In-stream ads remain unpopular with consumers

Research and surveys have long proffered that in-stream advertising in online videos is a turn-off to most consumers. It appears that while most consumers tolerate annoying adverts between television programs, Internet users are less tolerant.

Half (50.4 percent) of those that took part in a survey by Burst Media stopped watching an online video at the first sign of in-stream ads. Unsurprisingly, over three-quarters (78.4 percent) found the advertising intrusive.

In-stream ads, pre-, mid- or post-stream, don’t just stop consumers watching a video, they turn consumers away from related site content or the site as a whole. A small proportion of survey respondents said they would leave the site altogether (15.3 percent) if a video contained in-stream ads, while around half (49.7 percent) would be turned off watching any other video content on that site.

“It’s pretty clear from our research that most online video consumers are not yet willing to sit through advertising to get the content they seek,” said Jarvis Coffin, CEO of Burst Media. “For online video advertising to be truly effective, advertisers must approach it with a consumer’s mindset, and recognize that what might be right for one segment could fail with another.”

Several companies are searching for the perfect way to integrate advertising with online video. One way in which the problem could be resolved is to offer site users an ad-free environment, for a fee. For those that are prepared to watch ads, content would remain free.

Tags: in-stream advertising, mid-roll, online advertising, online video, post-roll, pre-roll