• by September 29, 2011

One doesn't need to gaze to deeply into the crystal ball to see that the future of online video is consumer-driven. People don't like advertising, and they are increasingly empowered to avoid it. This reality will necessitate change and innovation. In fact, brands that engage consumers are already reaping the benefits.

According to a recent study by VivaKi, click-through rates (CTRs) for videos that do not interrupt users are 106 percent higher than standard pre-roll, while lift in ad recall is 290 percent higher.

The social video campaigns my company runs deliver 70-80 percent completion rates - for videos up to three minutes long - and average CTRs blow away pre-roll at an average of 5-7 percent.

Additionally, social video campaigns work on a cost-per-engagement basis. This performance-based model delivers significantly more value than the old-style reach- and-frequency stuff, providing further impetus for brands to move in this direction.

The lesson? When you respect consumers and meet them on their terms you get rich, measurable results. This doesn't mean that CPM-based awareness campaigns are going away. Traditional pre-roll is still an excellent value compared to television. Going forward, however, we see brands finally moving away from the 1940's-era interruption model, and embracing direct, two-way consumer communications.

Mitchell Reichgut is founder and CEO of Jun Group, a social video company.