Video Ad Options
Friday, July 7th, 2006 at 4:20 pm by Jeffrey Perren, AC Magazine
Rounding out the last (for now) of our posts on video ads, we’ll cover two basic alternatives every marketer faces in that area: In-Page or In-Stream. I.e. where to place the ad.
To quote Jason Glickman from a recent MediaPost column:
“[I]n-stream video refers to video ads that are inserted in the stream of online video content (pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll, within the player).”
and
“[I]n-page video refers to video ads within a graphical unit (banner ad) on the Web page.”
Which to use and when depends on a lot on your goals and what you know about your audience. As with any form of advertising it’s useful to use behavioral targeting techniques to help you decide.
When your audience is engaged, eager to hear your message, in-stream ads are preferred. You get an accurate estimate of impressions to play. You get an audience that is likely to view the entire video. And you have a TV-commercial-like format which the audience is used to.
As the definition suggests, you can use pre-roll (before the main content) or post-roll (after) or even mid-way. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, but my money is on pre-roll most of the time.
Theaters learned long-ago that previews of upcoming films generally work best when shown before the main film. Otherwise, the audience is usually on the way out. (In the 1940s they were often after the film, with “shorts” at the beginning.) Mid-way is usually the worst. Many people get up from the couch or use fast-foward when TV commercials start.
Hollywood producers and theater owners are savvy marketers. Learn from them.
In-page ads can be effective, but they’re sometimes ignored as banner ads in general are. But they do offer a lot of flexibility in capturing the audience’s attention. Use sparingly.
Whichever you choose, you need video content and some form of packaging it. One of our readers suggested StreamerNet. Affiliate Classroom hasn’t formally reviewed the product, but the site looks well designed and the video ad was compelling. Interested readers can check it out here. Let us know what you think.
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