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Foundational Strategies

Market Education & Trust in AdTech

This deep dive details the essential video strategies that build credibility and understanding in the complex AdTech market—the pillars for advanced brand-building.

The Educator Imperative

Demystifying Programmatic Complexity to Build Authority

The most critical video strategy is creating content that simplifies complex topics like programmatic advertising, CTV, and retail media. The goal is to educate the market and establish the brand as a trustworthy source of truth.

This approach directly addresses a key market pain point: the industry's notorious complexity. Clear explainer videos build trust and capture top-of-funnel interest.

Well-produced videos function as a "sales engineer at scale," pre-educating prospects and allowing human teams to focus on high-value, deal-closing conversations.

B2B Buyer Journey

B2B buyers consume an average of 8 pieces of content before making a purchase decision.

Pillars of Educational Content

Core formats for building a foundation of trust and knowledge.

Concept Simplification

Breaking down complex ideas (e.g., "What is a DSP?") into digestible, often animated, short-form videos.

Platform Primers

High-level overviews of your technology, focusing on the "why" and "what" before the "how."

Industry Trend Explainers

Explaining the impact of major shifts, like cookie deprecation or the rise of AI in media buying.

Leaders in Education: Real-World Examples

The Platform Masterclass

Driving Product Adoption and Retention

This strategy centers on in-depth video content—demos, tutorials, and walkthroughs—that empowers existing users to master the platform. The focus shifts from acquisition to retention and upselling.

AdTech platforms have a steep learning curve; if users don't feel competent, churn risk is high. A "Platform Masterclass" strategy directly mitigates this risk by enabling self-service and success.

For prospects, a library of high-quality tutorials signals a commitment to customer success and effectively de-risks the purchase decision.

Elements of a Platform Masterclass

Essential content to empower users from novice to expert.

Onboarding Series

Feature Deep Dives

Advanced Workflows

API & SDK Guides

Your Strategic Blueprint

Transform insights into action with these key steps.

For Education & Authority

  • Audit sales processes to identify the top 10 most frequently asked questions and turn them into a video series.
  • Develop a flagship "What is?" animated video as a cornerstone asset for your homepage and top-of-funnel campaigns.
  • Establish a workflow between product and marketing to ensure technical accuracy and accessible language.

For Adoption & Retention

  • Create a "Getting Started" playlist to guide new users through their first 72 hours of platform setup.
  • Develop a library of short, modular "micro-learning" videos focused on a single feature or workflow.
  • Utilize high-quality screen recordings with clear voiceovers and feature your actual product experts as presenters.

The Future of AdTech

A visual report on the two pivotal strategies shaping the industry: building undeniable credibility through customer proof and establishing market dominance via thought leadership.

The Proof Provider

Building a Moat of Credibility with Customer Evidence

The Core Strategy

This strategy involves the systematic capture and promotion of customer success through video testimonials, in-depth case studies, and results-focused narratives.

In a performance-driven industry like AdTech, this moves beyond making claims to providing undeniable, third-party proof of value.

A Single Metric of Proof

13x

Return on Ad Spend

Why It Works in AdTech

The AdTech market is saturated with platforms making bold claims, leading to skepticism. Video testimonials provide compelling social proof that is emotionally resonant, building immense credibility and de-risking the purchase decision.

These videos humanize abstract ROI. A metric is powerful, but a story about overcoming a challenge makes the success feel tangible and trustworthy.

Key Components

  • Results-Oriented Testimonial: A short video (60-90s) with quantifiable results.
  • Narrative Case Study: A longer video (3-5m) telling a complete challenge-to-transformation story.
  • Industry-Specific Proof: Curated playlists for different verticals (e.g., Retail, Automotive).

Real-World Examples

Criteo

Organizes customer proof by industry (Automotive, Fashion) allowing prospects to find highly relevant success stories quickly.

Zeotap

Showcases powerful stories with major brands, highlighting impressive metrics like a 43% increase in conversion rate.

InMobi

Features case studies with well-known brands, demonstrating tangible results like 13x RoAS in user acquisition.

Actionable Takeaways

Integrate video testimonial requests into your customer success program. Make participation easy.

Structure all customer stories around a clear "Challenge-Solution-Result" narrative.

Repurpose long-form case studies into multiple "snackable" clips for social media and sales.

The Thought Leadership Summit

Establishing Dominance with High-Level Webinars and Executive Insights

The Core Strategy

This advanced strategy involves producing high-level, forward-looking content that transcends product features and addresses macro industry trends.

The goal is to position the company as a thought leader shaping the future, not just a vendor reacting to it.

A First-Party Data Goldmine

Senior decision-makers are selecting a strategic partner, not just a tool. High-level content appeals to this persona, showing you can guide them through uncertainty.

Furthermore, strategic content like webinars requires registration, capturing valuable first-party data from an audience that has signaled high intent, a crucial asset in the post-cookie era.

Key Components

"State of the Industry" Webinar

Expert Panel Discussion

Executive Q&A Fireside Chat

Event Keynote Amplification

Real-World Examples

  • IAS: Positions itself at the center of critical dialogues on brand safety and media quality.
  • Innovid: Cements its position as a leader in CTV advertising through events and partnerships.
  • Demandbase: Elevates its brand beyond software to be a source of comprehensive GTM strategy.

Actionable Takeaways

Develop a quarterly "State of the Industry" webinar series featuring your C-suite and an external analyst.

Partner with major industry publications or event organizers to co-host webinars and expand reach.

Implement a content repurposing strategy: a 1-hour webinar becomes clips, a blog post, and slides.

Advanced Strategies for Brand Building

How established leaders use video not just to explain their product, but to shape the entire industry narrative, build an aspirational brand, and attract top-tier talent.

The Humanizer

Building a Brand That Attracts Top Talent

This strategy pulls back the curtain to showcase the people, values, and work environment of a company. While the primary goal is talent acquisition, this content also serves to humanize the brand for customers and partners, fostering deeper trust.

In the fierce AdTech war for talent, a strong employer brand is a significant competitive advantage. For customers, it’s a crucial signal of company health, showing that behind the complex platform are smart, passionate people.

Key Components of a Human-Centric Strategy

Role Spotlights

"Day in the life" videos featuring employees from various departments.

Values in Action

Content demonstrating core values through specific projects or stories.

Event Recaps

High-energy videos from company summits, offsites, or volunteer days.

Global Office Tours

Videos highlighting different office locations and their unique cultures.

Real-World Examples: Humanizer Strategy

The company’s "Criteo Culture" playlist features an extensive series of "This is what I do" videos, providing an authentic and compelling look inside the organization from researchers to account strategists.

The News Engine

Maximizing Impact with Strategic Communication

This approach transforms routine product updates and company announcements into strategic communication opportunities through polished video content, controlling the narrative and maximizing impact.

In the relentless pace of AdTech, video provides a more engaging format to communicate new features. It allows companies to not only state what is new but to show it in action and explain why it matters.

Key Components of a News-Driven Strategy

The Launch Keynote

A high-production video, often featuring the CEO or CPO, announcing a major new product or platform initiative.

The Feature Spotlight

A short, focused video that introduces a single new feature, demonstrates its functionality, and highlights its key benefits.

The "Shipped" Series

A recurring video series that bundles recent minor updates into a regular, digestible format.

The Partnership Announcement

A video featuring executives from both companies that announces a new strategic integration or partnership.

Real-World Examples: News Engine Strategy

The launch of their Kokai platform was supported by a suite of high-quality videos, including a main keynote from CEO Jeff Green and a "Kokai in 12 Minutes" explainer, ensuring the significance was communicated at every level.

Actionable Takeaways

For The Humanizer

Collaborate with HR to create a video series highlighting core values through real employee stories.

Move beyond generic office tours. Create "day in the life" videos for key roles to provide an authentic view of the work.

Always have a plan to capture video content at major company events to showcase team morale.

For The News Engine

For every major product launch, plan a "video cascade": a high-level announcement, a detailed demo, and short social clips.

Create a branded, recurring "What's New" video series to maintain engagement and show continuous improvement.

When announcing a partnership, propose a joint announcement video to double promotional reach and add validation.

AdTech Video Marketing

The New Playbook

Unlocking growth in a competitive landscape through strategic video content. Discover the insights driving the future of AdTech marketing.

The Format Diversifier

Capturing Fleeting Attention with YouTube Shorts

The Core Strategy

This involves repurposing existing long-form content or creating new, native short-form vertical videos for YouTube Shorts.

The goal is to capture attention from audiences with different consumption habits and leverage YouTube's discovery algorithm, which often prioritizes Shorts content.

Why It Works in AdTech

Shorts provide a low-friction way to deliver quick insights, company updates, or event highlights. It's an effective channel for brand awareness and for driving traffic back to longer videos.

For a complex topic, a 60-second Short can act as a "teaser" that piques interest and encourages a click-through to a full webinar or demo.

Audience Consumption Habits

Key Components

Real-World Examples

Taboola

Actively uses Shorts for "Taboola Tech Q&A" sessions and to share insights on "Pride Campaigns Done Right."

Mix of educational & cultural content.

Infosum

Shares punchy, quote-driven clips from their podcast series, with titles like "Do CPGs have first-party data?".

Thought-provoking & shareable.

Adikteev

Highlights "Retention Facts" from case studies (e.g., "How InDrive boosted conversions by 10%").

Promotes longer content via clips.

Actionable Takeaways

Implement a "record once, publish everywhere" mentality. Every long-form video should be reviewed for 3-5 potential Shorts clips.

Create simple, branded templates for Shorts to ensure visual consistency. Include prominent captions, as many users watch without sound.

Experiment with different formats: animated text, quick-cut edits, and direct-to-camera insights from your internal experts.

The Production Quality Spectrum

Aligning Investment with Strategic Intent

Investment vs. Strategic Goal

The Core Strategy

This strategy recognizes that not all videos require the same level of production investment. It involves strategically matching production quality with the specific goal of each video asset.

Why It Works in AdTech

By adopting a spectrum of production values, companies can allocate high budgets where brand perception is paramount, while using cost-effective methods where clarity and speed are the priority.

An overly polished tutorial can feel inauthentic, while a low-quality brand video can damage credibility. The key is strategic alignment.

Key Components

High-Fidelity

Brand-Level

Cinematic-quality videos with professional lighting, sound, and custom graphics. Reserved for brand anthems, major launches, and flagship customer stories.

Mid-Fidelity

Educational/Marketing-Level

Professionally recorded content, often in-office, with good lighting and clear audio. Common for webinars, interviews, and event panels.

Lo-Fidelity

Enablement-Level

Simple, clean screen recordings with high-quality voiceovers. Ideal for product tutorials, feature updates, and internal training.

Real-World Examples

The Trade Desk (High)

Brand videos use professional cinematography and editing to create an emotional, high-level brand message.

StackAdapt (Mid)

Their webinar series features well-lit speakers and clear audio. The production is clean and authoritative.

MonetizeMore (Lo)

Effectively uses screen recordings to teach publishers. The focus is entirely on clarity and utility.

Actionable Takeaways

Create a "Video Production Tier" guide for your marketing team. Define the purpose, audience, and budget for each tier.

Invest in a high-quality microphone and screen recording software to empower internal teams to create effective lo-fi tutorials at scale.

Reserve your highest production budget for one or two "hero" assets per year that will have the broadest impact on brand perception.

Execution & Optimization

From Content Strategy to Performance: A Guide to Production, Distribution, and Measurement in AdTech.

The Episodic Hook

Building a Subscribable Audience with Recurring Content

The Core Strategy

Create branded, recurring video series with a consistent format, topic, and release schedule. This builds a loyal, subscribed audience that anticipates and returns for new content, much like a traditional television show.

Why It Works in AdTech

The YouTube algorithm rewards channels that retain viewers. An episodic series encourages subscriptions, turning passive viewers into an active, trusting community who know what value they will receive.

Key Components for Success

Consistent Branding

Unique name, logo, and intro/outro sequence.

Predictable Format

Consistent structure like interviews or tutorials.

Regular Cadence

Predictable schedule, e.g., every first Tuesday.

Compelling Host

A consistent host to build a personal connection.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Identify a core expertise pillar and brainstorm a monthly or quarterly video series concept around it.
  • Design a simple but professional graphics package (intro, lower thirds, outro) for a polished, recognizable look.
  • Promote the series like an event. Announce upcoming episodes in newsletters and on social media to build anticipation.

The Thumbnail as a Billboard

Optimizing for the Click in a Crowded Feed

The Core Strategy

Treat the thumbnail as critical marketing creative. Develop a consistent, branded, and visually compelling strategy to stand out and clearly communicate the video's value, driving higher click-through rates (CTR).

Why It Works in AdTech

In a professional context, a clear thumbnail signals quality and relevance. A consistent visual style builds brand recognition, transforming a channel page from a list of videos into a polished, professional content library.

Real-World Examples

MonetizeMore

AVOID LOW VALUE CONTENT?

Google Policy

MonetizeMore

Bold colors, large text, and a clear topic.

AdRoll Logo

Tutorial: Setting Up Your First Campaign

AdRoll

Consistent layout with logo and clear title.

Header Bidding Best Practices

Setupad

Clean color scheme, bold text, and relevant icons.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Develop branded thumbnail templates for your primary content categories (webinars, tutorials, interviews).
  • Establish a simple rule for text overlays: no more than 5-7 words, in a large, high-contrast, legible font.
  • Always try to include a human element, like a high-quality headshot making eye contact with the camera.

Beyond the View

Transforming AdTech Video from Passive Views to Active Engagement

The CTA Command Center

Driving Action Beyond the View

The Core Strategy

This involves a systematic, multi-layered approach to calls-to-action (CTAs). It embeds clear, specific next steps within the video, in the description, and on the end screen to convert passive viewers into active leads.

Why it Works in AdTech

A view is a vanity metric if it doesn't lead to a business outcome. In B2B, video must drive action: a demo request, a download, or registration. An explicit CTA strategy moves viewers from awareness to conversion, proving video marketing ROI.

Key CTA Components

Verbal CTAs

Speaker explicitly states the next step.

Visual CTAs

On-screen graphics or text overlays.

Description Links

Prominent links to relevant resources.

End Screens

Promote another video, playlist, or subscribe.

Pinned Comments

Highlight the most important CTA link.

Real-World Examples & Actionable Takeaways

Kevel

Developer-focused videos with CTAs directing to technical documentation and API guides, providing a direct, relevant next step.

Smartly.io

Solution videos consistently drive viewers to "Get a demo," a clear, bottom-of-the-funnel CTA generating qualified sales leads.

Creatopy

Tutorials encourage users to "Create your video ad," driving them directly back into the product to take action.

The Event Amplifier

Maximizing ROI on Physical and Virtual Events

The Core Strategy

This strategy uses video to extend the life and reach of event marketing. It involves creating a suite of content before, during, and after an event to maximize engagement and extract long-term value from a time-bound activity.

Why it Works in AdTech

Industry events are significant investments. A video amplification strategy ensures value extends beyond attendees, sharing key messages globally, nurturing leads, and creating a valuable content library, dramatically increasing event ROI.

Real-World Examples & Actionable Takeaways

PubMatic

Effectively captures and shares content from major events like Cannes, featuring interviews that amplify their presence and thought leadership.

Equativ

Features event highlights and full panel recordings, ensuring valuable conversations are preserved and shared widely with a digital audience.

Smartly.io

Features numerous videos from their proprietary "Connect" events, providing valuable content and promoting their own gatherings.

The Cross-Pollinator

Integrating Video with the Broader Content Ecosystem

This strategy ensures that video does not exist in a silo. It involves actively promoting YouTube content across other marketing channels and using videos to drive traffic to other high-value content assets.

The AdTech Advantage

The modern B2B buyer's journey is not linear; it spans multiple touchpoints and content formats. An integrated strategy creates a cohesive user experience and maximizes the reach of every piece of content.

Promoting a new webinar on LinkedIn drives traffic to YouTube, while the YouTube video itself contains a CTA to download a related whitepaper. This creates a self-reinforcing content ecosystem where each channel supports the others.

Modern B2B Buyer Touchpoints

Key Components of Integration

A multi-faceted approach ensures maximum impact and reach.

Blog Post Embeds

Embedding relevant videos directly within blog posts to provide a richer, more engaging reading experience.

Newsletter Features

Featuring a "Video of the Month" or linking to new tutorials and webinars in regular email communications.

Social Media Promotion

Sharing native video clips on platforms like LinkedIn and X with a link back to the full video on YouTube.

In-Video Resource Links

Using on-screen text or verbal callouts to direct viewers to download a related, in-depth resource.

Guiding Prospects Effectively

An integrated strategy significantly boosts conversion rates through the marketing funnel.

Real-World Examples

Leading AdTech companies leveraging cross-pollination.

Actionable Takeaways

Simple steps to build your own content ecosystem.

Create a Content Checklist

Require every new blog post to include at least one relevant embedded video from your YouTube channel.

Develop a Promotional Plan

Schedule posts on LinkedIn, X, and inclusion in your next customer newsletter for every new video.

Plan Companion Content

When planning a new video, simultaneously plan a companion piece (e.g., a blog post, a checklist) that the video can promote, and vice-versa.

The Data-Driven Storyteller

Transforming Proprietary Research into Compelling Video Content

The Core Strategy

Instead of static reports, we transform data into accessible, shareable video narratives that capture attention and build authority.

Data Reports

From dense PDFs to dynamic insights.

Video Content

Creating summary videos and data-snacks.

Platform Insights

Leveraging unique data for market leadership.

The AdTech Advantage

AdTech is a data-driven industry. Companies that produce original, insightful research position themselves as true experts and thought leaders.

However, dense data reports can be intimidating. Video is the perfect medium to distill complex findings into clear, visual, and narrative-driven stories that are easily digestible.

This strategy generates highly valuable, unique content that cannot be easily replicated, providing excellent source material for PR and media outreach.

Amplify Your Authority

Distill complex findings into clear, visual stories that establish your brand as an industry leader.

Key Content Components

A multi-format approach to bring your data to life and maximize its reach.

Real-World Examples

Leading AdTech companies using data-driven video to own the narrative.

Innovid

"CTV Advertising Insights Report"

Innovid regularly publishes reports and creates video content around their findings, positioning themselves as a primary source for data on the converged TV landscape.

IAS (Integral Ad Science)

"IAS COVID-19 Research" Playlist

Their dedicated video series demonstrates how they turn timely research into valuable insights for the market during periods of uncertainty.

Teads

"Elevated Insights" on Attention

Teads leverages data from partners to create content around attention metrics, educating the market on new measurement standards.

Actionable Takeaways

Your roadmap to becoming a data-driven storyteller.

Partner with Data Science

Identify unique, non-sensitive data trends from your platform that can be packaged into a quarterly "Platform Insights" report.

Allocate Launch Resources

For every major report, create a corresponding summary video and a deep-dive webinar as part of the launch plan.

Transform Visuals for Social

Turn the most surprising charts and graphs from your research into standalone animated videos for social media.

The Global Localizer

Scaling Video Strategy Across Regions and Languages

A Universal Message, Locally Told

This strategy involves adapting video content for different international markets. It can range from simply adding subtitles to creating fully localized content with regional speakers and market-specific case studies.

The goal is to ensure the brand's message resonates with a global audience in a culturally relevant way, making every viewer feel seen and understood.

Why Localization is an AdTech Superpower

A one-size-fits-all, English-only video strategy can limit growth in key international markets. Localization demonstrates commitment, builds stronger relationships, and significantly improves engagement.

It is a critical step for any AdTech company looking to scale its international go-to-market efforts effectively.

The Localization Toolkit

A breakdown of essential strategies for adapting content globally.

Subtitling

Adding accurate, professionally translated subtitles to make key videos accessible to a wider audience.

Voiceover Dubbing

Recording a native-speaking voiceover for high-value videos like brand anthems or platform demos.

Regional Content Creation

Producing original videos that feature local team members and address regional market trends.

Language-Specific Playlists

Organizing localized content into dedicated playlists on platforms like YouTube.

Pioneers in Practice

How industry leaders are implementing global localization.

Taboola

Their main YouTube channel features dedicated playlists for content in Spanish, Japanese, and German. They also create original content, like an office tour of their Taiwan office, specifically for a local audience.

Eskimi

With a strong presence in diverse global markets, their channel includes videos specifically addressing the "Digital Landscape of Botswana" and features content in multiple languages, such as French, to cater to their regional audiences.

The Trade Desk

While primarily in English, their "Voices from The Trade Desk" series features employees from global offices like Hamburg, and they produce content specifically for events in regions like Canada, showing an awareness of the need for regional relevance.

Your Path to Global Scale

Three immediate steps to start your localization journey.

Prioritize & Subtitle

Identify your top 5-10 videos and top 3-5 growth markets. Start by adding professionally translated subtitles.

Invest in Voice

For your most important brand and product videos, invest in professional voiceover dubbing for your primary non-English market.

Empower Regional Teams

Provide resources and templates for regional teams to create their own simple, authentic videos featuring local customers.

From Content to Connection

Video is no longer a peripheral marketing activity but the central nervous system of a modern go-to-market strategy. The most successful companies architect comprehensive video ecosystems to achieve specific business objectives.

They act as Educators to demystify complexity, as Masters to ensure product success, and as Proof Providers to build undeniable credibility.

Embrace video as a continuous, strategic program that builds authority, fosters trust, and drives measurable growth.