If you are anything like the average broker, you use TV advertising to build brand (if you have the budget). When running TV ads, it’s a great idea to run an integrated campaign with print, perhaps outdoor and certainly with banners and video ads online in order to extend the reach of  your expensive brand campaign, and make the crossover between channels. So far so good. However, most brokers do not use video ads for any other purpose then to rerun their TV commercial, which is a shame.

While financial TV stations (like Bloomberg TV) offer the possibility of advertising with video online, there is a much greater opportunity in using programmatic marketing to reach a large part of your target audience on Youtube and beyond. The pricing is generally low and the reach and targeting options are plentiful. With the right creative, focussed on generating conversion rather than bringing across brand messages, the results we have seen are very good with regards to direct acquisition.

Using programmatic buying platforms, brokers can target people that have already visited their site, target specific subject matter like financial markets or target people know to be interested in trading or financial markets. Regular targeting options are available, so brokers can target specific countries or even cities and specific devices, browsers and so on. Response in both clicks and conversions are good, and cost per acquisition lower than other channels because there are still not a lot of advertisers using video ads.

Because of a limited attention span, especially online, the creative used should be short, to the point and with a strong call to action. Think of it as a banner in video format but keep in mind people are in ‘content mode’ when watching videos, so the ad should ideally also be interesting. With video ads Brokers can add a whole new channel to their advertising mix, and used in the right way boost both Brand and Acquisition goals. Leave a message below if you have any experience or comment to add!