While it seems reasonable enough to assume that video ads are more effective than single image ones, DoubleClick has taken the trouble of attempting to quantify that view. In its analysis of more than 300 online video ad campaigns that were placed by more than 130 advertisers through last June to September, DoubleClick found that click rates are higher for video ads and that such ads are more likely to generate greater interaction. Still, the percentages do seem fairly low, suggesting that ultimately, neither form is all that appealing. Release
Be that as it may, the specific findings are:
—Online video ads experience click-through rates ranging from 0.4 percent to 0.74 percent depending on the online video format. By comparison, the click-through rate for plain GIF or Jpeg image ads ranges between 0.1 and 0.2 percent
—At 0.32 percent, DoubleClick says consumers are roughly twice as likely to play an online video ad as they are to click through on a standard Jpeg or GIF ad.
—On average, video ads play approximately two-thirds of the way through, or 19.1 seconds for a 30-second ad and 10.3 seconds for a 15-second ad.
Speaking to ClickZ, Rick Bruner, research director at DoubleClick, identified the challenge facing advertisers is to match their video efforts to the content: “It’s a mistake for advertisers to assume that all they should do is take their television ads and move them to the Internet…Our clients are now mixed about whether their ads should play with or without user initiation… I think the best practice is to create the type of advertisements that users are going to request to see and initiate.”