Moving away from in-stream as the primary online video format will help break through advertising clutter and help brands better engage with consumers, particularly on mobile devices, according to Droga 5\u2019s<\/a> Frank Cannata.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re constantly just trying to get that pre-roll in front of a consumer and all they\u2019re doing is waiting for that skip button, you\u2019re wasting the whole effort,\u201d the agency\u2019s Head of Performance Marketing says in this interview with Beet.TV during the Digital Content NewFronts<\/a> presentations.<\/p>\n Looking at the mix between branding and activation, it pretty much needs to be customized based on the product or service category, says Cannata.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you go heavy brand on a retail category, you\u2019re not going to get the lift you\u2019d expect because the consumers now are dealing with a daily media assault of ads. So how do you punch through that and connect to them and build that emotional connection to the brand?\u201d<\/p>\n Data obviously plays a big part in understanding consumers and what messaging will resonate with them. \u201cIt\u2019s all about behavior now. I think the breakdown between performance and what it used to mean is different. It\u2019s just advertising now,\u201d says Cannata.<\/p>\n Asked about creative versioning, he cites the attendant financial constraints involved but feels it\u2019s important element of connecting with consumers if done properly.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m showing you a message versus what I\u2019ve seen, that\u2019s got to be tailored to what resonates for me. It think that versioning is going to play an important part in how we break through that media assault.\u201d<\/p>\n While interactive ads are moving beyond display, video is still king, according to Cannata. But where much video consumption is taking place poses challenges to impacting viewer behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re spending their time on mobile. Creatively, how we do that is going to be a challenge. It\u2019s a new world.\u201d<\/p>\n He believes that even with the rise of ad-blocking solutions, display isn\u2019t dead. It\u2019s just going to take a different form. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s building video into it.\u201d<\/p>\n This is where out-stream comes in. \u201cPutting headlines on the videos to get people to think about watching and not skipping\u201d and \u201cactually make something that people are going to interact with.\u201d<\/p>\n Trends like VAST (video ad-serving template) overtaking VPAID (video player ad-serving interface definition) \u201callows us to do that in mobile apps a little bit better. Cache it, buffer it. Let it play just like it would on TV and consumers will appreciate that a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n