Pre-roll has long been effective for creating brand awareness and building brand equity. However, the base level of engagement up until now was the ability to click to the advertiser’s website. These clicks took the viewers away from watching the ads and didn’t offer the robust interactivity that makes the Internet such a powerful channel.
Fast-forward to today and pre-roll is a whole new interactive vehicle. The dramatic growth in device usage coupled with the huge rise in social media has changed how we watch commercials. We now engage with ads versus simply watching. This means that brands can now have a conversation with their audience directly within the player and extend dialogue beyond the commercial.
What exactly are interactive video ads? In essence they’re pre-roll video ads embedded with rich media options that reveal themselves when the viewer clicks or rolls over the ad. These options can include anything from photo galleries, Twitter feeds, more video — basically, anything a typical rich media display ad can offer.
Interactive pre-roll is also compelling for consumers. They’re inherently more interesting and give the viewer more control over the experience. Secondly, consumers get convenient access to added features, information and even e-commerce opportunities — without leaving the original video stream. This provides a much more valuable experience than the usual uni-directional, one-size-fits-all spot.
No longer will pre-roll ads give consumers a reason to tune out. With new interactive pre-roll we can finally give them a reason to tune in and stay engaged.
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