Video has become one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s toolkit. Produced correctly, it will capture attention, communicate your message at speed and build your brand. It delivers strong engagement metrics. High-performing campaigns don’t just make use of video as a ‘nice to have’; it’s the core component and a key pillar of an overall marketing strategy from the outset.
At Route, we see video as a connector between channels rather than as a standalone tactic. When integrated with other channels such as paid social, search, display, audio and out-of-home, video creates a consistent experience that consumers encounter throughout their decision-making journey.
Video is Capturing More Audience Attention than Ever
The rocket-speed growth in how we’re all consuming video continues to reshape how brands communicate effectively.
According to Ofcom’s Media Nation research, UK adults now spend an average of four and a half hours each day watching television and video content at home. As audiences move between television, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram Reels, and other video-dominant platforms throughout the day, brands have more opportunities than ever to connect with them.
This opens the door to smarter multi-channel campaigns. Rather than relying on a single platform, video can be planned across multiple channels to increase reach, build frequency and reinforce messaging. Seeing the same campaign in different environments helps build familiarity over time, making each view work harder as part of a connected media strategy.
Traditional broadcast channels remain important for some audiences, but viewing habits continue to evolve rapidly, particularly among younger demographics. The same report reveals that traditional broadcast viewing fell by 4% last year. And people aged 16 to 24 now spend an average of just 17 minutes per day watching live television.
The clearest example of this shift is YouTube’s continued growth. Ofcom has identified YouTube as the second most-watched media service in the UK and the most-watched platform among both 16-34-year-olds and children aged 4-15. For marketers, this highlights a significant change in audience behaviour. Reaching consumers increasingly means reaching them through video-first environments. It’s also worth remembering that YouTube isn’t just accessible through dedicated video campaigns. Businesses running Google Performance Max campaigns may already be reaching audiences on the platform alongside Search, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps, making YouTube a more accessible advertising opportunity than many marketers realise. And as these viewing habits continue to evolve, what could the next ten years bring?
Investment Continues to Follow Audience Behaviour
As audiences spend more of their time viewing video, we’re seeing advertising investment continue to move in the same direction.
In the UK alone, the rise of video message activation is driving a surge in online display advertising. IAB UK has reported that it is up 12% – now at 64% from 51% five years ago. Video display advertising grew by 20% year-on-year and reached a whopping £8.3 billion in 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth.
This trend is projected to continue. By 2027, video display advertising is expected to represent over a quarter (27%) of total UK digital ad spend, up from 23% in 2024. The increase in these figures reflects more than just the audience changing their media habits. It gives advertisers confidence that video will deliver measurable results and prove itself as one of the sharpest tools in your toolkit.
The Growing Importance of Video in an AI-Driven Landscape
Video also supports search in an AI landscape. Recent analysis of AI-generated search and recommendation results has shown that YouTube is among the most frequently cited domains across platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Long-form videos on YouTube account for 94% of AI citations.
This reinforces the importance of creating video content that serves a purpose beyond campaign activity. High-quality video can continue to generate value long after a campaign ends by contributing to discoverability, credibility, and brand presence across emerging AI-driven search experiences.
Choosing the Right Environment for the Message
Choosing the right messaging environment isn’t only about selecting the platform. It’s also about understanding how different audiences expect brands to engage with them. Ofcom’s latest research suggests people are becoming more considered in their online behaviour, with fewer adults actively posting on social media and growing concern about the long-term impact of their digital footprint. As audiences become more aware of how their data is used, advertisers should think carefully about how campaigns are targeted and personalised. The most effective media strategies don’t simply choose the right platform; they ensure the targeting approach feels relevant, transparent and appropriate for the audience they’re trying to reach.
YouTube
As one of the most versatile video environments available to advertisers, YouTube’s impressive range of formats can be aligned with different campaign objectives, from six-second bumper ads designed to build awareness and recall to longer-form video that supports consideration, engagement, and storytelling. According to Google’s advertising guidance, advertisers should select video formats based on campaign objectives: shorter formats support awareness and reach, while longer formats drive engagement and consideration. Video ads can also be served on YouTube through Google Performance Max campaigns, making it easier for businesses to reach engaged audiences as part of a broader cross-channel strategy.
YouTube’s on-demand environment also puts viewers in control of what they watch, creating opportunities for brands to align with relevant content and reach audiences when they are actively engaged. As YouTube continues to grow as a Connected TV platform, advertisers must also consider how creative performs across different viewing environments. Creative designed for mobile consumption may not always deliver the same impact on a larger screen, making platform-specific planning increasingly important.
Meta
Instagram Reels has become a key component of many paid social strategies because it aligns with how users naturally consume content. Its immersive vertical format encourages engagement while benefiting from Meta’s advanced audience targeting capabilities. For brands already investing in paid social, Reels often represent one of the most effective opportunities to combine reach with meaningful interaction.
Spotify
Spotify’s video offering provides a different but increasingly valuable opportunity. Research from Spotify found that campaigns combining audio and video generated a 90% uplift in ad recall and 2.2x higher brand awareness compared with single-format activity. Because Spotify reaches audiences in highly personal listening moments, whether commuting, exercising or working, it can be particularly effective for connecting with younger consumers and lighter television viewers who are spending more time in streaming environments
TikTok
TikTok continues to offer significant opportunities for brands looking to engage audiences through short-form video. According to Ofcom’s Online Nation 2025 report, the platform reaches 56% of UK online adults, who spend an average of 28 minutes per day using the app.
Success on TikTok relies heavily on creative execution. TikTok’s own guidance, found on their TikTok for business web page, recommends producing content that feels native to the platform, prioritising vertical, full-screen video and authentic storytelling designed for in-feed consumption. At Route, we typically brief TikTok creative separately from other channels, recognising that platform-first content consistently delivers stronger results than assets originally developed for more traditional video environments.
While video is often the most visible part of a campaign, it almost never works alone.
The strongest results are achieved when video is integrated into a broader media strategy. A consumer might encounter a brand message through a YouTube ad, see supporting creative on social media, hear an audio ad during a Spotify session and later search for the brand after seeing a display or out-of-home execution. Each interaction reinforces the previous one, helping to build familiarity and confidence over time. (We explore this further in our multi-channel blog).
Subsequently, video remains one of the most effective ways to capture attention in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. The brands seeing the strongest results are not simply investing in video. They are investing in video as part of a connected media ecosystem.
Route’s Approach to Planning for Video
At Route, effective video planning integration always starts with the audience.
Before considering platforms or formats, we focus on understanding where audiences spend their time, how they consume content and when they are most receptive to different types of messaging. The campaign objective shapes the role and placement of video.
For some campaigns, video can be used to maximise awareness and reach among broad audiences. For others, it’s used to explain a complex product, demonstrate expertise or support consideration among potential customers already familiar with the brand. In some cases, video plays a direct role in driving action and conversion through retargeting and sequential messaging strategies.
This audience-first approach ensures that video is not simply deployed because it performs well as a format. Instead, the objective is to achieve a specific goal at a specific stage of the customer journey.
A video-first strategy is ultimately about making video do the right job at the right moment, while ensuring every other channel contributes to the same goal. The strongest media plans create a connected ecosystem where each touchpoint builds on the last rather than repeating it.
Speak to Route to learn more about how we can help plan your video-first strategy