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Long- And Short-Form Videos: Complementary Pieces In Ad Strategy Puzzle
by Matt Young , Wednesday, May 9, 2012 4:19 PM
The market for online video ads has never been hotter. According to comScore, 156 million U.S. Internet viewers watched 8.3 billion video ads in March. Given how long the
industry has been around, I was surprised that a leading digital advertising event recently celebrated various long-form online video ad executions without even mentioning pre-roll. This is evidence
that many advertisers still think of “online video ads” as one- to five-minute videos that are perfect for posting on YouTube or a brand’s Facebook page, in hopes that it will go
viral and generate millions of tweets and Facebook “likes” from users. While these “video ads” could be very successful as a viral video, they wouldn’t be very
useful as an advertisement, since they are much too long to hold people’s attention or keep viewers fully engaged. Short, to-the-point ads are more effective at holding a person’s
attention and extending the audience for existing ad campaigns. Pre-roll is usually placed before online video content, but there are different ways to utilize this format. It can also be
served in apps and games, online and on mobile devices. There are also many different pre-roll units to choose from, depending on the overall goal of the campaign. Interactive pre-roll (IPR) allows
users to engage with the ad directly. Advertisers can rework long-form promotional video content and pare it down to make shorter ads more suitable for pre-roll or TV. There’s a
time and a place for both long-form and pre-roll video, and advertisers should think strategically about how best to use each in their campaigns. Strategic benefits of using
pre-roll:
- Scale and reach: A few million likes for a video on Facebook is great, but pre-roll can offer 10 tp 20 times that reach. In addition, advertisers can
decide where they want the pre-roll ads to appear so they can tailor the ads to the audience’s preferences instead of waiting for people to visit a brand’s YouTube or Facebook page in
order to view the longer form ads.
- Cross-platform flexibility: People are much less likely to watch a long-form ad on smaller screens such as mobile devices and
tablets. Pre-roll, on the other hand, works well across all four screens: online, mobile, tablet and connected TV. Pre-roll can also be served across a variety of apps and mobile games. For mobile, it
is best to limit pre-roll ads to 15 seconds as opposed to 30 seconds when advertising online.
- Creative execution: Think it’s impossible to insert
creativity into an ad that’s only 15 to 30 seconds? Think again. Some of the most innovative pre-roll ads allow viewers to interact with the video ads and control the ad’s direction
instead of just watching passively from the sidelines. Advertisers can also utilize different targeting techniques to reach the right audience. Geo-targeting, for example, is great for reaching mobile
users on the go.
Long-form promotional videos and pre-roll ads both play important roles in an advertiser’s digital advertising strategy and both have their specific place
in the overall marketing mix. Strategically combining the powerful qualities of both these ad types will make any campaign stronger, smarter and more engaging.