A new research report examining online video advertising and best practices identifies instant-play video as an effective means of engaging viewers.
The report, “Utilizing Video as a Path to Conversion,” was published by EyeWonder Interactive Advertising Service, a business unit of Limelight Networks. It examines the opportunity of online video advertising as a tool for marketers and develops a set of best practices for video length and completion rates.
“With video ads accounting for 12.8 percent of all videos viewed and 1.2 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online, the opportunities for brand marketers now and in the future are nearly endless," said EyeWonder CEO John Vincent.
According to the EyeWonder research, instant-play video has proven to be a valuable tool to engage viewers through online video advertising. In 2010, EyeWonder served over 2.5 times more instant-play video ads than user-initiated video, which had click-through rates 1.5 times higher than user-initiated video ads.
EyeWonder data also uncovered clear best practices for video length and completion rates for vertical industries. For television, the 30-second spot is clearly the standard. However, for online advertising, EyeWonder data shows that for marketers wanting to gain maximum audience impact and engagement, video ads are most effective when they last 30 seconds or less.
Formats have evolved to include more interactivity. In-stream video ads are evolving beyond traditional pre-roll spots to include interactive pre-roll, bugs, tickers and choose-your-own ad experiences, and these nonlinear formats.
Though EyeWonder served over 13 times more linear in-stream impressions than nonlinear in 2010, unique interaction rates for the latter were 16.13 percent vs. 4.46 percent for the former. The data thus shows audiences will interact with an ad unit if it's compelling enough before watching their desired content, according to EyeWonder.
EyeWonder also has released a second report, “Tipping Point: A European perspective on online video advertising.”
