Facebook expands test for in-stream ads on Live

Facebook is expanding its test of in-stream ads in Facebook Live to more categories. The test is designed to help evaluate whether or not the ad format is effective before rolling it out more broadly.

For now, Facebook is piloting in-stream ads with only a select number of publishers. The experiment will help determine if content creators are able to successfully monetize their live video streams with in-stream ads.

How does it work?  When watching Live content from a creator included in the test, viewers might see a range of ad formats, including:

• A pre-roll ad that runs before the live stream
• An image ad that appears below the live stream
• A mid-roll ad that plays in the main video player during the live stream while the broadcast continues playing in a shrunken window

Why it’s important:

With quarantine, Live videos on social media have boomed. We believe this format will continue to be developed in the coming months.

Up until now, Facebook has been testing the new in-stream product exclusively with gaming developers in Live. Now that it’s rolling out to more verticals (entertainment, news, and sports), this is a perspective for advertisers to have access to more impressions within live creative content vs more classical videos. Watch out regarding brand safety! Users will be able to choose to exclude ads from appearing in Live content

IAB Tech Labs to replace VPAID with more interactive SIMID ad specs

IAB Tech Lab has initiated the process of replacing VPAID (Video Player Ad Interface Definition) with SIMID (Secure Interactive Media Interface Definition) specifications to support interactive video ads. Purpose is to give publishers more control over their video ads offerings.

Why it’s important:

The new SIMID specifications will enable a “player-centric” model that gives playback control to the player itself — providing publishers with more control over the user experience and the videos that run on their pages.

Snapchat pilots 'first commercial' video takeover ads

Snap started testing an ad format that shows a commercial before the first show that people watch each day on Snapchat. The non-skippable ad insertions appear before other commercials in video programming on Snapchat, including its Snap Originals series and shows that appear in the app's "Discover" section.

Why it’s important:

It could be a great opportunity for smaller advertisers that don’t have the opportunity to sponsor TV programmes: it enables to appear  on mobile, within contents in line with their target audience.

Spotify creates Anchor to let people turn video chats into podcasts

Spotify's podcast creation platform Anchor has introduced a feature that lets people turn their video chats into podcast-ready audio.

The new video-to-audio conversion tool works with video calling platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, Twitch and Instagram Live.

Facebook revamps video chat features across its app suite to rival Zoom

Messenger users can create Rooms and control them in several ways, including choosing who is allowed to join, limiting the number of participants and removing them. Users can create Rooms in Messenger or Facebook, though the social network soon will add the feature to Instagram Direct, WhatsApp and Portal smart displays.

Messenger also is rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) effects including 360-degree backgrounds that show chat participants in virtual landscapes.

Why it’s important:

Facebook's new video chat features come as people grow more reliant on social networks to stay connected while stuck at home. The company said more than 700 million accounts participate in video calls in WhatsApp and Messenger each day. The number of calls on those apps more than doubled in many countries since the pandemic began, while the number of group video calls has jumped more than 10 times in some areas, per its blog post.