Regardless of what you may think about the data behind the OPA's latest study, or any other studies for that matter, one thing is resoundingly clear: Online video is an extremely effective medium for marketing your brand. Period.
Online video viewership is strong across all demographics and is slowly creeping its way into the daily lives of everyone online, providing more and more opportunity for advertisers. But we need to do it responsibly and use a little common sense.
Before diving into the nitty gritty, the top-line results are overwhelmingly positive. Pre-roll ads with companion banners have a tremendous impact on raising brand awareness, providing a good alternative or complementary media buy to support a television campaign. Both 15-second and 30-second ads worked well, which I found to be a bit surprising given the short length of the content they were measured against, but I'm taking everything with a grain of salt.
We can pick apart the underlying data as much as we'd like, but it's important for advertisers to understand the conclusions of the study and begin moving forward confidently with their video ad campaigns. Pre-roll ads showed more than 11 percent lift on positive brand awareness. The 30-second pre-roll showed a 23 percent lift for brand consideration. And whether or not you think that pre-roll maximizes the interactivity of our medium, those results are very good.
Additionally, without undermining the creative community, the study showed that there were no major differences between using repurposed television assets and original online advertising content. The importance of that conclusion should not be overlooked.
Advertisers with video assets of any kind have what they need to start an online campaign. The relative lack of difference between 15-second and 30-second spots for driving brand awareness is more good news for advertisers ready to take the plunge. But we can't ignore the power of good creative in general. The ads included in the study were some of the best around, online or off. Since ad likeability and prior brand affinity were some of the biggest drivers for brand consideration, we shouldn't be overly surprised by the results. However, if an advertiser is getting good feedback from its TV commercials, it is in great shape for online.
Of course I'm aware that the study didn't dive into the user experience. We don't know anything about frequency and its impact. Is it safe to assume that seeing five or six ads in order to watch five or six clips would have a negative impact? Probably, but that's a different study.
The other important caveat of the study was that it didn't sample users who exited the experience. I'm sure if we asked those people what they thought, the results wouldn't be as positive. So it makes sense that users would be more aware of an ad they liked and saw for 30 seconds instead of 15 seconds.
The study also only looked at video content that was two minutes in duration. While most of us would agree that two minutes is too short for a 30-second pre-roll ad, we should all be able to agree that it's perfectly fine for longer form content.
Sitting through a few 30-second pre-roll ads enabled me to watch hours of live music from around the world during the Live Earth concerts. I'm as cynical as they come, but I recognize a fair value exchange when I see one.
Overall, though, the OPA study is good news for advertisers and content owners alike. There will be more studies and more data flooding into the market soon enough, but for anyone waiting for the green light to start experimenting with online video certainly now has it.