Phil Duffield, Managing Director Adap.tv, discusses the growth of Video RTB in the APAC region, publisher adoption of the buying mechanism and some key infrastructure problems that currently is holding back the market.

Is the fusion of TV and video applicable to the current state of video advertising in AU and APAC?

Absolutely. Growth in online video consumption is a global trend and the opportunity for consumers to watch it on more channels and more devices is fueling it. One of the most interesting trends to watch in these regions will be the rise of connected TV. In the U.S. it took a significant leap onto agency media plans this year, but in Australia and APAC it’s challenging. Currently, the volume of video traffic is an issue as few homes currently have sufficient speed to stream high-definition content. But it’s improving all the time and the eventual rollout of the NBN will solve for this. After that, we should start to see a significant growth in the adoption and use of connected TV in our region.

Given that premium publishers in the region have been slow to adopt RTB for display, how will the likes of Adaptv bring premium liquidity to the market for Video?

It will be about empowering them with technology, through private marketplaces and showing them that RTB can no longer be pigeon holed as a race to the bottom but as a way to drive eCPM's up. We will also look at premium overseas inventory through either marketplace connections or again a private marketplace option.

In regards to programmatic technologies, are these regions ahead of these trends or behind? Why?

APAC is certainly a ways behind the US and Europe when it comes to automated buying and selling tools. Forrester predicts RTB spending in the US will reach $667 million by 2013, an increase of 251%. APAC is not growing as fast, but we are seeing the market develop and we expect that sort of growth, provided some mitigating factors are addressed, such as the slow adoption of technology by agencies. Because there are so many countries doing business in this space, each with different media offerings and differing approaches to planning, implementing automated tools that enable a more seamless process for buying and selling video is critical.

For large publishers in this region bandwidth is only a part of the issue. Yes, it’s hard to deliver quality video when speed is an issue for the consumer, but more importantly there’s a mindset that needs to shift. Publishers need to understand the benefits of online video and what the emergence of programmatic selling means for their business, otherwise they risk getting left behind.

What's not happening in AU and APAC that should be?

As with the U.S, the comparability of TV and online viewing data is a significant issue. Unified metrics are needed to demonstrate that online video is truly an extension of conventional TV.

There is an opportunity for a company like Nielsen to bring a holistic approach to reach and frequency that speaks to both TV and digital video buyers. We see such initiatives occurring in the U.S., but not here.

At the same time, we need advertisers and agencies to be educated on the benefits and audience extension that online video can bring to conventional TV campaigns. Part of that education process needs to address the attitude prevalent in APAC that online is all about click-throughs and conversions. In the US it’s accepted that brand engagement is the primary objective for video advertising and advertisers are reaping the rewards.

How do you measure brand engagement and brand focused metrics? What solutions are being seen right now in the US / Europe?

For standard video campaigns we measure brand engagement through our partners, VIZU, Dynamic Logic and Nielsen and through basic metrics in our analytics tool. However, if the client chooses to run interactive creative like Innovid through our platform then we are able to deliver much more robust reports around engagement, interactions etc.

Which stats suggest there are opportunities?

With video ad spend already exceeding $11.6M in Q1 2012 (according to IAB/PwC) and the growth of programmatic trading, we will start to see a shift in the adoption of private marketplaces as large publishers in AU and beyond make a play for technology. Also, as we see a rise in programmatic trading across video, publishers are seeing a void in their ability to trade in this environment, hence private marketplaces are becoming an interesting discussion point moving forward in 2012.

Will private exchanges be more successful in Video than they have been Display?

Yes I believe so. Video is a much more complicated landscape than display and large publishers need the tools and guidance through the video market to ensure they are monetising all their inventory and delivering the best eCPM.

Do you think legacy trading agreements / rebate models between media owner and agency is stunting the move to programmatic buying? How do you overcome that mindset?

This may be one reason but would be wrapped up with a host of others. The only way to overcome this is through education around programmatic trading and the ability to utilise private marketplace to deliver trading agreements and RTB revenue at the same time.