What we’ve learned from 50.000 video campaigns

Video has been one of the fastest-growing categories of digital media in previous years and it's projected to grow another 13% in 2025. The growth is largely fueled by consumers migrating from traditional TV to streaming platforms. While short-form video ads on TikTok and Meta platforms continue to attract ad budgets, there's a growing preference for higher-quality video placements in premium, brand-safe environments. This reflects a shift away from user-generated content and toward professional-grade media, supporting improved engagement and ROI.

At Adnami, we’ve executed tens of thousands of high impact video campaigns across our supply infrastructure of premium content-producing publishers. Therefore, I want to take a closer look at what works and what doesn't when it comes to video advertising - what's the best when it comes to creatives, engagement and performance?

In this blog post, I let you in on 6 learnings from analysing 50.000+ campaigns and share actionable recommendations that advertisers can start implementing today. 

6 key learnings

1. Attention metrics: Video creatives rule

When it comes to capturing attention, video creatives lead. Our data shows:

• Streamed video ads deliver 50% more measured attention than image ads

When analysing eAPM data of image and streamed video Mobile Midscroll formats in January 2025, the video format outperformed its image counterpart by far. Combining this with the finding that video ads engage consumers more deeply, especially in campaigns designed to build brand awareness (see 3.), this type of ad format is clearly the most powerful tool.

2. Click-through rates: Image creatives lead

When the goal is to drive website traffic, image creatives outperform video. Across our data:

• Image creatives deliver an average CTR of 0.35%
• Video creatives achieve a slightly lower CTR of 0.3%

Despite it being a close race between image and video creatives when it comes to click-through rates, image creatives come out on top. This makes image creatives better suited for performance-driven campaigns focused on generating clicks. Their direct, straightforward nature encourages quick user actions.

While this observation came as a surprise to me, I believe it makes sense that people are more emotionally engaged and immersed in video creatives and therefore click slightly less. I'm convinced that the immersive effect of video ads is still able to promote long-term results such as ad recall, brand recognition and thus sales.

3. Videos enhance ad recall and emotional resonance

Videos are particularly effective at creating memorable and emotionally impactful experiences. Studies consistently show that motion and sound enhance recall and recognition, making video the ideal choice for storytelling and brand-building campaigns (see here and here).

Videos have a unique ability to evoke emotions, which significantly improves memory retention. Emotional advertising, which leverages human emotions to connect with audiences, consistently outperforms rational ads in driving brand recall, profitability, and sales. Studies show emotional campaigns deliver up to twice the effectiveness of rational ones by bypassing conscious cognitive processes, making them more memorable and impactful. 

Motion captures attention more effectively than static images. A study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) highlights that video ads increase attention span and ad recall because the dynamic elements draw viewers in, helping them stay engaged with the message for longer periods. Ads incorporating motion graphics or dynamic storytelling outperform their static counterparts in recall metrics by an average of 35%.

4. Video metrics can be deceiving

Video metrics are great and necessary for advertisers to understand the quality of video performance. The essential metrics are video starts, video quartiles, video completion and average view-through rates as well as attention metrics. 

However, as with other metrics video metrics are prone to being gamed. A video can autoplay in a small format placed at the bottom corner of a desktop browser. This will generate high numbers of view-through rates but the majority of users don't even notice the ad.

Some vendors don't program their players to connect video playback with viewability. As a consequence, many video ads play when they're out of view. This delivers promising metric results even though audiences aren't even able to watch the video. 

My tip is to be aware of how video players are programmed and make sure that your video metrics only count towards views that are actually visible to the user. Adnami offers a 5-second view guarantee that ensures you only pay for quality video impressions.

5. Format matters: A key factor in video performance

In display advertising - where video consumption is usually unforced - the format can make or break your campaign. Our data highlights significant differences in performance:

• Mobile vertical video format: Delivers an incredible average attention time of 4.5 seconds per impression
• Mobile horizontal out-stream video format: 1.9 seconds per impression

This 137% improvement in favour of vertical formats demonstrates how critical it is to choose the right format. Larger formats that dominate the browser window consistently drive better engagement and outcomes.

6. Sound-off video: Adapting to changing behaviours

Research into mobile video consumption reveals a major shift in user behaviour:

• 75% of mobile videos are watched on mute, with 63% of people keeping their phones on mute overall
• This behaviour spans across generations, with 85% of Millennials and 64% of Gen X reporting they often watch videos without sound

In 2024, brands were expected to allocate more than half of their video advertising budgets to digital formats, with 75% of ads consumed on mobile devices. This underscores the importance of designing videos for a sound-off world by focusing on strong visuals, captions and on-screen text to deliver messages effectively.

Recommendations for brands

Here are my recommendations based on our findings from analysing 50.000+ campaigns that advertisers can start implementing today.

• For website traffic: Image creatives are ideal for higher click-through rates
• For engagement and recall: Video creatives hold attention longer and are more memorable
• Keep videos short: The average dwell time for video ads in unforced environments is less than 5 seconds, so keep creatives short
• Front-load key messages: Users scroll out of view quickly, so place logos, calls to action and core messaging in the very first frames
• Optimise for mute viewing: With most mobile videos watched without sound, rely on high impact visuals, captions and on-screen text to tell your story
• Use accurate metrics: Manipulated metrics result in inflated numbers. Focus on visible views and consider solutions like Adnami Bumper with a 5-second view guarantee.

The most successful campaigns combine video and image creatives to leverage their respective strengths. For instance:

• Use video ads for top-of-funnel awareness and engagement.
• Retarget engaged consumers with image ads to drive clicks and conversions.

By aligning formats with campaign objectives, advertisers can achieve a comprehensive impact across the customer journey.

Final thoughts

As consumer behaviours evolve, advertisers must adapt their strategies to stay effective. Whether your goal is clicks, attention or recall, the key lies in tailoring your video ad approach to match your audience’s habits and the platforms they use.

About Simon Kvist:

Simon Kvist is the Founder and CEO of Adnami, a leading provider of attention-driven marketing solutions dedicated to helping advertising agencies and publishers achieve high impact, scalable campaigns that drive real results.