Mid-Roll Video Ads Boast the Highest Completion Rates
Auditude released its “Auditude Video Monetization” report, which looked into how content type, length of video stream, ad format and placement affect viewers’ response to video ads. The company researched a sample of more than 11 billion ad impressions through its video ad serving platform.
Among the key findings in the report is that mid-roll video ads have a completion rate of 75 percent, higher than any other video ad type. Pre-roll ads had a completion rate of 61 percent, while post-roll video ads had a completion rate of 46 percent.
Auditude attributed this to viewers watching long-form content and feeling committed to seeing it through to the end. “These ads are the closest comparison to the TV viewing experience as they can be programmed similarly to television with multiple commercials during a single break within online viewing,” the report remarks. “This insight has strong potential ad buying ramifications given the popularity of the pre-roll ad format today.”
Breaking this down further, Auditude found that for long-form content (more than five minutes), mid-roll ads had a completion rate of 67 percent, while for short-form content (five minutes or less) these ads had a completion rate of 70 percent.
Meanwhile, pre-roll ads had a completion rate of 60 percent for long-form content and 56 percent for short-form content. Post-roll ads had a completion rate of 51 percent for long-form content and 45 percent for short-form content.
Live content had a completion rate of 86 percent, while pre-taped on-demand content had a completion rate of 60 percent. Auditude notes that this may indicate live content actively engages viewers who know they might not see that content again and are more willing to sit through commercial breaks.
According to Auditude, professional content had a completion rate of 68 percent, while user-generated content (UGC) had a completion rate of 52 percent.
The report also looked at overlay (non-linear) ads, which “tend to be more intrusive and are viewed as a performance- or action-oriented product for brands willing to risk exposure on UGC content.” According to Auditude, 17 percent of ads for UGC content were overlays, while just 4 percent of ads for professional content were overlays.
According to separate numbers from comScore, the number of U.S. content videos viewed has soared 28 percent in the past year, with nearly 40 million videos viewed in September.
Also, a report from Eyeview and KAYAK found that personalized ads have noticeably positive effects for advertisers, with lifts of 37 percent for purchase intent, 100 percent for brand favorability and 73 percent for brand loyalty.
Sources:
http://www.auditude.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Auditude_Video_Monetization_Report.pdf
http://www.comscoredatamine.com/2011/10/online-video-content-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s/
