You May Hate Pre-Roll Ads, But Advertisers Love Them
Aug 12th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: Internet TV, VideoIf you’re like me, you probably think that sitting through pre-roll ads – online video ads that you have to sit through before you can watch what you really want to see – is up there with getting your teeth drilled.
In fact, a lot of people won’t sit through pre-roll ads. Three quarters of the people in a recent survey said that in-stream advertising is intrusive. Half (49.7%) of those surveyed will not sit through a pre-roll ad, and said the presence of in-stream advertising in online video content makes them less likely to view other video content they may encounter online.
Unfortunately, advertisers love pre-roll ads, so they won’t be going away anytime soon.
For example, TVWeek reports that online video ad network BrightRoll has signed a new $1 million month-long ad deal for pre-roll ads across 30 branded media publishers. According to BrightRoll, the $1 million pre-roll campaign is the first buy of that size. BrightRoll CEO Tod Sacerdoti said the size of the buy shows the importance of the pre-roll format for online video advertising.
Pre-rolls appeal to advertisers because they interrupt your attention, like television ads, and are more of a known quantity than other formats.
There’s a big downside to pre-roll ads: a lot of people won’t sit through them. But until someone comes up with something that’s less intrusive and more effective, expect to be seeing more pre-roll ads.
Update: More discussion at Clickz, Silicon Valley Insider
[…] like James Lewin over at Podcasting News continue to rail against the pre-roll as the most annoying form of ad there is, but as I discussed following the news of YouTube adopting […]
[…] like James Lewin over at Podcasting News continue to rail against the pre-roll as the most annoying form of ad there is, but as I discussed following the news of YouTube adopting […]
[…] Podcasting News breaks down the love-hate relationship of these controversial online ads. […]
I have been thinking about pre roll ads for my Vancouver Moving Company, http://www.fergusonmoving.com.
However, I can’t decide who to approach with this. When people are trying to find container storage in vancouver, BC I want to be top of mind. The yellow pages are dying a fast death these days.
I don’t know if I agree that 50% of people won’t sit through them. If I want to watch something 10 seconds of sitting through a preroll ad is nothing. Do I want to? No. But I’d sit through it. and I know plenty of people who do. Which explains why HULU is still going strong.