Tuesday, January 30, 2007
YouTube: Think Beyond the Pre-Roll
A Harris poll says nearly 3/4 of YouTubers would use the service less if they introduced pre-roll ads. It makes sense that a 30 second ad is too long to tolerate if you only want to watch a 2 minute clip.
So how does YouTube make money without driving away its audience?
One idea would be to use pre-rolls intermittently, say between every 4th or 5th video, and base the ads on the demographic information collected during registration. Registered users could see fewer but more relevant ads, encouraging people to sign in. Or they could run the ads at the end of the video, but that likely wouldn't generate interaction sufficient to satisfy advertisers.
Another option would be to include some links to video ads on the pages that are generated after a video is watched. Big brands could tease the ads for soft drinks or jeans with suggestive descriptions, or promise special discounts. If nothing else consumers would be exposed to a banner ad equivalent.
Video advertising is a new medium and requires creative thinking beyond running the 30 second TV spot. The potential for tracking viewers and interactivity that is not available on TV, requires something more.
Posted By John Gartner at 03:06 PM
Permanent Link: YouTube: Think Beyond the Pre-Roll
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