Magnetic Brings Search Retargeting to Online Video Ads
Search retargeting firm will make its data available through online video ad networks such as BrightRoll and others.
Magnetic will begin integrating its data with video ad networks like those operated by BrightRoll and others, the search retargeting firm announced today. The company hopes to kick-start search retargeting in the video space – which remains relatively nascent in comparison to the more developed display ad market – by allowing marketers to target video ads to users that have previously searched for specific brands or products.
Speaking with ClickZ, Magnetic CEO Josh Shatkin-Margolis said the combination of intent-driven search data and the creative freedom of video ad formats should provide a compelling proposition for advertisers. “Sponsored search ads are the highest converting on the Internet, but they’re just boring text ads… the best form of online ads now are video ads,” he said. “Perhaps video will never elicit the same response as a TV ad during the Super Bowl, but it can deliver on the promise of targeting.”
Search retargeting and other behavioral practices are now commonplace in the display ad market – especially following the emergence of ad exchanges and demand-side platforms. At the same time, video continues to lag behind its predecessor in terms of data-informed ad buying, mainly because of a lack of available inventory.
Atul Patel is CEO of online video and ad technology provider OneScreen. While his company isn’t seeing much in the way of data-driven targeting so far, Patel said that it’s “starting to see trickles.” He maintains, however, that liquidity remains an issue. “There just isn’t enough advertising volume, relative to display that is, to effectively use search’s specificity of information,” Patel commented.
Shatkin-Margolis recognized that limited scale is indeed an inhibiting factor, but predicted the standardization of ad formats and purchasing processes will help unlock further inventory. He also placed emphasis on the emergence of exchanges, such as the one launched by BrightRoll last week, to help speed that process along. “The benefit of these platforms is they just encourage more inventory,” Shatkin-Margolis said. “Advertisers just need as much as possible to cherry-pick from.”
BrightRoll CEO Tod Sacerdoti said he believes the power of search retargeting is currently underutilized, both in the video and display ad space. “The scale isn’t as big as other behavioral targets, but it should be used more… there’s a lot of innovation and huge opportunity,” he commented.
As it stands, however, the online video ad space remains “about a year behind display,” Shatkin-Margolis estimated, adding that he expects the market to follow a similar evolution to display, with advertisers gravitating towards audience-based ad buying in the video space, too.
In the display market, Magnetic’s data is currently integrated with a total of around 90 networks, exchanges, agencies, and DSPs, including Collective Media, InterClick, Invite Media, and Media Math, the company said.
