Emerging ad technology has given advertisers the capability to target digital audiences with unprecedented accuracy, but according to Videology’s Q2 report on the Canadian digital video landscape, many Canadian advertisers aren’t taking advantage of it.
The report, based on all digital video campaigns run through Videology’s platform in Q2, found that the majority of campaigns (62%) used only demographic data like age and gender, similar to what’s available in television advertising. Only 38% of campaigns made use of advanced datasets like behaviour and context – compared to 73% in the U.S. and 43% in the U.K. over the same period.
Of the minority that did use advanced data in Canada, 62% used only location data – which, among other things, is used to isolate campaigns to national or regional audiences, known as geofencing. Geofencing is not necessary in other media channels like TV or OOH because deals are made for specific regions.
However, the share of Canadian advertisers using advanced targeting is growing rapidly – it quadrupled since Q2 last year, compared to a 65% increase in the U.K.
More advertisers integrating campaigns across mobile, desktop, connected TV
Canadian advertisers have been much quicker to adopt cross-screen campaigns, which combine video on desktop, mobile and connected TV. Half of Q2 campaigns ran on all three devices, and 56% ran on at least two devices, the report found.
That’s on par with the U.K., where half of Q2 campaigns ran on all three devices, and 62% ran on at least two devices. The U.S., by contrast, is still heavily dominated by desktop video campaigns, with almost three quarters (73%) of campaigns focusing on PCs.
The study also found that the largest share of Canadian digital video ad dollars are coming from CPG advertisers, making up 43% of total spend through the Videology platform. That’s more than double the next largest spender, auto, with 18%. Three quarters of that spend is going to entertainment verticals, followed by news verticals with 13%.
