Data indicates that consumers overwhelmingly prefer skippable video ads to their nonskippable counterparts. But advertisers risk being completely ignored on skippable ad units. If they’re willing to risk incurring the wrath of video viewers, advertisers embracing nonskippable units need to go short. Vertical video ads found their footing in social.

If a 30-second video has a 6-second ad wedged in the middle of it, that doesn’t seem right. But in a 90-second or longer piece of content, it seems more appropriate there. As an advertiser, I don’t want to pay for an ad that's immediately skippable, and I don’t want to run a 15-second ad that’s skippable after 6 seconds.

In the latest episode of "Behind the Numbers," mobile analyst Rahul Chadha breaks down eMarketer's latest estimates for the booming mobile video advertising market, and digs into the underlying drivers.

In today's episode of "Behind the Numbers," we're talking about out-stream video ads that might not get viewed. How concerned should advertisers be?

The most significant differentiator between video ad formats on YouTube is whether ads are skippable (can be skipped after 5 seconds) or nonskippable (must be watched in their entirety). This has the greatest impact on the user experience on the platform. Skippable or nonskippable, advertisers need their video ad creative to be compelling.

CTV’s premium and non-skippable ad environment result in high completion rates, and viewers find these ads more relevant and informative, which in turn drives action. Magnite’s research found that 70% of survey respondents took an average of two actions after seeing a digital video political ad. These actions include visiting a candidate’s website and watching more videos on a candidate.

As Facebook Watch nears its one-year anniversary, IGTV breaks down influencer video barriers, and Twitter and Snapchat make waves with video during events like the World Cup, the benefits of in-stream advertising in social media are front and center.

Ads are more likely to be 15 seconds long and skippable. Over 90% of video ads served by Smaato—a mobile ad server and exchange with a wide range of clients—have a skip button, according to chief product officer Freddy Friedman. This includes native formats, such as rewarded video. Longer ads lose viewers if they pass a certain length.

Lastly, OTT video services are exploding. We expect that the average US adult will watch 42.6 minutes of subscription-based OTT video per day in 2020 across all devices. Many of these services, such as Hulu and Vudu, have shoppable ads. Although CTV is the prime location for viewing OTT videos, the interactivity of these ads works best in mobile environments.

YouTube has been the OG for video creators for years, but now the social properties are making bigger inroads into this popular content format. That’s bringing new ways for marketers to work with creators on Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and more.

Many of the large platforms will double down on high-quality video shows geared for a mobile audience. This will increase demand for vertical video. Video advertising will also become less skippable and more interactive. How will artificial intelligence (AI) influence mobile advertising?

With viewers, content and ad dollars continuing to flow to digital platforms, it is more important than ever to adopt best practices in video and TV advertising, and to coordinate them across the entire device spectrum.

The Extreme Reach study also found that connected TV ads showed consistently higher completion rates than desktop, mobile or tablet ads—a phenomenon cited by other experts and researchers attributable to the non-skippable nature of most connected TV ads, and the fact that viewers tend to watch OTT content with more intent than they do videos on smaller screens.

The social platforms are getting serious about long-form shows. Here’s what’s driving Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter toward this form of video—and what advertisers need to know.