Source: iab.com
From billboards to product placement and everything in between, advertising is everywhere you look - and it goes hand in hand with the wonderful world of entertainment. Online ads are no exception and recent reports signal that consumers may be more and more reluctant to see them in their video content.
Ads - the main reason why people abandon video
Online ads are a great way for providers to help monetise their content and businesses to get their products in front of the right people, but in recent times, consumer attitudes to online advertising have changed.
These days, people are tired of online advertising as it seems to be getting in the way of their user experience. Millennials especially are hypersensitive to advertising, and many will abandon a video if they can't skip straight through the ad. As this chart shows, in-video ads are the main reason why people stop a playing video:
Source: "OTT 2.0 - How to Build a Better Mousetrap" by Limelight Networks
What keeps and what pushes out viewers in ad-based and subscription-based services?
According to a report by Ooyala latest report, helping viewers discover relevant content keeps them on a site for a longer period. On average, viewers watched 40% of all content recommended to them, increasing their time on a website by between 6% and 23%.
Despite today's consumer being uncomfortable with online advertising, what is interesting is that the jury's still out on what drives more engagement between Subscription video on demand (SVOD) and Advertising video on demand (AVOD): long-form SVOD content saw the highest completion rates across all devices. For AVOD, device use, as well as completion, varied.
As we all know, SVOD subscription services and online television is on the rise, and for good reason. SVOD moulds to people's busy lives and offers them a world of variety, rather than holding them to ransom with a tired old TV schedule and a dusty television set.
According to the latest Clearleap report, deliberate cancellation of SVOD services is more common than the passive cancellations.
Also, the main reason for the cancellation of subscription services is ads again. In a super connected world where the consumer is incredibly savvy and knows exactly what they want from their service, it looks like excessive levels of online advertising is a major factor when it comes to people cancelling their services:
Source: "Everybody wants to rule the streaming world" report by Clearleap
We live in exciting times, and as long as people remain curious, connected and inquisitive, there will be a place for online advertising, it’s just that the more focused the ads are in terms of audience; the more seamless they are and the more sparing they are, the better the result will be.
People don't like having products rammed down their throat, or at least they don’t think they do. The trick is to do it without spoiling their entertainment.
Learn more on how you can set up a SVOD service quickly:
