Study: Interaction Rates For Video Banners Higher In Social Media

by Gavin O'Malley, Sep 28, 2009, 5:22 PM

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Higher interaction rates, or video completion rates -- what would you rather your online ads achieve? For the former, focus on expandable formats, while in-page formats are more likely to achieve the latter, according to new research from social media ad optimization firm Lotame. "Of the banner types in the social media space, we found that video creative had higher click-through rates than non-video units, with in-page units performing better on average from a CTR standpoint than expandable ads," the report reads.

When compared on the three most common banner sizes within Lotame's network of sites, the firm found that wide skyscrapers (160x600) had the highest click-through rate performance, followed by medium rectangles (300x250) and leaderboards (728x90), which had roughly the same click-through rate performance.

The study, which factored in consumer usage data from over 250 publishers, also concluded that click-through rates are not the best metric to determine a rich media ad's effectiveness.

"Up to this point, click-based performance on social-based inventory has been below average," the study finds. "When we looked to interaction rate, another popular measure of campaign performance, we found a different story. Where social media click-through rates were often half of DoubleClick rates, social media interaction rates observed on the Lotame Co-op were often more than 2x higher than DoubleClick interaction rate benchmarks."

These lower rates were a persistent trend across each ad size examined (728x90, 300x250, and 160x600), rich media format (video vs. non-video, expandable vs. non-expandable), and industry.

While users in the social media space may be less apt to click on banner ads, the study concludes, it seems that they interact with them at a higher rate and in a more meaningful fashion when it comes to video, particularly with regard to campaigns for products in the entertainment industry.

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0 comments on "Study: Interaction Rates For Video Banners Higher In Social Media".

1. Jean-baptiste De lagarde from Performics France
   

   commented on: September 29, 2009 at 4:08 a.m.

   Very interesting study, that lets me think that Social Networks (FaceBook, Dailymotion) are on the wrong path when they sell their ads on a CPC model (and CPM model is even worth).

   However, new solutions that sell on a "Cost per visualisation", or "cost per interaction" or "cost per social action" models seem to be much more constructive...

   JB delagarde | Performics France

2. Michael Meier from VINDICO Group
   

   commented on: September 29, 2009 at 10:37 a.m.

   Lotame's definition of rich media interaction (per DoubleClick) includes ad expansion and mouse over, but also exit clicks. So, it would be interesting to see which types of interactions comprise Lotame's rates and whether or not they are different than DART's benchmarks. Since social media tends to comp higher among younger, savvier users (especially true for mid- and long-tail social sites), I wonder if Lotame's rates aren't influenced by disproportionately high exits.

   But kudos, in any case, to Lotame for taking the time and effort to dig through their data and shed some light. This needs to happen more often by more players.

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