Jumptap Reveals The 5 Secrets To Successful Mobile Video Advertising

According to Adobe, video consumption on mobile devices increased by 300% in 2012 — and it's only growing. As consumers become increasingly open to watching videos on their smaller streams, marketers need to begin adapting to the medium's opportunities as well.

Lewis Rothkopf, SVP of network development and publisher acquisition at mobile ad company Jumptap — which was recently acquired in a huge deal with Millennial Media — told us what marketers need to know to produce successful mobile video ads.

1. It's not just for the entertainment industry

"Entertainment is dominated by things like trailers and TV show previews," Rothkopf said. But marketers in other industries are wrong to think think that Hollywood is the only one that can benefit from using video in mobile ads. As this chart shows, auto companies and retailers might use mobile videos less than the entertainment industry does, but they actually see higher engagement rates. (Click to enlarge.)

2. Always keep a video ad to less than 15 seconds

Stay true to the medium. "No one is going to watch a six second Vine followed by a 30 second ad," Rothkopf said.

3. You've got to mix art and data

That means "building one-to-one matches on the consumer level using third party data," Rothkopf said. Let's use a Mercedes video ad as an example. If a 25-year-old guy who makes $30,000 a year sees and clicks on the ad, that's all well and good, but he isn't Mercedes' target demographic. It's more meaningful when a cool video is viewed by someone who can actually purchase the car.

4. It's not TV — be innovative

"It might be tempting to repurpose what you've done in TV, but consumers need to be spoken to in the right way on the device they're using," Rothkopf said.

That means using rich media and layering on interactive components.

One of Rothkopf's favorite examples of innovative mobile video ads appeared in Rovio's Angry Birds.

First the birds descended from the sky, in their natural habitat.

But wait, they're carrying something.

The birds unroll an unconventional banner ad...

... That allows users to watch a video ad without leaving the app.

5. Seriously, use rich media

A user doesn't want to be taken to an intermediate landing page to watch a video ad.

Here's what Jumptap thinks does and doesn't work: