Despite ongoing consolidation in the ad tech market, overall growth continues as digital advertising spends increase and companies better utilize collected data. Updated standards such a VAST 4.1 and new initiatives are adding cohesion and interoperability, but adoption is expected to be relatively gradual. In total, the video ad tech space will reach close to US$6 billion by 2023, up from just under US$1.7 billion in 2018, according to ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies.

“Mobile video often garners a significant amount of attention, particularly attention devoted to 5G but connected TV viewing is growing at a faster rate and could reach parity in the coming years. Advertising, though, remains relatively siloed and as more ad spend moves to digital, the value in cross channel management and tracking will grow in kind – particularly when it includes traditional TV services, which remain the primary source of video viewing for a large number of households,” commented Michael Inouye, Principal Analyst at ABI Research.

Many companies like Comscore, Comcast/FreeWheel, clpyd, Imagine Communications, and Taptica are starting to, or will, address these cross-channel challenges, but this type of campaign ad management is expected to develop over time. Opportunities on the longer-term horizon such as location-based tracking and augmented reality, are not yet targets for most companies – many citing privacy concerns or lack of consumer traction.

“We’re hearing more and more that companies want to avoid the data lake and in turn are pushing to make the data actionable. Despite the attention devoted to privacy, the volume of data will continue to grow, particularly as elements of the IoT and 5G are added to the mix. Video will also reach new screens and be viewed in more places, all of which will increase the value for ad technologies.”