Unruly has made a couple of announcements recently that readers of The SEM Post will want to know about. The first offers emotional intelligence to marketers and the second offers ad format diversity to Videology users.

According to data from Unruly Pulse, a new dashboard launched in beta a few weeks ago, American consumers are far more likely to love a brand or buy a product after watching a video ad online than consumers in Europe. Data from the new platform – which provides unique insight into the emotional and brand trends of video advertising – found that 41% of US viewers reported having a more favorable view of a brand after watching a video ad, compared with 28% in the UK and 26% in Germany.

Purchase intent is also higher in the States at 40%, compared to 31% in the UK and Germany. The only consumers to have a stronger reaction to watching videos ads were viewers in South-East Asia and Brazil, highlighting the importance of video advertising for brands hoping to make it big in Rio this summer.

Other insights compiled using Unruly Pulse data include:

• Advertisers are failing to make people laugh, with hilarity one of the least common emotions worldwide, felt by 4% of respondents. Happiness is the most common emotion people felt while watching video content during the same period. It’s also the emotion most likely to cross national and cultural borders, making it perfect for sporting events like the Olympics;
• Almost a fifth of millennials who watched Mountain Dew’s Super Bowl ad “Puppymonkeybaby” had a less favorable view of the brand after watching it;
• The launch of Christmas ads during November and December results in a global spike in Inspiration and Exhilaration. Meanwhile, hilarity spiked during this year’s Super Bowl;
• The most shared ad of all time – Google Android’s 2015 commercial “Friends Furever” (7 million shares worldwide) – made consumers around the globe feel almost four times as happy as the average ad. It was also over five times as likely to make people laugh as the average tech ad;
• Our psychological responses change as we age and vary by gender. US males aged 25-34 are more likely to feel are happiness, inspiration and pride while watching video ads, while male Boomers are more likely to feel confusion and disgust. Meanwhile, women aged 25-34 in the US are more likely to feel happiness and inspiration, while with Boomers it’s warmth, surprise and confusion;
• The key drivers of video sharing differ greatly around the world. For example, in the US and Europe, emotions are the key drivers of video sharing, while in South-East Asia, Brazil and Turkey it’s more about giving consumers reasons to share content.

Academic and industry studies over the last decade have repeatedly shown the effects of emotional advertising on a variety of brand and business metrics, including increased brand favorability, purchase intent and earned media.

In a press release, Unruly co-CEO Sarah Wood said, “Consumer emotions drive product sales, as well as brand love, so it’s not surprising that smart marketers appreciate the important role that Emotional Intelligence has to play in delivering effective video ad campaigns. Marketers using Unruly Pulse will have their finger on the pulse of consumer emotions and they’ll be able to plan more effectively for video launches around zeitgeist events and seasonal trends.”

She added, “Harnessing the Emotional Intelligence of Unruly Pulse, they’ll be better placed to understand what works for their audience and why. They’ll be equipped to develop a video content strategy that will resonate with a specific audience at a specific moment in time.”

Unruly Pulse is powered by Unruly’s unique, first-party data on emotional advertising. It visualizes data from more than half a million consumer responses across thousands of videos, spanning EMEA, APAC and the Americas. Using Unruly Pulse, advertisers can:

• Make data-driven decisions to drive purchase intent and brand metrics;
• Track how emotions seasonally ebb and flow over time;
• Find out what motivates viewers to share a piece of content;
• Identify the emotional profiles of best-in-class content;
• Dissect trends by sector, geo, and demo;
• Optimize distribution for maximum impact among their target segment.

Dr. Karen Nelson-Field, Director of the Centre for Digital Video Intelligence, said, “In true Unruly style, Unruly Pulse is a fun, user-friendly dashboard that provides deep levels of insight for brands and agencies hoping to make the most out of their video advertising campaigns.”

Recently, Unruly also announced an integration with Videology – a leading software provider for converged TV and Video advertising – giving Videology’s platform users in the United States access to Unruly’s consumer-friendly outstream In-Article and native In-Feed video formats across hundreds of premium websites with more than a billion monthly video impressions via UnrulyX, the viewable video SSP.

At the core of the integration is Unruly’s supply-side platform (SSP) UnrulyX, offering scaled delivery of highly viewable video ad formats across premium media destinations. Videology’s advertising software is media-agnostic, meaning advertisers can deliver campaigns on privately-owned inventory, through open marketplaces, or through direct integrations with inventory partners such as Unruly.

Unruly In-Article is the company’s viewable outstream format, which places branded video ads directly within premium editorial content and only begins to play when the video is 50% in-view, allowing consumers to choose whether to watch the content or skip. Unruly In-Feed is a native video format, giving clients access to its proprietary Liquid Layout Technology, which automatically adapts the video ad to the design and layout of the publisher site in real-time, providing a truly native experience.

“Our data revealed that viewability is the most used KPI in measuring the success of programmatic video campaigns. Videology clients who chose to access Unruly’s inventory have the security of knowing that their ads will appear in viewable and engaging formats when bought through UnrulyX,” said Kenneth Suh, SVP of Global Business Development at Unruly, in a press release. “Videology is one of the world’s leading converged advertising companies, and as such, our ability to offer viewable programmatic video with placements that only begin to play once in-view fits well with their overall emphasis on quality,” he added.

“With the rise in consumption of digital video, many of our platform users are now interested in exploring the evolving array of video advertising opportunities available,” said John Rogers, SVP, Media Partnerships, Videology. “As premium pre-roll inventory remains constrained, new formats may offer viable solutions for certain advertisers to deliver their brand message. We’ve integrated with providers like Unruly to ensure our advertisers have access to diverse inventory options for reaching their target audience,” he added.