SINGAPORE – Yahoo today unveiled its latest ad solution, Video Lite, in Asia-Pacific (APAC) that will help brands enhance their video assets for a stronger storytelling experience. Video Lite is Yahoo’s newest feature, available for private marketplace (PMP) campaigns via Yahoo Exchange, that allows advertisers to optimise existing video creatives for digital media placements through the addition of end cards or branded frames, CTA buttons and messages.
As the massive digitisation wave continues across SouthEast Asia, which recorded 60 million new internet users in 2021 alone, consumers now rely on the internet more than ever. Notably, in SEA, e-commerce has experienced an unstoppable growth, valued at approximately USD 120 billion in 2021 and forecasted to increase significantly by 2025 to be worth USD 234 billion.
With e-commerce in APAC, especially in SEA, continuing its exponential growth in 2022, brands are exploring innovative ways to capture audiences’ attention and close the loop amidst rife competition by harnessing the power of engaging narratives. Videos are increasingly becoming great storytellers – people process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, remembering 80% of what they see. While often great at capturing attention spans and driving rich narratives, videos are not typically known for steering consumers towards actionable responses and conversions compared to other digital ad formats.
The Video Lite feature will unlock stronger brand storytelling by helping brands bridge video’s convenience gap for consumers and close the loop, taking them from experience to action through a clearer path to purchase while also emphasising brand visuals and messaging.
The new Video Lite feature allows advertisers access to:
Branded Frames, available for videos up to 30s, allow complementary graphics, text ad copies and CTA buttons to be added seamlessly alongside a minimised video to reinforce key brand visuals and messaging and provide a direct path to purchase.
End Cards, suitable for shorter videos up to 15 seconds, create a one-click checkout point, when attention is at its peak, by maximising graphics and text ad copies with CTA buttons, emphasising key brand visuals and messaging with a direct path to purchase, at the end of existing video assets.
“For many APAC advertisers, especially e-commerce brands, conversions remain the primary focus in their advertising campaigns. Our new Video Lite feature seeks to enhance brand storytelling through videos – optimising creatives for digital media placements by giving greater emphasis to important messages and forging a clearer path for consumers to complete their conversion journey with clear, actionable CTAs,” said Shrivardhan Sarda, head of buyer development, APAC, Yahoo.
Video Lite achieves success for pilot partners Grab & foodpanda
Yahoo successfully piloted the Video Lite feature in SEA with its partners foodpanda in Singapore and Grab in Indonesia for its year-end campaigns in 2021.
Grab Indonesia utilised Video Lite by adding a branded frame to their existing video asset for their GrabFood and GrabMart prominent campaign, Makanthon 2021. The branded frame emphasised time urgency and highlighted the chance for customers to win prizes, namely gold, smartphones, and a luxury car, with a clear Call-to-Action (CTA) button for users to make a purchase or order immediately. The campaign ran between Nov. 16 and Dec. 26 on Yahoo’s owned and operated properties in Indonesia.
“We’re delighted to become one of the first users of Video Lite in the region. Makanthon is our marquee campaign of the year and we’re glad we got to explore new ways of reaching new audiences. We look forward to utilising more innovative ways to connect with our customers through collaboration with platforms and solutions, like Yahoo”, said Hadi Surya Koe, head of marketing Grabfood – Grab Indonesia.
Meanwhile, foodpanda in Singapore also utilised Video Lite, with a branded frame over their “We’ve got you Santa!” video to drive awareness for its Christmas campaign during the holiday season. The branded frame sought to up the ante on the Christmas spirit and emphasise foodpanda’s “we’ve got you” commitment to its customers to help with their gifting, feasting and festive needs that is conveniently just a tap away with the “Order Now” CTA button. The campaign ran from Dec. 6-26 on Yahoo’s owned and operated properties in Singapore, alongside other premium lifestyle publishers in the country.
“Time is increasingly becoming a scarce resource for all of us. Being in the business of convenience, we know how much our customers appreciate having things delivered to them in a timely manner – and this goes for the content that they consume as well. With Video Lite, we can now enhance the way we engage with our customers by providing them with bite-sized videos that are visually engaging and easily digestible, therefore ensuring maximum recall,” said Laura Kantor, marketing and sustainability director for foodpanda Singapore.
“Better ads are better for everyone. As a consumer, better ads improve the browsing experience and clearer CTAs deliver convenience, shortening the path to purchase for immediate action. For brands, this will mean meaningful engagements at every touchpoint that will help realise their campaign goals and deliver maximum ROI,” shared Sarda.
“We’re excited to have piloted Video Lite with Grab and foodpanda in SEA, and we look forward to empowering more brands and helping them forge a path to engage with their target audiences at scale.”
The Video Lite feature is now available to agencies and advertisers across APAC, and enhanced video ads can be executed on their preferred DSP with PMP deals using Yahoo Exchange.
