Facebook remains mute on when video advertising will launch. However, William Easton, managing director, Facebook Australia & New Zealand told AdNews that any new product will put the user, not the advertiser, first.
Last month Facebook reported massive ad revenue growth with 41 per cent attributable to mobile advertising. Given Australia's high mobile and smartphone penetration and 12 million users, there is potential for the local split to be higher than that, but Easton wouldn't be drawn. Nor would he comment on the split between ad revenues via agencies or direct.
Reports of the imminent launch of video advertising in newsfeeds continue to swirl following a Bloomberg report in July.
Facebook would not comment on video because no announcement had been made, Easton said. Asked whether there was a risk of driving customers away from the platform by ramping up advertising, particularly with something so disruptive, Easton said that across any products, Facebook's "core focus is to ensure content served to users is relevant and ads value to everyday lives.... [to] make ads as relevant as can be in newsfeed and consistent across mobile and desktop. So future products will be [all about] user experience and integrated into overall experiences."
Across another new product, Facebook's first foray into search territory, he said Graph Search feedback had been "very positive" but is was "too early" to talk about monetisation.
Newsfeed advertising has not led to a drop off in users, said Easton. He batted away suggestions that younger audiences may seek alternative platforms due to ad fatigue and said that active user numbers "were increasing across all audience sectors... Australia is one of the top countries in the world in terms of engagement. People are spending more and more time [on the platform] around 9.5 hours on average every month."
Whether Facebook could present a threat to TV ad revenues, Easton said the two media were "complimentary", given that most people that watch television in Australia also use Facebook.
For the immediate future, Easton said Facebook, which recently hired former Ikon head of digital Ellie Rogers to foster agency relationships, would continue to simplify its ad products. "Over the next six months we will streamline our advertising tools from 27 [formats] to less than half of that. We are still going through that process, it is not a one off."
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