AD TECH INSIGHTS
Posted on Jul 11, 2023

Most Popular Ad Formats and Sizes And Their Effectiveness On SmartHub

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The global digital video viewership comprises over 3 billion Internet users who consume downloaded or streaming videos at least once a month. 

The video has enormous potential, which companies and brands can leverage to expand their customer database with new prospects and interact with their loyal audience by implementing various types of ad formats. 

Video is a versatile marketing tool with a plethora of digital advertising formats recognized by 91% of businesses. By 2027, ad spending in video advertising is projected to account for $229.8 billion. 

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What factors make video advertising so compelling, and what video formats of advertising do marketers opt for to achieve their marketing goals? 

6 Most Profitable Types of Ad Formats

Advertisers can significantly leverage the capabilities of in-app and CTV digital ad formats to grow their marketing performance. 

In-App Video

What Is Mobile Video Advertising?

Mobile video advertising refers to all kinds of video ad units displayed in the mobile ecosystem: in apps and on the mobile web

The mobile web ecosystem supports almost all ad formats commonly available on desktop computers because mobile website versions are also served in browsers.

In-app Video Formats Of Advertising

In-app video ads air commercials in-app (rather than mobile browsers) and, therefore, require a different approach. Although such video ads can provide an additional level of interactivity, in practice, some video formats work exclusively in the application environment.

Three of the most popular in-app digital ad formats are playable, rewarded, and interstitial videos. 

  • Playable videos resemble a mini version of a mobile game that users can watch or skip before proceeding with their online ad experience. These in-app ad formats occur when users interact with an app, allowing them to try a new game before installing it. The ad unit contains a link to install the game, leading to the app store.
Playable videos is a popular in-app digital ad format
  • Rewarded videos give users incentives in exchange for viewing ads. Users can skip or watch an ad to get coins, extra points, access to in-game items, restricted content, and certain app features. Over 70% of users prioritize the experience they get with rewarded video ads compared to display ad formats.


  • Interstitials were one of the new ad formats with the highest effective cost-per-mille (eCPM) in 2022. What peculiarities of interstitials help them stand out from other internet advertising formats?

This online ad emerges on the top or full screen when users interact with an application, suggesting they move to the destination page (for instance, to install an app) or return to the content. Interstitials may include features from rich media or playable ads. 

Mobile Video Ad Market

The size of the mobile advertising market is exponentially growing. Now, it is about $11 billion and is expected to reach $57.85 billion by 2030.

This growth will soon show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 18%. At the same time, more than 90% of the population consumes video content. The number of digital video viewers is also increasing, along with the number of advertisers who choose in-app video ads as an essential tool to promote their products or services.

The Effectiveness Of In-App Video Ads

It is essential to understand that video ads in mobile applications are more expensive than, for example, banner ads. However, the CTR they generate is 7.5 times higher than banners. Thus, it would be correct to say that banners cost less but create lower click-through rates.

In-app video ads, particularly the ad format examples discussed above, seem more appealing to users because they can tell a brand’s story, educate users, or provide them with in-game bonuses in exchange for viewing ads.

Connected TV Advertising Formats

Devices can connect to the Internet and support digital video streaming. It is essential to understand that CTVs are not ordinary televisions, as they can broadcast content from multiple sources: the Internet, local stations, and cable TV. 

What Is CTV?

CTV is a smart TV with a built-in Internet connection mechanism. A smart device that connects to a regular TV to make the TV connect to the Internet is also considered a CTV.

Game consoles (PlayStation and Xbox) and adapters (Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV) are examples of smart gadgets and CTV platforms.

CTVs are becoming more popular because people love their convenience and improved entertainment value. Thanks to CTV, you can watch regular TV and media streaming from the Internet on one device.

The average time spent with CTV devices is expected to grow to about 5 hours daily.

Since marketers can easily reach their targeted audiences in the CTV space, 37% increased their CTV ad spend in 2023, with the overall CTV ad spend comprising $40.9 billion by 2027. 

Another study found that 88% of American households have at least one Internet-connected TV device. 

Therefore, the future of ad formats on CTV will develop even more intensively, bringing ample opportunities for advertisers. 

What Is Connected TV Advertising?

CTV is a promising landscape for brands and advertisers who want to expand their marketing channels, enrich their audience, and leverage targeting opportunities. 

When comparing linear TV and CTV, the former significantly lags behind the latter. According to Insider Intelligence and eMarketer, in 2023, US linear TV ad spend will be down 8% year on year, while CTV ad spend will be up 21.2% yearly. 

Unlike linear TV, CTV offers ample opportunities and better campaign results than linear TV ads, making it a lucrative space for allocating an ad budget. 

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What Types of Connected TV Ads Are There?

Connected TV is not traditional TV and works differently. Showing ads on CTV requires a digital-centric approach. For example, Mountain Research forecasts that 74% of CTV ad spend will be purchased programmatically. 

Programmatic advertising allows you to buy and display digital ads automatically. Thanks to a real-time data-driven approach, you don’t have to manually search for channels to show your ads with software systems because the ads are automatically delivered to the relevant audience. 

In this case, programmatic advertising technology helps purchase advertising assets designed for connected TV devices. CTV programmatic advertising also enables marketers to serve customized ads to different audiences. Put simply, different ads may be shown to different people during the same broadcast.

These are some types of CTV ads:

  • In-stream video ads are typically integrated at the beginning or middle of video content. Most often, they are embedded in the original piece of content, and viewers cannot skip or close them. The duration of the standard in-stream online ad is up to 30 seconds.
  • Interactive advertising refers to the types of ad formats that encourage the viewer to take action, bridging the gap between the online and offline worlds. It is well suited for offering a discount or encouraging the audience to take part in specific activities. 

For example, the interactive ad entices viewers to scan QR codes to get a discount or install an app. This approach also suits making a purchase in one click, which demonstrates a 73% higher conversion rate. 

6 Most Profitable Types of Ad Formats & Sizes by SmartHub

  • Home screen ads play on the main screen of the CTV device. Traditionally, these are static images, graphics, or short videos that appear on the screen for a short time. Home screen ads often include a call to action that encourages viewers to get or see more details.

The SmartHub Experience With Ad Formats

As mentioned, in-app video campaigns can benefit CTR, engagement, and other performance metrics. Now, let’s look at our experience and talk about what can be achieved with in-app video ads on SmartHub.

Many SmartHub owners have achieved impressive results over the last few years. We found out what types and formats of traffic our clients used and what QPS plans their systems worked on. 

For example, while some platforms focus exclusively on in-app banners, others only concentrate on in-app mobile video ads. Some clients have gone further and combined both formats in their market.

We also found that video advertising in mobile applications has become the leader in terms of profitability among formats. 

The key insights show the following results:

  • 50K QPS plans gained $14,740 in profits with 13977928 in-app video impressions in March; 
  • The platforms running on 100K QPS plans obtained profits of $14,488 by running almost 28M of impressions only across in-app video formats. 
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As you can see, each ad format and traffic type has its own unique benefits and characteristics that bring impressions and high revenues to all our partners. If you need advice regarding what QPS plan to choose and what ad formats and traffic types to use for efficient trading on SmartHub, feel free to send your query and discuss details with our account manager.

To Wrap Up

The report indicates that $180 billion of total ad spending will be generated through mobile in the video advertising market, and CTV ad spending is projected to reach $29.79 billion. 

The same results we notice among the most popular SmartHub ad formats — mobile app and CTV video ads. They regularly showcase high effectiveness and revenues to our partners in terms of revenue, engagement, and CTR.

Today is the perfect time to jump into the digital advertising space and leverage the potential of video advertising. Contact our team to discuss details and start your highly beneficial white-label programmatic trading in just a few days.

FAQ

What are ad formats?
Ad formats refer to the form, design, text, and layout of the ad creative tailored to engage audiences in various ways.
How to choose ad format?
Consider the peculiarities of your target audience, campaign goals, and the platform where the ads will be displayed before opting for the suitable types of ad formats.
How can you estimate which ad formats are earning the most revenue?
To estimate which online ad format performs the best, analyze performance metrics (click-through rate, conversion rate, and return on ad spend) and experiment with A/B testing to fine-tune your strategies and optimize revenue.

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