Online video is a fast-growing part of digital marketing, and it was a particular aspect of how to use video on mobile platforms that most interested Warc subscribers on this subject during 2015.

Trend Snapshot: Vertical video explored the growing popularity of vertical video – video content designed to be viewed in portrait rather than landscape form – which is driven by mobile devices. This article was the most-read paper on online video for the year.

Social platforms like Snapchat, Periscope and Meerkat encourage people to shoot and view film more casually and on-the-go, and often that film is shot or viewed vertically. Brands including Audi and Burger King are now including vertical video in their content strategies, especially when they want to appeal to younger consumers.

Having a video "go viral" is the dream of many marketers and 5 steps to social video success, the second most-read piece on video, outlined the essential stages in the process, starting with ensuring the brand has found its own voice.

One of the downsides of video advertising is that in formats like pre-roll it can be seen as particularly intrusive but there are ways to alleviate that impact. 

In Warc's third most read piece, Consumer Reactions to Intrusiveness Of Online-Video Advertisements: Do Length, Informativeness, and Humor Help (or Hinder) Marketing Outcomes, the authors advised that video advertisements that are perceived as informative or humorous, and longer advertisements, are regarded as less intrusive.

The fourth most-read article – Marketing attribution: TV and online video measurement for a beverage brand – reported how a beverage brand determined the impact of exposure to a TV ad and an online video ad on sales. There is synergy between TV and online video, it said, with an impact on sales greater than the sum of its parts.

The fifth most-read article on online video gave an overview of the multiple mobile video platforms and ad networks that are available to advertisers. Mobile creativity: The opportunities in mobile video also offered guidance for selecting from these, creating content and appealing to the right target group.

For more details about the most read papers on Warc in 2015 on other topics, visit our Most Read page.

Data sourced from Warc