eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, Adobe Systems released a report showing increased viewer acceptance of TV-like ad experiences on the Web.
The Adobe report found high audience engagement with ads during live online events and mid-roll commercial breaks. The report also showed that users are the most actively engaged viewers when it comes to consuming video ads on tablets and smartphones.
Compiling data from the last six months of 2011, the semi-annual report was generated using an aggregated and anonymous sample of 2.5 billion ad impressions served via Adobe Auditude, Adobes video ad management and monetization platform and a key component of Adobes Project Primetime.
Project Primetime is an integrated video technology platform to enable TV-like experiences for ad-supported videos across Web-connected devices. Addressing the increasing challenges of device and platform fragmentation, Primetime will deliver professional video content and video ads more efficiently across all major platforms, and offer a single end-to-end workflow that interconnects Adobes publishing, advertising and analytics technologies, the company said. The integration enables professional video providers to give customers a superior viewing experience through seamless dynamic ad insertion into any content type, whether linear, live or on-demand across Web-connected devices.
Major components of Primetime include Adobe Auditude
,
the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite, Adobe Access, Adobe streaming technologies, Adobe Pass and Primetime Highlights. Primetime will be available in 2012 with support for Windows, Mac OS, Apple iOS, Google Android, Samsung SmartTVs and other platforms.
A key component of Adobes Project Primetime, Adobe Auditude offers professional content publishers and media companies video ad management and monetization technologies across Internet-connected devices. Customers include Major League Baseball, Comcast, Dailymotion, Fox News, News Distribution Network, the United Kingdoms Channel 5, Major League Gaming and Brazils largest media company, Globo. Adobe acquired Auditude in November 2011.
Meanwhile, the new Adobe report shows that online video ad consumption is beginning to mirror that of traditional TV commercials, opening the door to greater revenue potential for media companies. Compared with data from the first six months of 2011, there has been an increase in the average number of video ads per content stream in professional, long-form content and the record high completion rates for video ads.
Market research shows that over the next five years, the number of people watching video content online could grow as much as 50 percent, and a significant number of them will be doing so on connected devices like tablets, IPTVs and smartphones, Jeremy Helfand, vice president of monetization at Adobe, said in a statement. For professional content owners and media companies exploring TV-like ad experiences online, the latest data demonstrates the strong potential for extending traditional broadcast advertising dollars to digital video.
The Adobe report found that completion rates on mobile devices are the highest of any environment with 94 percent, suggesting that mobile viewers are more engaged and open to watching ads on the go in exchange for the content they want, and where and when they want it. The report also found that the mid-roll video ad format continues to hold its place as the most engaging online ad placement and easily outperforms completion rates of pre-roll and post-roll ads. With an 87 percent completion rate, mid-roll ads are performing almost 30 percent better than pre-rolls. This placement is most comparable to traditional TV commercial breaks, which suggests audience willingness for consuming TV-like ad experiences online, the report said.
Moreover, live content continues to drive the highest engagement rates, compared with video-on-demand (VOD) content, the report said. The completion rate of video ads in live content now reaches 85 percent, almost one-quarter higher (23 percent) than ads within VOD content. This suggests viewers understand they may miss their opportunity to see the content once the live event is over, so they are more willing to stay focused during commercial breaks.
In addition, the Adobe report indicated that an average of 5.5 video ads is now being served as part of long form, professional content. With an average completion rate of 70 percent, viewers are willing to watch more ads through their entirety in exchange for professional content. Completion rates of ads in professional content are higher (76 percent), compared with those in user-generated content (UGC) with 63 percent, which indicates the ability of professional content to better engage audiences.
For more information about Adobes Project Primetime or to download the companys report, go to the Digital Media Blog.