• New mobile ad format launches on The Sun and The New York Post, with attention measurement from Moat

• Unruly data shows quarter of consumers watch more than 10 videos a week on their phones; 53% of people are annoyed by having to turn their phone horizontally to watch videos

Advertisers can now run viewable vertical video campaigns across News Corp titles thanks to a new mobile format launched at an event held at Cannes Lions today by News Corp and video ad tech company Unruly.

The outstream vertical video format is now live on The Sun and The New York Post, allowing advertisers to unlock the power of mobile video and maximize viewer attention. The mobile web format guarantees video views are viewable, as defined by the Media Ratings Council (MRC) and measured by launch partner Moat.

To help brands create best-in-class content for this emerging format, Unruly today also announced the launch of the Vertical Video Collective – a network of mobile-first content creators specialising in creating video for vertical viewing.  

Mobile is increasingly the device of choice for consumers watching video online, with 45% of all global digital video views now taking place on mobile (source: eMarketer) and a quarter of consumers watching more than 10 videos a week on their phones (source: Unruly Mobile Video Survey).

Unruly’s new ad unit, compatible with both iOS and Android devices, displays ads the same way viewers consume videos on their mobile devices. Recent research has found that a third (29%) of videos are viewed vertically (Mary Meeker Internet Trends), while according to the Unruly Mobile Video Survey:

• 53% of consumers and 57% of Millennials find turning their phone horizontally to watch their video in full screen annoying;
• 34% of consumers and 43% of Millennials always or often use rotation lock to lock their phones to vertical mode;
• 74% of people say they stop watching a video ad when the sound plays automatically.

Key benefits for advertisers

• The format inserts advertisers’ vertical video content into contextually relevant articles, maximizing attention;
• The format only begins to play when the video is in-view, and can be shared or scrolled past at any time, giving users ultimate control;
• The format loads after the editorial content and only plays sound when the viewer has actively activated sound using in-board controls.

What Unruly, News Corp and Moat say

Derek Brown, head of strategy at The Sun, said:

Video is a key part of The Sun’s editorial strategy going forward, so creating advertising formats that reflect this is vital.  We know that our readers engage with video advertising, but we’re also aware that they dislike intrusive and inconvenient advertising. Unruly’s vertical video format offers them polite and non-intrusive video advertising that fits seamlessly into their mobile browsing experience.”

Ultimately, brand advertising is about creating the right storytelling experience for the consumer. TV has historically done this successfully for many marketers, but with changing consumer behavior, we need to figure out the right way to tell brand stories in digital. New formats are certainly going to be part of the formula for success and Unruly is taking a leadership role in driving forward this effort,” said Jonah Goodhart, CEO and co-founder of Moat.

Sarah Wood, co-CEO and co-founder at Unruly, said:

The landscape is changing fast and our vertical format will help brands connect more authentically, intimately and effectively with mobile audiences. The Vertical Video Collective, also launching today, will give brands access to some of the freshest video makers, creating content that’s engineered to succeed in a mobile viewing environment.”