Not So Fast: 2009 Online Video Advertising Year In Review
Experimentation was a big part of 2009, and MTV Networks conducted a large-form experiment on short-form online video advertising. The company first began testing more than 20 varieties of short video ads before paring that down to three final candidates. The idea was to see which ad could provide the best brand awareness and provoke a direct response to the advertiser’s message. The three finalists include the traditional preroll ad, one called the Lower 1/3 Product Suite (a combination of a short preroll ad with a Flash ad that displays on the screen after 10 seconds of content have shown), and one called the Sideloader Product Suite (a combination of a 5-second ad and a display ad on the video player’s side, which shows after a short delay). In the end, the Lower 1/3 Product Suite performed the best, according to MTV’s research.
FedEx made a big shift in its advertising by deciding to forego an ad in the 2010 Super Bowl (where it had advertised for 20 years) and instead turn its attention to online video advertising. The company created a series of 3–5-minute short videos starring Fred Willard. The idea was that the humorous spots would spread across the web virally. The last we checked, they hadn’t. As of this writing, though, the first spot had nearly 400,000 views on YouTube, and the campaign’s total video views for its YouTube channel was more than 665,000 views for all five videos.
Judging by all the activity, it seemed like no one was vacationing in August. Google’s DoubleClick, for example, joined up with Rockabox to create a new ad format called Rockabox Shutters. The format gets its name from the way that interactive panels surround the video. Those panels can contain offers, display ads, or other types of branding. While a video is playing in the main window, the viewer sees smaller elements around it that reinforce the product branding.
With YouTube still the dominant site in online video, its every move is highly scrutinized. In August, it invited criticism by changing the placement of its promoted videos. Before YouTube made its change, promoted videos showed up next to the search results; afterwards, they appeared in the related videos area. Critics said the placement looked like an afterthought and that placing promoted videos in the related video area diluted that area and would make the area look suspect to the site’s visitors. Added to that, the promoted video might not be related to the original, so it wouldn’t fit in the related area.
Some hard numbers came in August, with a much-discussed eMarketer study showing that while online video advertising was growing, it was dwarfed by overall internet ad spending. Still, advertisers in the U.S. would spend $1.38 on online video ads per hour of video viewed for every $1 spent per hour on TV viewing.
The road wasn’t always smooth, and in September, video ad network Tremor Media faced a barrage of complaints saying that it was using deceptive practices to boost its ad impression numbers. The issue was that some video ads were set to start playing automatically and that they ran at the very bottom of sites such as Puff.com and Qj.net—where they would rarely be seen, not where the buyer had intended. Brands including Snickers, Sprite, and BMW were among the aggrieved. Tremor asked partner sites to halt the practice. The brouhaha showed that with online video, advertisers often aren’t aware of exactly what they’re buying.
Google again made news in September by adding video to its paid search ads. That means that on some searches viewers saw what was called "video plus box" below some of the ads in the sponsored search section. The large "plus" icon is accompanied by a call to action to click the link, such as "Watch trailer." When the reader clicks it, a video window unfolds in the yellow sponsored results section and immediately plays the clip. According to AdAge, Google registers a "click" for an ad when a viewer clicks through to the destination site or watches at least 10 seconds of the ad.
In the later part of the year, advertisers solved the problem of how to get viewers to sit through ads by creating online advertorial programming with some of Hollywood’s top properties. Sprint partnered with the Desperate Housewives creators to make an 8-part online series called Another Desperate Housewife. Not surprisingly, the plot, which involved a new character named Stephanie, revolved around a Sprint phone, the Palm Pre. The formula must have worked because Sprint’s agency soon announced it would work with the creator of Heroes to create a new series.
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