Online Publishers Association unveils Online Video Advertising Effectiveness study.

With the continued rise in online video popularity, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) conducted a unique study looking at the key factors driving video advertising success.

“Frames of Reference: Online Video Advertising, Content and Consumer Behavior” exposed consumers to video content and advertising, and captured the attributes that most impact awareness, ad likeability, ad relevance, and brand consideration.

“With online video firmly entrenched in the mainstream, marketers need to understand what works for driving key advertising metrics,” said Pam Horan, OPA president. “Frames of Reference identifies the most important factors — from ad length to the impact of adjacent content — that can improve video advertising effectiveness. In the rapidly evolving world of video, the study is an important step in laying down concrete, high impact techniques for marketers.”

Frames of Reference further examined how consumers are using online video and their reactions to advertising. Among the key findings are that news is the most popular online video category and that consumers are
taking meaningful action in response to video ads. And with growing evidence of how heavily consumers rely on the Internet for researching and buying goods, the study also examined the relative importance of the
Internet in the purchase process.

The research, which was conducted in partnership with OTX, included surveying and concept testing 1,422 online video users.

Ad Effectiveness

Using a variety of ads — which featured everything from consumer packaged goods and financial services to airlines and pharmaceuticals — and four ad attributes, 96 combinations were tested for how they impact key
advertising and brand metrics. The four ad attributes were: duration (15 v. 30 sec.); placement (pre-roll and post-roll); companion ad (with/without); and, advertising type (original online v. repurposed TV).

Details on the impact of each of these attributes on online video advertising and brand metrics are included in the full report, however several of the key findings include:

— 30s Top 15s. In two of the four advertising and brand metrics measured, ad length was the leading factor driving lift. And with each, 30 second ads outpaced 15s: ad relevance (30% lift using 30s) and brand consideration (23% lift using 30s).

— Quality Content Halo. The study reinforced the notion of a “halo” effect from website video content affinity. If the consumer had a prior brand affinity toward an advertised brand and they liked the adjacent video content, brand consideration jumped 61%. If the consumer’s initial attitude toward the brand was neutral or negative, brand consideration still rose 21% if they liked the video content.

— The Role of a Companion. The study found that static companion ads can play a valuable complimentary role. To lift brand awareness the combination of a pre-roll and a companion proved to be most effective.

Video Usage and Perceptions

The study looked at the most popular video content and, while humorous videos may appear to be omnipresent, Frames of Reference found that the leading video content category is news/current events (14% watch daily). Weather ranks second (11% watch daily), followed by jokes /funny clips (9% watch daily).

The study also found that online video advertising is leading to concrete results, especially on media sites. Of the 80% of viewers that have watched a video ad online, 52% have taken some sort of action, whether
it’s checking out a website (31%), searching for more info (22%), going into a store (15%), or actually making a purchase (12%). Importantly, visitors to media sites (magazine, newspaper, cable, broadcast and pure-play) demonstrated they were more inclined to take action upon viewing a video ad than visitors to portals and user generated content sites.

The Internet & The Purchase Process

The study looked at the purchase process, and the results underscored the dominant role of the Internet in every stage. Of consumers who made a purchase in the last month, 48% said the Internet drove initial awareness,
57% said they learned more using the Internet, 55% used the Internet to decide where to buy, and 56% made the final purchase decision using the Internet. Word of Mouth, which also has strong Web components, was second in importance — however the Internet outpaced all others by at least 50%.

Horan said, “As consumers work their way through the purchase process, the Internet is far and away the most important media they use. With consumers buying everything from groceries to cars online, the Internet’s
importance may seem obvious. But it is truly stunning to see that the Internet is leading every other media by at least 50%.”

For more information at http://www.online-publishers.org>