unrulyThe video ad tech company Unruly announced last month its partnership with the independent advertising technology company AppNexus. This new co-operation manages to provide outstream video inventory at scale, since it combines the reach of AppNexus’ video buying platform with the quality and scale of Unruly’s viewable video SSP, UnrulyX, where 70% of views are delivered across comScore 500 sites. According to both companies, the alliance depicts an important step in ensuring that advertisers and publishers around the world can transact premium outstream video campaigns at scale in a fair and open market.

“Buyers want premium video inventory, but they also demand scale and viewability. The strength of this partnership is that AppNexus buyers have access to premium outstream inventory that is non-interruptive, while simultaneously increasing viewer engagement, brand performance and publisher revenues,” said Unruly Co-CEO, Sarah Wood.

Obviously, outstream advertising is becoming the standard for video advertising, as this format solves the typical problems digital video advertisers are facing, namely viewability, inadequate premium inventory and proof of performance. Instead of running instream as pre-roll or mid-roll, outstream videos are either embedded between article content or within a slideshow, which means they don’t have to be attached to publisher’s video content to render. For sure the format will play an important role in online marketing in the future since it enables purchases to be handled programmatically and reduces concerns about viewability besides ensuring a positive experience for the user. Some media companies already reported that they could offer more premium video inventory with outstream ads and achieve solid ROI.

“Now that Google has pulled YouTube inventory from the open market and as Facebook sunsets LiveRail, marketer choice, flexibility, and agility has been greatly restricted,” said Eric Hoffert, SVP, Video Technology, AppNexus.
“AppNexus is working fast to bring access to diverse, premium video supply pools like those offered by UnrulyX to our open platform for buyers. Together with Unruly, we’re offering superior reach, greater audience-building, and more transparent pricing to elevate the entire video advertising ecosystem”, he added.

AppNexus buyers will have access to more than a billion monthly viewable outstream video impressions via UnrulyX, from business and news sites such as MarketWatch and The Sun, to sports sites including Goal.com, to lifestyle sites such as Vogue Australia, many of which are exclusive to UnrulyX. The video ad tech company’s SSP delivers user-friendly video formats, giving buyers the opportunity and scale to diversify their digital video buy beyond pre-roll.
According to the Unruly Future Video Survey, 62.1% of viewers globally want to be in control of their video ad experience. UnrulyX offers user-initiated placements on premium publishers’ sites, ideal for advertisers looking for high-impact, viewable ad placements on sites where consumers are already watching and consuming video. Viewability is inherent, as the ad does not begin to play unless 50% of the creative is in-view and always allows the user to skip the ad.
UnrulyX’s in-house brand safety team works closely with trusted partners, including Moat and Integral Ad Science, to verify both viewability levels and human traffic and ensure advertisers’ creatives will only appear in brand safe environments. The company is also compliant with TAG’s Quality Assurance Guidelines and JICWEBS’ Social Video Code.

As part of its mission to create a better video internet, AppNexus recently announced its own solution for video viewability, for both instream and outstream inventory, to help clients quickly and effectively identify and reach ideal consumers within video environments.

It is expected that spending on online video advertising will increase over the next two years, as video spots offer advertisers the opportunity to reach their customers with powerful, compelling messages about their brands and products. For agencies this means higher fees and the opportunity to work on exciting advertising content, for media companies it can mean significant revenue.

By Daniela La Marca