The IAB just released its new guide to the world of video advertising. This comprehensive document covers everything you need to know about the video ad sector, including key opportunities, the industry’s growing use of sophisticated ad tech and key measurement techniques. For an excellent overview of the 100+ page guide, check out this blog post co-authored by our Chief Technology Officer, Dan Brackett, and Jarred Wilichinsky of CBS Interactive. While the report suggests there’s a vast opportunity for advertisers with this rapidly evolving ad format, it also notes the challenges that may hinder its growth, including today’s outdated video creative workflow practices. What’s the problem, and how might advertisers address the issue?

What’s the challenge?
We have highlighted issues related to video creative workflow previously, but here’s a basic summary from the IAB’s report. Video is increasingly being bought and sold at rapid speed thanks to new automated buying techniques like programmatic, with purchases often occurring in a fraction of a second. But even though video buying can be transacted in milliseconds, delivering video advertising assets from a creative agency or post house to the publisher remains a largely manual process, involving long email chains, slow FTP file transfers, and manual transcodes. Just take a look at the below visual from the IAB report for proof.

What’s the solution?
As the IAB points out, centralized “ad clouds” that house video creative assets on a server and stream them (like Netflix) to the correct device are the most promising solution. In fact, Extreme Reach now offers its very own video streaming platform for this very reason. But as the IAB also notes, benefiting from this new approach will require some industry-wide changes, including adoption of a new standardized Ad-ID system, and the use of video technology standards including VAST and VPAID. Once implemented however, this streaming approach saves advertisers significant time, prevents unnecessary campaign delays and gives increased peace of mind that creative assets are delivered to the right screens on-time and with minimal chance of error. Just consider the following image of a simplified video creative workflow and compare it with the image above.

The new IAB guide to video points to a promising future for video advertising, one where ad creative is more engaging, measurable and precisely targeted than ever before. But in order for advertisers to reap all the benefits of this enticing vision, they’ll first need to “roll up their sleeves” and tackle key challenges like the industry’s out-of-date video creative workflow process. It’s the only way to ensure video advertising keeps streaming along into the future.