An advertising industry analysis on the state of television advertising in Q3 of 2014.

1. HD Advertising is Now the Standard on Television.
HD is now the predominant format for TV advertising.
In Q2 of this year, 58% of all TV ads were delivered
to TV media in high definition. In Q2 of 2012, HD
advertising first started to overtake SD with a majority
of ads on network TV delivered in high definition.
Over the past two years, HD has also become the
standard across local TV media.
This substantial shift by advertisers to high definition
confirms an industry-wide focus on video quality and
recognition of HD’s increased brand recall and brand
perception benefits. This edition of the report focuses
on the HD distribution and adoption within key
industry segments:
• Political marketers lead all other
segments in use of HD advertising.
• Direct response marketers lag behind in
adoption of HD for their TV commercials.
• HD ad creative is now becoming the standard
for online campaigns as the ad industry
converges TV and digital video advertising.
• Canadian advertisers and media outlets are
even more HD-centric than their US counterparts.
The purpose of this report is to provide advertisers,
ad agencies and media outlets with specific details,
benchmarks and insights that may help to inform
their video advertising practices.
25%
70%
75%
80%
34%
77%
35%
41%
52%
58%
78%78%78%78%
2013
Q2
2013
Q2
2013
Q3
2013
Q3
2013
Q4
2013
Q4
2014
Q1
2014
Q1
2014
Q2
2014
Q2
58%
78%
HD Distribution Index
for Q2,2014
HD Media Index
for Q2, 2014
Extreme Reach Research Group
VIDEO ADVERTISING
TRENDS REPORT
Q3 2014
As Q3 comes to an end, HD Advertising Distribution continues to outpace SD, peaking at 63% as of late September 2014.
78% of TV media accept and air commercials in HD.
58% of TV commercials distributed to TV media in Q2 were HD.

2. Political Advertisers Choose HD
Direct Response Advertisers Deliver HD
Ads Less Frequently
Political Advertisers Are HD Leaders
Political advertisers make up the most prolific
advertising group on television during an election
cycle. They maintain one of the highest HD
distribution rates of all advertising categories,
delivering 77% of ads in Q2 in high definition.
Opportunities for Political Advertisers
If your opponents’ ads are still running in SD, you
can stand out and realize significant advantages by
implementing an HD everywhere ad program.
Conversely, if you’re considering distributing some
ads in SD, be aware that your opponent will most
likely choose HD and so will non-political advertisers.
Choose HD whenever and wherever possible.
Direct Response Advertisers Trail Behind in HD
While most ads are now delivered in HD, some
advertisers still haven’t made the switch to HD
from SD. Direct Response advertisers in particular
continually maintain the lowest HD adoption rate
of all measured verticals.
Regardless of why Direct Response advertisers prefer
SD campaigns, there are clear opportunities for
forward-thinking entrepreneurs to rise above the
noise with HD, realizing substantial improvements
in ad effectiveness and purchase intent.
Opportunities for Direct Response Advertisers
Better Results with HD: HD ads have shown a
significant lift in intent to purchase and ad recall
while simultaneously reducing the number of
viewers who change the channel.
Better Execution with HD: If you only distribute
SD commercials, they may look acceptable in
SD broadcasts, but when broadcast in HD, their
comparatively poor resolution may compromise
their effectiveness.
Q2
Q2
Q3
Q3
Q4
Q4
Q1
Q1
Q2
Q2
2013
2013
2014
2014
Political marketers embraced HD early and still maintain
a significant lead over the industry average.
Direct Response advertisers typically fall well short of the
average HD distribution rate. Despite a surge in the last
quarter, the Direct Response industry has averaged a 27%
HD distribution rate across the past five quarters.
Political HD Distribution %
Direct Response HD Distribution %
HD Distribution Index %
HD Distribution Index %
77%
29%
80%
60%
25%
0%
34%
34%
77%
23%
35%
35%
79%
17%
75%
22%
77%
45%
41%
41%
52%
52%
58%
58%
Video Advertising Trends Report Q3 2014

3. Canada Still Leads the US in HD Advertising
HD Video Influencing Digital Campaigns and Player Size
HD advertising trends differ significantly between the
U.S. and Canada. Nearly all Canadian TV media have
adopted HD and Canadian advertisers run more ads
in HD than U.S. advertisers. This analysis illustrates a
correlation between the rate of HD adoption by
media outlets and HD usage by advertisers.
In Q4 of 2011, Canadian TV media outlets took the
lead with 65% adopting HD. Since then, Canada has
As more TV advertisers reach viewers via digital media,
video that plays in a 16 x 9 aspect ratio is becoming
the default standard online as well. It’s now a common
practice to present the same commercial across all
screens using the same pristine HD master file.
Among Extreme Reach Digital clients, more than 80%
of video campaigns utilize the 16x9 aspect ratio
initiated by HD commercial content.
Video Advertising Trends Report Q3 2014
More Canadian TV Media Support HD Canadian TV Advertisers are More HD-Centric
Q2 Q2Q3 Q3Q4 Q4Q1 Q1Q2 Q2
2013 20132014 2014
Canada HD Media Index % Canada HD Distribution Index %
US HD Media Index % US HD Distribution Index %
91%
62%
100% 100%
30% 30%
76%
33%
95%
65%
76%
34%
95%
72%
95%
75%
96%
76%
77%
40%
77%
52%
77%
58%
Data Highlight: Canada has also outpaced the U.S. in
terms of HD ad distribution, but the gap is narrowing.
Data Highlight: Canada has steadily outpaced the U.S.
in terms of media outlet adoption of HD since 2011.
outpaced the U.S. in terms of media outlet adoption
of HD. As the supply rose, so did the demand.
Much like their TV media outlets, Canadian TV
advertisers took an early lead in 2011, distributing
15% of all ads in HD. Since then, Canada has steadily
outpaced the U.S. in terms of HD distribution.
>90% >80%
of video ads that run online
also run onTV
are 16x9,stemming from
the HD creative master

4. Methodology
About Extreme Reach
Extreme Reach automatically collects a variety of
data through the everyday advertising activities
of the company’s advertising clients and media
affiliates. This report analyzes a portion of that data
to reveal detailed trends and insights related to
HD advertising. For this study, the Extreme Reach
Research Group analyzed and referenced data from
Extreme Reach is the leading provider of cross-
media video advertising solutions that span TV,
online and mobile. The company is also a leading
provider of integrated tools for managing critical
talent and rights issues. Thousands of brands and
agencies, including nearly all of the Ad Age 100, look
to Extreme Reach to activate, measure and optimize
video advertising campaigns. The Extreme Reach
video convergence platform unifies the workflow and
metrics of television and digital video advertising.
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Video Advertising Trends Report Q3 2014
a sample of 5,600 television advertisers, 1,880 video
post-production studios and content providers,
nearly every commercial television and cable
broadcast outlet in the United States and Canada,
including all major broadcast networks, and 2,021
digital media outlets and aggregators.
The company’s cross-media video ad delivery
network is the world’s largest, digitally connecting
to more than 10,000 video media outlets.
Extreme Reach manages and delivers 85 percent of
all North American TV advertising and provides the
most comprehensive digital campaign measurement
capabilities in the industry.
Extreme Reach is headquartered in Needham, Mass.,
with offices in 15 cities across North America.