Online Video Ads – Reach a Focused Audience
DVR penetration is peeking over 30%, and it’s not falling. TV Advertising is.
I just read an interesting article over at Ad Age: As ratings fall, nets take on ad-skipping. Basically, between people shifting attention to the Internet and the rise of DVR, TV ratings and advertising are losing ground. And this article discusses the effectiveness of online video ads that are embedded into network content online and not allowed to be skipped.
Apparently, online video is catching on. Hulu showed 142 million videos in September – mostly videos from major networks, and one firm estimates that 20% of Americans have watched prime-time shows over broadband. But here’s the kicker:
Recall of unskipped ads on TV is 18%, while recall of unskippable ads online is 50%
To me, the reason is clear: Focus.
Ad Age’s article did mention this significant reduction in ads in online videos – typically down to 3-4 ads for a 60 minute program vs almost 18 minutes on network TV. It’s undoubtedly easier to focus on the ads themselves when only a few are shown and explains some of the boost in ad recall.
But I’d contend that the user’s attention is always more focused to online video than to network TV – which means as long as viewers watch online, these ads might always be more effective. (The concern is that networks will inevitably stuff this content with ads giving a user no reason or desire to view online – so tread lightly NBC, et al.)
Consider another interesting statistic that the article doesn’t get into: up to 70% of TV audiences go online while watching. So not only are there too many ads to recall, but viewers are dividing their attention, and often tuning out when ads interrupt their TV show.
Online video viewers are much more focused. Browsing around would shrink or hide the program that they’re watching. That added focus, combined with a less-intrusive advertising model, could mean a bright future for unskipped online video ads.