• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, August 29, 2013

Nearly all online video ads are still copies of TV ads. About 90% of video ads in the first quarter were repurposed TV spots and generated an 85% completion rate on average, said Tremor Video's VideoHub in a just-released report. The video advertising company studied 2.3 billion impressions that ran through its VideoHub platform that quarter, and reported that the engagement rate for ads doubled that of a typical pre-roll when an ad included interactive elements.

VideoHub also studied viewability and found that it varies, depending on the environment. Broadcast TV sites fared best in making sure video ads were in high-quality placements and visible on the page. The average video ad viewability was 83%, while broadcast TV sites scored 89% viewability on average, and never slipped below 83%. Meanwhile, viewability was 82% on cable TV sites, 78% on Web-only destinations or portals, and 73% on ad networks and exchanges. Overall, viewability ranged from 43% on the low side to 94% on the high side.

When an ad appears in a smaller player, the performance of the ad drops. Completion rate was a bit higher for ads in larger players, and click-through rate dipped for small players.

Dayparting isn’t a big issue on the Web. There wasn’t a single hour that accounted for more than 6% or less than 3% of the unique reach, VideoHub said.

In related news, mobile ads are driving high engagement rates, according to a study by Jun Group, a native video ad platform. Mobile video ads have twice the engagement rate of desktop video ads, Jun Group said. Users watching mobile video are more likely to take an action after watching an ad, such as visiting a Facebook page or visiting a brand site.

The research also found that made-for-mobile ads performed better, with a 3.3% engagement rate -- compared to 2.5% for mobile ads that are repurposed TV spots.