A new eMarketer report  has revealed advertising executives believe online video ads are taking the lead ahead of traditional advertising.

Ad executives were found to feel that online video ads are also more effective than direct response and display ads, and overall the research estimates that video views among internet users grew by 23% this year.

The report also found 75% of ad agency executives say online video ads are more effective than traditional TV ads, compared with just 17% who say they are less effective. That sentiment is also repeated when comparing online video ads with social media and search advertising ads.

“Ad buyers are faced with an increasingly complicated equation when it comes to online video ads, and they need to consider which sites to purchase ads on, what format the ads will take and how to measure their effectiveness,” the eMarketer report says.

The eMarketer report estimates that video ad spending in the US will grow 41.4% this year, to reach US$4.1 billion and  the greatest percentage of advertising professionals – 25% – expect online video ads to see the highest growth rate of any ad category, with mobile video a close second.

Most executives believed the largest growth will come in online and mobile video during the rest of this year, with mobile display and social media ads seeing growth as well. Direct response and television ads, on the other hand, are expected to see a drop in spending until the end of the year.