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Short Versus Long-form Video Communications
Ann Roskey, VP of Marketing & Audience Development, Accela Communications
Online video advertising is changing the face of the web. It’s hard to ignore the trend if you’re a corporate marketer, especially considering that analyst firm eMarketer is predicting that U.S. online video advertising spending will reach 1.5 billion by 2009 – and that’s less than two years away!
Despite all the focus and activity the question remains, what is it? A lot of clients ask us to explain the differences and it’s no wonder -- the lines are blurring in how video content is created and distributed; there are multiple formats, platforms and target lengths. Is it a TV ad delivered online, or is it something different? Furthermore, how do you measure it and get the best return on investment?
One point of differentiation is “short form advertising” versus “long form communications,” with different technologies supporting each. Another key difference is in the amount of time spent with the content, which I will get into later. Within the short form category you can distribute video advertising on the web as part of a pre-, mid- or post-roll opportunity with a publisher or ad network, or you can utilize rich media technologies to deliver your video content in-banner through your own media buys.
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Pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll advertising appears midstream, within the context of another video program. This type of advertising has proven to be good for branding though demand often outstrips supply, especially in the B2B segment, where web sites often don’t have enough traffic to provide sufficient exposure. These ad spots are usually limited to 15 or 30 seconds, so you can’t really tell much of a story, but it does place your brand adjacent to other desirable content. Additionally, there is usually no data acquisition to support lead generation or other kinds of interactive feedback since your video ad is an integrated component, not a standalone piece. In-banner video advertising is distributed as a short standalone component and could have data acquisition and interactivity built into it. There are many platform providers, such as PointRoll, Klipmart and Eyeblaster, among others, that support short form rich media that can be distributed directly to publishers or through ad networks. These are especially good for leveraging 15 or 30 sec ad spots and many contain “interruptive” techniques such as expandable or moving frames, multiple click points, or Flash multimedia. There are typically limits to the length of the video stream that can be delivered through these kinds of platforms (usually 30 seconds to a maximum of one minute), which explains why Pointroll touts an industry-leading average of 10.8 seconds of time spent, or engagement, with brand in 2006. These platforms will also offer more engagement reporting metrics than pre-, mid- or post-roll advertising. |
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Long form video programs are distributed through syndication channels such as YouTube or Brightcove, or by platforms like AccelaCast inBanner that use the banner ad as a conduit. This video format is much longer and is often used for telling a more compelling story, or conveying complex, educationally oriented information.
While the syndication platforms are easy to use and offer broad scale, there is less control over the context of where your program appears and that means your video story could be adjacent to literally anything you could imagine. This is an environment where quality and appropriateness of content varies widely, which could ultimately be embarrassing for a B2B company. The syndication networks aren’t terribly effective for proactive data gathering and that limits the reporting metrics, making it more difficult to measure ROI for your creative. These platforms are also usually a pure video environment (versus a blend of video and Flash animation) and may also impose maximum lengths of about 10 minutes.
Alternatively, AccelaCast inBanner is a blend of long-form communications and in-banner delivery. There is no length limit and distribution is controlled directly by you and is scalable via banner ad inventory, ensuring that a targeted, desirable audience views your program. A high degree of interactivity and navigational control are built into the platform along with multiple forms of passive and active data acquisition including registration, polling, surveys and direct viewer feedback capabilities. The reporting metrics are extensive and can be broken down by program segments, click or mouse over activity, and the demographics of viewers can be analyzed if active data acquisition is employed. Registration data can also be classified, cleaned and delivered to the appropriate contacts for follow-up or analysis.
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In terms of engagement, the time spent with long-form content is significantly greater than what short form advertising delivers. For example, we recently analyzed 20 different AccelaCast inBanner programs including 32,275 viewers and found that the average engagement time was 4.6 minutes, which far surpasses the time spent viewing either pre-roll or short-form ads.
Companies need to decide the best approach based on their content and communication goals. If “engagement” is the new rich media metric, then I’d argue that they’d get a lot more return out of producing a long form communications program where the delivery context can be controlled. The proof is in the results – there’s a huge difference between 10.8 seconds and 4.6 minutes in terms of viewer engagement. Plus, the best rich media is not interruptive; it respects the viewers’ web browsing experience, and entices them to explore, engage and act.
To see a few examples of long-form communication programs, visit our web site.
Editors Note: The name of this newsletter was recently changed from "Perspectives" to the "Rich Media Report" to better reflect the topic and scope of information included in each issue
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