We keep hearing that display ads are dead, but the facts are that U.S. retailers will have spent nearly 25 percent of their budgets – an estimated $27.05 billion – on digital display in 2015, and a big portion of that budget went to hyper-targeted video display, the ad industry’s newest weapon in the war against “banner blindness.”

We are seeing advertisers infusing traditional banner ad placements with more utility for the user, and that is where video and display can certainly work together to create a more relevant user experience. The technology that allows display advertisers to create a relevant experience is the much-anticipated adoption of HTML5. This improves cross-device deliverabilty by 50 percent and allows for more engaging creative, such as fast-loading video overlaid with hyper-targeted text.

“We’re seeing the convergence of display and video with HTML5 taking over as the main standard that everyone will be using in the future,” according to David Miller, vice president of product management at AOL. “On mobile you need a tech that loads extremely fast. Nobody tolerates anything that buffers, so that moment when you scroll through the page and see an ad that instantly plays, it needs to feel extremely native.” And many brands are pairing instant video display ads with more interactive elements to create even better engagement.

“What we’re seeing is advertisers infusing traditional banner ad placements with more utility for the user, and that is where video and display can certainly work together to create a more relevant user experience,” Miller says. This can include much more information about products through various additional pieces of multimedia, like a slideshow gallery as well as a video, notes Miller, adding that he’s seen these more robust types of display ads double the engagement rate as opposed to traditional spots.

This can include much more information about products through various additional pieces of multimedia, like a slideshow gallery as well as a video, notes Miller, adding that he’s seen these more robust types of display ads double the engagement rate as opposed to traditional spots. HTML5 makes it possible to serve up better-targeted video display ads than ever before, which makes consumers more likely to engage, according to Michael Lampert, senior vice president of New York Media and Account Management for 360i.

“With the increased level of data gathering, consumers continue to say that they expect and actually like advertising as long as it’s relevant to them and provides content and information they seek,” says Lampert. “It’s about individuals, not impressions and the strategy needs to align with that. Give consumers what they want and they will engage.”

Using programmatic technology to overlay video with other elements, such as text, slideshow, and other targeted, personalized messaging to make display not just beautiful but utilitarian, and more personal than ever before.

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