions on a given placement or page, then multiplied by a thousand. This gives the actual monetary value of the asset being tracked; web page or ad placement.

Learn more: https://techterms.com/definition/rpm

Sellers.json & SupplyChain object

Two new initiatives introduced by the IAB, in an attempt to increase transparency in the industry. These enable buyers to verify the entities that are selling the inventory and their part in the supply chain; who are either direct sellers or intermediaries in the selected digital advertising opportunity for purchase. Advertisers can get a fully transparent look on their campaign journey, where their money is being spent and make better decisions on how to spread the budgets.

Learn more: https://iabtechlab.com/sellers-json/

SPO (Supply Path Optimization)

As a concept, SPO is the idea of reducing the number of steps between publishers and advertisers, in order to reduce unnecessary fees from intermediaries. It can go both ways. Either it can start from the advertiser, who can decide on the best supply sources to bid on, or it can originate with the publisher deciding who will be the best demand partners that are most likely to bid.

Learn more: https://www.exchangewire.com/blog/2017/07/17/spo-everybody-talking/

SSP (Supply Side Platform)

A technology that lets a publisher access multiple advertisers – and multiple ad networks – in one place. Compared to relying solely on direct sales or using a single ad exchange, an SSP aims to maximize revenue while minimizing cases where an advertiser gets a slot for less than they’d have been willing to pay.

Learn more: https://clearcode.cc/blog/what-is-supply-side-platform/

The Coalition of Better Ads Initiative

In 2016, 16 companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and trade groups like the Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Association of Advertising Agencies, and IAB Europe formed what’s known as the Coalition for Better Ads. Their objective is to set proper standards for ads that are geared towards user-friendliness, with the goal of providing a better user experience for internet consumers when they interact with ads. The main impact the coalition has had is through its adoption by Google Chrome, so that a publisher using unapproved ad units will have their ads blocked by the browser.

Learn more: http://localhost/primis-temp/insights/what-is-the-coalition-of-better-ads-initiative/

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European law that focuses on data protection and privacy for all EU citizens. The idea is that users must provide explicit consent to access their personal data and, if they don’t, vendors cannot obtain the data. Until now, the implication was that any user action—searching, entering a website, engaging with content, etc.—was considered consent and therefore allowed all parties to use that information. This information is mostly used for smarter ad targeting. Since it is progressive litigation, compliance is a work in progress, evolving as the ecosystem matures.

Learn more: http://localhost/primis-temp/insights/gdpr-explained-data-protection/

VAST (Video Ad Serving Template)

VAST is an XML script, A standard format for ad servers to send an ad to a video player. As well as delivering the ad, VAST sends associated metadata.

Learn more: https://www.iab.com/guidelines/digital-video-ad-serving-template-vast/

Video Completion Rate

Video Completion Rate measures the percentage of video ads that play through to the end, out of all the video impressions. In many platforms it is dubbed VTR (view through rate). Naturally, an ad creative can be considered better performing when more people view the whole ad. However, the ad creative is by no means the only factor that influences the Completion Rate. Factors such as precise audience targeting, placement, viewability and size, among others, can have a strong influence as well.

Learn more: https://wooshii.com/help/view-rate-vtr-good-vtr/

Video Consumption

Video consumption measures how much video is being viewed on a given platform or website. Just like the number of page views, the rate of video consumption on a site indicates potential video revenue. While video consumption has consistently increased throughout the years, so have the variety and quality of videos that are available to users. This is why publishers and platforms are striving to ensure their own digital assets grow in terms of consumption.

Learn more: https://techjury.net/blog/video-consumption-statistics/

Video Discovery

Video discovery is a technology that allows a publisher’s video ad unit to recommend relevant video content through automation and contextual algorithms. When a user is interested in watching an additional video, typically they are more likely to stay on that page, consume more video, wait to see the next video in the playlist, and even watch more of the advertisements.

Learn more: http://localhost/primis-temp/insights/video-discovery-definitive-guide/

Video Engagement

Measuring how engaged a digital audience is with a video can be conducted in different ways, depending on many factors. It will usually include many of the following metrics: how long the video was viewed, how many times it was clicked, where it was clicked, how many shares and likes it earned, etc. Measuring video engagement is a good way for content creators and distributors to decide which videos to promote and/or create. Videos that are more engaging have a higher chance of encouraging users to stay and watch a pre- or mid-roll video ad, which delivers the ad revenue to the creator.

Learn more: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/measure-video-engagement/

Video Viewability

This is one of today’s main KPIs for video campaigns. It is defined as an impression that is being watched by a user; while in display ads it is defined by being viewed for one second with 50% of pixels displayed. On video it is defined as 2 seconds displayed and 50% of pixels displayed. Understandably, advertisers are only interested in targeting ads that are actually being viewed by users.

Learn more: http://localhost/primis-temp/insights/increase-video-viewability-and-why-its-so-important/

VPAID (Video Player Ad-Serving Interface Definition)

A similar concept to VAST, but specifically dealing with interactive video ads. These could let users click or hover over a button to choose one more extra clip to watch for more information. VPAID also collects a wider range of metrics such as how many people watch the ad in full.

Learn more: https://digiday.com/media/what-is-vpaid/

3rd Party Cookie

A script that is dropped on a user’s browser by a 3rd party vendor rather than by the website that the user entered. For example, a cookie placed by an ad platform could use information about a viewer’s activity on one website to decide which video ad they see when visiting another website. Third party cookies can be very effective for delivering relevant ads but can raise privacy concerns, and are therefore being heavily restricted lately.

Learn more: http://www.audiencepartners.com/blog/2018/2/9/where-digital-targeting-goes-from-here

Finding a Monetization Partner You Can Trust

By Livnat Mor | July 19, 2020

The digital publishing industry has always been volatile. Extreme changes in short time spans are a given. Websites that seem to define surfing the web are forgotten quickly, and new ones grow at the same dizzying pace. Monetization methods and practices change just as quickly, whether it’s a new ad format, advertising technology, platform, regulation (private or state), or many other changes. For those of us who have been around it for a few years, earning a living in the digital publishing and advertising space sure can feel like riding a rollercoaster.

Despite the setbacks, the overall trend over the past 30 years has been super positive. However, over the past few years, a lot of the changes have been particularly troublesome. And we are not only talking about the current COVID19 outbreak, possible recession, and advertising budget reductions. A duopoly (soon oligopoly?) took over most of the ad dollars, and the social platforms took over user attention. There are also stricter regulations, both private and governmental, and ad tech companies going bankrupt and not paying. So, it is no surprise many private publishers are having a hard time surviving.

But it’s not all bad news. With all of these changes come amazing opportunities, and the publishers who know how to adapt to changing consumer trends and work with the right partners can actually grow a lot in the process. While we have gathered many tips for choosing a monetization partner who can give you peace of mind, it all comes down to respect. A partner who respects your business and your unique needs, who respects users and is in it for the long run, and who respects and understands the industry as a whole.

Respecting your business

Offers quick payment turnover. Always strive to get faster payments and try to get paid on net 30 terms. Waiting the standard two months, or even three in some cases, can be dangerous. A lot can happen over such long periods of time.
Takes responsibility for deductions. Some monetization companies have the habit of transferring all the risk to their publishing partners so that when an advertising partner defaults, the losses are deducted from the publisher. Make sure your monetization partner will make a commitment to not do that.
Insured. Ask to see that your monetization partner is insured. You insure your life, house, car, trip, health- why not your revenue source?
Transparent. Make sure your partner is fully transparent. Don’t compromise for a partner that gives you a dashboard that only shows you a minimum of details. There is no reason you shouldn’t get a thorough breakdown of exactly what is happening with your ad inventory. You need to be in control over your supply.
Is known in the industry. When deciding on a partner, prioritize ones that are well known or are part of a trusted brand. Working with an unknown entity will not help you sleep well at night.

Respecting the industry

Prioritizes user experience. When you let a partner place an ad unit on your site you’re letting them interact directly with your users. Make sure they are a company you can trust with that responsibility. A company that offers a product that will not drive users away from your website. Try to avoid partners that use obtrusive ads, clickbait, or high-latency ads.
Delivers user safe content. Just like brands look for brand-safe publisher content, publishers deserve user-safe ads.
Respects user privacy. The 2020s are the decade of respecting user privacy. Whether it is CCPA for California residents, GDPR for Europeans, cookie tracking regulations, or others to come- make sure your monetization partner is fully compliant.

Respecting users

Optimizes the supply path. Many monetization partners who are in the game for the quick win will go for quantity over quality. That means sending a ton of requests for each ad opportunity to many ad partners. While you might think that this would raise CPMs, it actually lowers them significantly, as the big ad buyers will start blocking those calls very quickly.
Delivers KPIs advertisers want. Look for a monetization partner that knows how to deliver the inventory that advertisers are looking for. Placements that are high impact and highly viewable.
Involved in industry initiatives. Use a partner that strives to be at the forefront of adopting initiatives that change the industry for the better. The big advertisers will always prefer those companies. They would rather target a transparent supply chain with ads.txt and sellers.json for example, or have industry stamps like the TAG certified program and others.
Uses MRC accredited vendors. Find a monetization partner that uses MRC accredited brand safety vendors. It will let you rest assured that you won’t wake up one morning with an ominous email from an SSP telling you that they have removed your account.

Trust But Verify

Testing new ad partners is a move that can teach you a lot and potentially change your whole monetization structure for the better. However, monetization partners have a massive impact on your revenue and users, and in such a volatile industry you need to do your due diligence. Adding a monetization partner that promises only to add an extra buck to your CPM is not enough, what is needed in today’s market is a partner you can trust.

The 7 Factors of Any Successful Video Publishing Strategy

By David Shekhtman | June 18, 2020

Most publishers are using some form of video on their site. Naturally, video gives users a better browsing experience, while simultaneously creating new monetization opportunities. However, to really bring in the results, a publisher needs to focus on a publishing strategy that will have the most impact on monetization and user experience.

Much of what we do here at Primis revolves around the idea that giving users video that they want will increase intentional video consumption, and lead to a significant increase in video monetization. So, we’ve divided the factors into 2 groups; video consumption, and video monetization.

Video consumption

Optimizing these elements will create a positive and engaging user experience with video on publisher sites:

Contextually Matched Videos

Although it is not an absolute rule, users tend to watch a video that is contextually related to the article they are reading. In a study of our enhanced contextual algorithm, we’ve found that users engaged 72% – 143% more with videos that they have been contextually matched vs. a random playlist. The tricky part is finding tech that understands context and as well as having enough videos to match every article.

Integrated/Native-Looking Video Player

A beautifully designed video player that fits in and complements the article that the user is consuming will get your audience’s attention. Users prefer a seamless content experience, many times plainly ignoring elements that feel out of place.

Robust Video Library

Whether you produced the videos or you’re using syndication, the more videos you have and the more often they are updated, the better. The point here is to have enough videos so that there is a right video for every user’s interest, at the right time.

Player Position on The Page

In digital video optimization, it is all about location. The two factors to consider when deciding placement are the viewability of the unit and the content. For viewability, the most important optimization is making the unit collapsable. When it comes to content, a good rule of thumb is placing a unit in the text at the top of an article, if the video displayed was created for that article. However, if the videos you are displaying are offering additional videos, placing the unit slightly lower on the article may be the right move. The top priority should still remain the viewability of the unit, which is why a sticky unit that docks in a lower part of the article could be a good solution.

Video Monetization

After creating a constant quality flow of engaged video ad inventory, it is time to optimize that inventory and make it appealing to advertisers. Here are the factors that publishers measure and improve upon to have the biggest impact on monetization:

View-Through-Rate

Sometimes called Completion Rate, this metric signifies the percent of users who watched the ad to the end. Advertisers are first and foremost looking for an audience that will watch their ads to the end. The most important way to impact this KPI is by providing videos that are worth the user’s wait. However, the technical change that will have the biggest effect on VTR is implementing a collapsable video unit that will keep the player in view, even while the user scrolls.

Viewability-Rate

Obviously, advertisers need their ads to be seen. That is why ad viewability, which is based on the publisher’s ad placement viewability, is one of the most important KPIs to advertisers. And, if it is so important to advertisers, it should be as important to publishers that want to boost their ad monetization. Aside from the aforementioned collapsibility of the video unit and delivering relevant videos, additional important measures may or may not include placing the unit above the fold, near a highly used section of the page, or changing the size of the unit.

Size Considerations

Understandably, advertisers believe that the bigger their ad is, the more impact it can have on a user. That is why they will tend to bid higher CPMs for bigger ad placements. In a Primis study, publishers that increased the size of their video player saw an immediate 25% increase in revenue from that unit. However, a unit that is too big will stop bringing in higher bids and will harm the user experience. It is a game of balances, where the optimal size is around 500-550px wide.

Succeeding With Video

Optimizing these factors requires constant learning and work. As any publishing professional who deals with video knows, whether they are on the editorial end or adops, there is always another test and another optimization that may boost performance. There is no substitute for trial and error, or knowing the unique characteristics of an audience. However, defining core principles that will deliver a quality video experience to users, and sexy video ad opportunities for advertisers should be the basis of any publishing video strategy.

What is CCPA Compliance and Who Does the CCPA Apply to?

By Dan Sharon | May 18, 2020

On the heels of the General Data Protection Rules (GDPR) in the E.U., the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is now law. It grants California consumers specific rights regarding the collection, use, storage, and sale of personal data by businesses.

CCPA became effective January 1, 2020 with a six-month grace period before enforcement would begin. The penalties and fines for companies that do not comply can be significant. Civil penalties range from $2,500 per incident for non-intentional violations up to $7,500 for intentional violations.

Enforcement proceedings can begin as of July 1, 2020 but the California Attorney General has stated that companies shouldn’t think of that as a free pass. Non-compliance between January and July can still be enforced after July 1st.

With stiff penalties, it’s important for online businesses to understand what’s covered in the law and what is needed to comply.

CCPA in a Nutshell

CCPA is the strictest set of privacy regulations on the books in the U.S. It grants consumers new privacy-related rights:

The right to know what personal information is being collected
The right to know if (and how) their personal information is being shared or sold
The right to opt-out of the sale of personal information
The right to access their information
The right to have their personal information deleted (with exceptions)

Under the Privacy Act, a sale isn’t limited to money changing hands. CCPA also protects consumer rights for data that’s exchanged for “valuable consideration.” That’s been interpreted by the California Attorney General’s office to include the exchange of data for targeting or ad delivery.

The definition of what qualifies as personal information goes beyond name, address and phone number. It includes IP addresses, cookies, browsing history, geolocation data, mobile ad IDs (MAIDS), device identifiers, or any interaction with websites, apps, or ads. It also includes profiles to identify or group consumers based on personal data.

CCPA prohibits selling any personal data of anyone under the age of 16 without explicit consent. For children under 13, parental consent is required.

What it does allow is the use of consumer data that is aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified. To qualify, such information must not be associated with any specific user or household.

What is the IAB CCPA Framework?

Primis is a signatory to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) CCPA Framework. We recommend publishers to also adopt these principles and policies for compliance.

IAB RESOURCES:

Publishers selling information from consumers in California for digital advertising purposes must comply with the guidelines as applicable. Any traffic sent to Primis from California users should be CCPA-compliant.

Publishers have the only direct relationships with consumers. As such, it is the publisher’s responsibility to provide the appropriate links and disclosures to users, such as the required “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link.

Publishers must send Primis the Privacy String signal if a user opts-out of the “sale” of personal data as defined by CCPA. If Primis does not receive the Privacy String signal from a publisher, we will treat these bid requests as not opted out of a “sale” under CCPA.

More Data Protection Laws Are Likely

It has been nearly two years since the law was enacted, but the enforcement regulations are still not final. The state’s AG has issued guidelines which have already been revised twice. There may be more changes still to come.

While it impacts any companies that do business with California consumers, it’s unclear whether the law applies to California residents while traveling.

A study by Cisco revealed that 84% of those responding want more control over their data and how it’s used. In the future, look for more privacy restrictions and data protection statutes. There’s already a ballot initiative set for November in California to enact a tougher law and stiffer penalties. More than a dozen states have introduced legislation in the past year, including Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. There are also several versions of national data protection regulations being proposed and the formation of a Data Protection Agency in the U.S. as well.

This type of uncertainty around the final requirements to comply with CCPA and the potential of new laws make it especially difficult for businesses to comply.

Have any more questions? Please feel free to reach out to privacy@localhost or your publisher success manager.

Category Index: Video Engagement In The Era Of Increased Consumption

By Omri Polak | May 12, 2020

The past months have seen a huge uplift in digital content consumption overall, and for video content in particular. At Primis, we don’t just measure performance by consumption rates alone, which could be a result of many different factors, we also look at how trends in user behavior affect our publishing and advertising partners.

User engagement rates (ER) are an important indicator. When engagement rates are high, it signifies that users are more immersed in the content that they are viewing. Across the board, growth has been staggering. There has been steady growth week over week since the beginning of February, adding up to an overall growth of 57% by the first week of May.

After analyzing data points from all categories across the Primis publisher network, we were able to paint a picture of what is happening across the different verticals. We’ve tried to provide not only how many are interested in a certain category (measured by overall impressions), but also how interested they are (measured by user engagement).

Key Takeaways

The Food, DIY and Home categories are showing strong growth both in consumption (54%, 85% and 198%, respectively) and in engagement rates (27%, 48% and 22%, respectively). It seems that the lockdown is encouraging people to take better care of themselves and their wellbeing. Looking ahead, it’s likely a good bet that this trend will continue until people begin going outside again en masse.

In the Business category, the content consumption trend appears to match the volatility of the market. If there is one thing we know about the market, it is that its unpredictability will keep getting users to come back and get their information.

In a not so unexpected turn of events, Sports and Travel have fallen drastically across all metrics. While sports is showing a 43% decrease in video consumption, travel shows an even more drastic 95% drop! However, they may be the most profitable when looking forward.

If we can learn anything from the popularity of “The Last Dance” and the NFL draft, it’s that when live sports come back, they will be back with a vengeance. Same goes for travel, because of the massive amounts of information people are going to need about traveling in a post-corona world. Once travel restrictions begin to gradually lift, consumers will want to know how to safely travel, what destinations are allowing tourists, which airlines are flying and other guidance. This may be the perfect time to order an advertising package to sports and travel websites.

In the Kids category both impressions and engagement metrics are looking very positive with parents effectively being forced to homeschool their children. However, they may be facing a decline come summer vacation, and with parents expected to go back to the office.

The most impressive growth is seen in the Gaming category. There are more gamers across more generations and nations than ever before, and now they have the time and resources to enjoy their hobby (relatively) guilt-free. Also, taking advantage of the drop in sports, gaming could be taking their cultural market share. These shifts, both gradual and immediate, have caused engagement to jump by 242% rise since the beginning of February.

The Numbers by Category

The benchmark for all graphs are impression numbers and engagement rates from the start of February.

News

We have seen a stagnation in impression growth after the peak we saw at the beginning of March. But while in mid March there was a drop in engagement rates, since then there has been steady growth.

Business

There has been a drop in impressions since the peak of mid-March, with big fluctuations from week to week. The growth in engagement did not stop, rather it has more than doubled since mid-March.

Interesting to note that volume events make up a big part of this growth, which can indicate the kind of engagement business users have with video content, having it continue to play, as they scroll down the page while reading the article.

Sports

Impressions are crashing after a peak in mid-March. On the other hand, engagement has more than doubled, which is expected when impressions are down, leaving only the most niche users to interact with the unit.

Gaming

There is an ongoing rise in consumption since the start of the pandemic, which is showing no signs of slowing down. Interestingly, the rise in engagement is even more extreme with a whopping 242% rise since the beginning of February. The most dramatic changes are in full screen and playlist events, showing deep levels of engagement.

Food

Similar to gaming, people have more time at home, which means more time for cooking. This activity has garnered higher consumption rates coupled with an even bigger increase in engagement.

Travel

The vertical has experienced an expected drop of almost 100% in consumption rates. After a similar downward trend in engagement, we have started to see some changes since the beginning of April.

DIY

The category started the pandemic with a drop in consumption rates until mid-April when it started to rise, coupled with a corresponding increase in engagement.

Home

Home websites are seeing a small increase in video consumption rates throughout the pandemic, but in the last few weeks the growth is accelerating. The engagement has also started to rise since the start of April.

Kids

The lockdown in most of the world led to much more children’s content being consumed, almost doubling consumption rates. Lately, the engagement rate has doubled, accelerating an upward trend since mid-March.