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RSSVideo is a hot topic on several panels at ad::tech NY this week. One discussion will be about moving beyond the pre-roll - exploring new ad formats like overlays, hot-spotting and altering production workflows to optimize creative production and development. This is all in the name of driving innovation and changing the way we use technology. But keeping pre-roll around for a while longer may actually prove to be one of the most innovative things we do as an industry.
We know how it all began: with broadband came higher consumer usage for entertainment on the Web, which led to greater production of Web video content. Because of technology advancements, we can now push the same video content through TV, the Web, and Mobile. Enter the common thread, pre-roll -- it was introduced because it's easy. Take a TV spot and extend usage rights to include the Web -- then we have an instant online platform extension. We get a pat on the back for keeping the video environment clean and clutter-free for several years. The consumer experience keeps getting better; the impact of pre-rolls has proven to be greater than that of a commercial in live and on-demand TV viewing (Millward Brown C-TV Study).
The value of the pre-roll across multiple platforms has been analyzed and affirmed. Yet for most advertisers, executing a true multi-platform program requires tapping into three separate budgets. Some advertisers may have some form of a "Cross-Platform/Testing/Innovations" budget in place for these types of programs -- but this happens less often then it should. Our focus for the next innovation should be on getting advertisers to think differently. TV budgets should cease to exist, and be replaced by "video budgets" that sponsor video content, regardless of the delivery platform. Consumers are becoming media-agnostic - they're not thinking that they're watching TV or are online at that moment, they're simply watching "Lost."
What does all this have to do with pre-roll advertising? Pre-roll is necessary for a fundamental change in the way we think about video. Pre-roll advertising is familiar to marketers - it's an online commercial. For those advertisers that tend to be TV-centric, it's pretty simple- pre-roll speaks their language: :15 and :30 online spots. Of course, we should continue to evolve interactivity and creativity within the pre-roll space and change workflows on the production end of the spectrum. Then we can better leverage the hundreds of thousands of dollars that would be spent producing a commercial. Moving away from "innovations" would be a mistake -- our job is not done yet, and pre-roll still has a major role to play in the evolution of video. Viva la pre-roll.
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But I specifically want to respond to Jaffer. Yes, I am with an ad agency, and sometimes our perspective can be one sided, but lets talk a little bit more about some of your comments.
Abandonment rates - 20% is the norm, across multiple video properties. That also means that there's 80% acceptance rates of pre-rolls - much higher than originally anticipated, and higher than most other ad formats. In most cases, these publishers are satisfied with these rates. If they weren't, they would have been dead several years ago. I can't imagine that as abundant as pre-rolls are that ALL of these publishers are just "sucking it up" and taking the hit.
Pre-Roll/Content Ratio - I DO care about it. And unfortunately, my word limit doesn't allow for me to dive deeper. I do not condone the use of pre-roll on short form content necessarily. And there should always be a frequency cap of some sort place on multiple clip viewing.
I'm not really sure how you can say Pre-Roll is NOT a viable ad medium, when it has lived for many years in broadcast. All research so far shows higher consumer acceptance, and stronger impact on awareness/recall (millward brown). Granted it needs to be relevant and interactive - just like any other digital piece of creative.
As I mentioned, my main argument for keeping it around is that there are still some dollars to be re-adjusted from bigger TV budgets. There's greater engagement online, so if it means keeping the pre-roll around for a bit to get everyone on the same page - so be it. It's the same content - just a different platform.
Walter Graff Media Consultant
Jaffer Ali here. Unfortunately, you are looking at pre-roll from one POV. The video sites experience a 20% abandon rate with a :30 pre-roll. I know, that is not your concern...but it means that 1 out of 5 people "change the channel" when the pre-roll shows up.
Secondly, for video publishers, what is the ideal pre-roll:content ratio? Again, you might not care, but we have done extensive testing. 1 out of 3 clips can have a pre-roll without totally denigrating teh user experience...what does the publisher do with the other two out of three views? Again, not your concern?
I respect MEC, but until you understand the full media ecology from the user ...to publisher...to advertiser, you probably should pass on writing about the subject. Pre-roll is NOT a viable ad medium. It might work in the short term, but ultimately will fail for many reasons.
As a DR vehicle, you need to buy pre-roll at about $1.50/M to make it work. Been there already. Pre-roll sucks as a DR vehicle.
If you want to know more form every angle, feel free to give me a call. I will share what I know. My email is j.ali@vidsense.com
We have a video portal, bought a lot of pre-roll..sold a lot of pre-roll and decided it is not viable in teh long term.
Jaffer Ali, CEO www.evtv1.com www.Vidsense.com
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One problem that I see is when a media buyer is trying to spend $10,000,000 - its a hell of a lot easier for them to cut a check to CBS and run TV spots. Because the online buy is still being viewed as somewhat experimental - the smaller buys become more work for the buyer.
A big hurdle in increasing online as a % of the overall media budget is the perception of value of an online view vs. a TV spot household. While volume #'s are low and more difficult to execute and analyze from a media buy perspective - the value of the engagement is higher on a number of fronts.
Viva la video.
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