Facebook introduces Showcase premium video ad scheme

Facebook is introducing a new video ad programme in the US, designed to help ad buyers reach target audiences within “the highest-quality videos on Facebook” – including Facebook Watch originals.

Facebook Showcase aims to make it easy for advertisers to plan, buy and measure video ad campaigns, reserving inventory upfront, at a fixed price, guaranteed against Nielsen demographics.

The move ties in with Facebook’s ‘In-Stream Reserve’ and ‘In-Stream Reserve Categories’ schemes that it launched in September 2018, allowing advertisers to place ads against high-quality content and specific categories of content.

In-Stream Reserve lets advertisers reach people watching videos from a selection of hundreds of “the most engaging, highest quality publishers and creators”.

The social network claims that, on average, nearly 100 million people in the US watch In-Stream Reserve eligible content across Facebook Watch, Newsfeed and Pages each month.

In-Stream Reserve Categories include sports, entertainment and fashion and beauty. As of this week, Facebook is also adding food and news categories.

In-stream ads can be placed as pre- or mid-roll advertisements, while sponsorships are also covered by Showcase, allowing clients to place ads in specific shows.

“Showcase can help advertisers reach younger-skewing audiences that are increasingly difficult to reach on TV,” said the company in a blog post on its Facebook Business site.

“Over the past three months, 43% of people in the US who watched In-Stream Reserve-eligible content on Facebook were 18-34 years old, compared to 28% of TV viewers.”