Graphical display of views/impressions ratio
The data is in.
Video ad views result in a lift in branded search queries and visits to and time spent on advertisers’ websites.
That’s the conclusion of recent research studies by comScore, Microsoft, and others.
So it’s in any advertiser’s self interest to make sure that the online video ads they run attract as many views as possible.
Based on data that tracks hundreds of campaigns across numerous industry segments, here are 3 tips for increasing any video ad’s active view rate:
Use a compelling starting image
The starting image is the image that viewers see before they play a video ad. The more compelling that image, the more viewers the video ad attracts.
- Video ads in the tourism and politics/advocacy segments with compelling starting images have attracted active view rates as high as 4.3 percent (compare to an industry benchmark view rate of 1.43 percent for tourism and 1.77 percent for politics/advocacy).
Beckon viewers with words
Include words on the starting image that make viewers an offer they can’t refuse. Or, ask viewers a question they can’t resist answering.
- Video ads in the financial segment with compelling starting image text have attracted active view rates as high as 7.3 percent (compare to an industry benchmark view rate of 2.98 percent).
- Video ads in the auto segment with compelling starting image text have attracted view rates of 3.38 percent (compare to an industry benchmark view rate of 2.54 percent).
Auto-optimize
The way to squeeze the best active view rate out of a video ad campaign is auto-optimization.
Auto-optimization means rotating different video ad versions through the same Player. After a specified number of impressions, the platform automatically runs the version with the best active view rate.
This gives advertisers the opportunity to effortlessly test different creative within the context of running a campaign. For example, an advertiser might compare the performance of:
- Three versions with different starting images.
- A version where the starting image includes an offer and a version where the starting image poses a question.
Auto-optimization not only helps advertisers improve video ad performance. It also gives them valuable information to carry forward into the design of subsequent campaigns.
Filed under: Agencies, Product features, Publishers, Research and industry data
