Commentary

Interactive Pre-Rolls Boost Engagement Four Times in Feeding America Campaign

Interactive overlays can often significantly increase the amount of time viewers spend with an ad and with the brand. That helps in particular when raising awareness for a cause, as Tremor Video learned in a recent campaign for hunger-relief organization Feeding America in which engagement with interactive pre-rolls far exceeded the average. 

Working with both the Ad Council and the charity, Tremor donated inventory for a March-April marketing effort to encourage viewers to become more involved with the issue of hunger in America. Tremor added interactive overlays to 15-second pre-roll spots -- viewers could click to watch more videos or to learn more about Feeding America. This type of engagement unit typically garners about 5% to 10% extra time spent from a viewer, Tremor said, but the Feeding America 15-second pre-roll delivered about 63 seconds of additional time spent interacting with the ad. That’s a four times increase over the length of the spot itself.

Bear in mind, Tremor said, that enticing an audience to watch longer often depends heavily on the creative. The ads featured actors including Matt Damon, Aaron Eckhart, Miley Cyrus, Ana Ortiz, Abigail Breslin and Taye Diggs, which helped.

Even so, these results are promising both for this campaign and to make a case for adding interactivity to online spots in general. In a separate study, Tremor Video found that viewers who engage with video ads exhibit greater purchase intent. Looking at ten campaigns across six industries, Tremor Video said that viewers who engage and spend more time with video ads were 4% more likely to purchase the product or service. 

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