Key Findings
– Tight Inventory: Although pre-roll ads available for real-time buying are growing 7.9% per month in 2012 and now top 16.2 million impressions per day, inventory is very tight amid higher demand. CPMs in Australia now far surpass the U.S., averaging $14.17 in September.
– Brand Lift Benchmarks: Video ads bought in real-time are clearly delivering brand lift, perhaps answering sceptics of the still-grow- ing space. Lift in pre-roll message association tops 5.3% over control for consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, and 3.4% for automotive brands.
– Skippable Pre-Roll: Skippable pre-roll is promising, but advertisers should keep in mind they are paying a premium for a non-inter- ruptive experience. 14.4% of viewers choose to not skip an ad if given the option. Given current CPMs for the format only average $2.17 less than standard pre-roll, advertisers may want to use small test buys to quantify the additional value they place on only buying viewers that willingly opt-in, measuring additional brand lift. Results also vary by creative quality and the precision of targeting, suggesting the wisdom of testing.
– Site Tiers Work: TubeMogul’s content quality tiers appear to be a good proxy for getting viewers to watch an entire ad, with tier one and two sites averaging 82.8% completions for 15-second ads, compared to 74.2% for tier three and four sites.
