We’ve launched a new video series featuring interviews with PR and marketing specialists filmed in the back of a London black cab.

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Around 69% of advertisers and 55% of agencies plan to increase their online video advertising in the next 12 months, triggering a 22% increase in the market over the same period.

Healthy figures peppered the IAB’s results. One particularly bright finding is that those surveyed (namely 500 digital and/or television media decision makers that intend to spend $1 million or more in the next 12 months) envision spending 17% of overall digital marketing budgets on online video.

Respondents cited a number of factors influencing a move towards online video. High levels of consumer engagement ranked highly, as did the medium’s trackable nature and targeting capabilities. Many respondents favoured the low production costs of online video. Many are planning to shift ad dollars away from television in chase of better ROI, reaffirming the evolution, or should we say, revolution, in the allocation of marketing budgets.

In terms of formats, pre-roll remains the most popular, although in-banner, expandable banner, mobile video, rich media overlay and post-roll formats are also in demand, indicating online video’s versatility.

As has been revealed in previous surveys, IAB analysis finds that most respondents consider 15 seconds to be the most appropriate length, with the preferred pricing model being CPM.

New figures from Nielsen reveal a sector in rude health, with home and work-based online video usage up a hefty 45% year on year. Further good news comes from the fact that this growth isn’t being driven by new users, which means that those already engaging with online video are now consuming even more of it.

The big players in online video are serving up more content than ever. Last month, YouTube recorded more than 112m unique viewers in the US, serving nearly 8.5bn streams. Facebook followed YouTube as the second most popular property by unique views, luring more than 32m unique viewers last month.

But eyeballs aren’t everything – in terms of engagement, Nielsen’s research found that Netflix viewers spent the longest time actually viewing video content, at an average of 11 hours and eight minutes.

Hulu viewers ranked second in Nielsen’s time-per-viewer category, viewing on average five hours and 35 minutes.

According to Econsultancy, analysis of these numbers reveals that content truly is king in the online video space. While social networks such as YouTube and Facebook attract the most viewers, their largely user-generated content doesn’t necessarily hold viewers’ attention for long. Professional content, such as that offered by sites like Netflix and Hulu, seems to keep viewers online for longer.

While many user-generated sites now offer professional content, for instance YouTube which serves up music videos from VEVO, it doesn’t come easily or cheaply. Indeed, video sites like Netflix and Hulu pay highly for the professional content that makes them reputable.

However content providers decide to offer online video, the good news for the sector is that demand just seems to keep on growing, offering highly viable revenue streams for those doing it right and ample opportunities for brands.

Findings from the Forbes survey featured in e-Marketer this week offer advertisers an insight on key trends and how marketers can make the most of the “fastest-growing digital ad format”.

Apparently, according to the Forbes survey, executives in older age-groups are less tolerant of in-stream ads accompanying a video, although younger executives are more comfortable with the format.

In light of the findings from the Forbes survey, figures from Ad-ology’s “2011 Small Business Marketing Forecast” indicate that small businesses are increasingly likely to utilise online video, although the survey also indicates a lack of skills in the area – 22% said they were frustrated with trying to understand online advertising.

eMarketer suggests that marketers should focus on their target audience and decide how a video format will help a company’s message come across. According to about.com, ads which show how to use a product are the most popular (in electronics) and informative videos also appealed to older target groups.

The article recommends that small businesses should use an ad network which features in “comScore’s top-10 of online video properties” to place ads – for example Tremor Media, adap.tv, BrightRoll or Nabbr . Other sites included Microsoft, CBS, Google and AOL.

Full eMarketer article here

In fact according to a Forbes Insights survey, featured in eMarketer this week, business executives not only prefer video to text on the same web page, they are more likely to engage with the vendors products and services, often leading to a purchase.

According to the study “nearly 60% of all respondents said they would watch video before reading text on the same webpage, and 22% said they generally liked watching video more than reading text for reviewing business information.”

The survey demonstrates that overall, a majority of business people watch more video than they did the previous year, with only the 50+ generation less likely to engage with video content. The findings suggest that marketers can depend on younger age groups to watch, pass along, and recommend online video content, although older age-groups should be reached by other means.

Popular video content amongst respondents included reviewing business information and work related videos on business websites or YouTube. Three-quarters of all executives said they watched work-related videos on business websites at least once a week, and more than half did the same on YouTube.

Of significance for vendors – the findings indicate that executives were likely to take a wide variety of actions after watching online video content. “Approximately two-thirds visited vendor websites subsequent to viewing and more than half to search for more information. Especially among younger executives, the likelihood of making a purchase was high.”

While their catch phrase has clearly now surpassed mere advertising and entered the common lexicon, their viral video is still no match for a cat in a box, who’s clocked up to 1.3 million views.

Their Lynx Effect spoof advertisement, which has 850K views to date, was no doubt fuelled by the TV advertising campaign. The new viral released today, a spoof of the ’80s hit TV show Das Boot, will only run online and is an attempt by Specsavers to take ownership of their ‘viral space’, according to a report in The Drum.

Personally I prefer the cat. Here’s both, What do you think?