Video Ads: What's The Most Effective Format?

Bill Larson
by Bill Larson 16 Jan, 2023

Experts have long suggested that video advertising would eventually become a core part of the marketing mix for brands, and while that day looks to have arrived (at least in part), there still remains a great deal of questions - like what format is the most effective.

IPG Media Labs and video ad network Yume have released the results of a study on the impact and value of pre-roll, mid-roll, outstream and social video across multiple screens found that pre-roll remains a "solid, formidable platform."

Yume's research reveals that compared to mid-roll and outstream, pre-roll is the least interruptive with only 17 percent of mobile device users feeling that the advertisement interrupts the content, compared with 60 percent of outstream and 72 percent on mid-roll

"We are big advocates of marketers using a mix of video formats and strategies to effectively reach target audiences, but it also comes as no surprise that pre-roll remains a dominant cornerstone in a multi-format approach. This artful balance of formats meets brand objectives while delivering memorable experiences for consumers," said Michael Hudes, Chief Revenue Officer, YuMe. "Through this trial, we've been able to clearly outline and reveal the power and impact of video formats across devices. This type of data and insights will prove invaluable for brands continuing to innovate in this space."

The research also provided some other interesting and useful insights for brand marketers. Mid-roll ads, for example, appear to be the most intrusive for consumers, but consumers were less likely to want to close out the ad immediately compared to the newer outstream format.

Though you may not have heard the term just yet, chances are good you've come across an outstream video ad while browsing the Internet sometime during the past year. This new type of display ad takes the form of an auto-playing video that is inserted into a traditional display ad space, typically between paragraphs of text or images.

This ad format is quite different from the preroll or midroll ads that have been used extensively on YouTube and other streaming video services, as it does not require a publisher's video for placement, making it a far more flexible ad format to use.