Online video advertising has become big business for companies trying to sell products and services online. Some marketing and advertising professionals equate online video advertising to TV commercial advertising, but with a twist and a lot more benefits. Five primary types of online video advertising exist: pre-roll, companion, interactive, invitation and overlay. Of course, each type also has its own set of pros and cons.
Pre-roll online video advertising is a part of a video that someone wants to watch online, the ad may play prior to the video, which is a pre-roll. Other subcategories of the pre-roll are the mid-roll, which is when the advertisement shows up in the middle of the video. If the advertisement is at the end of the video then this is referred to as post-roll online video advertising.
Companion online video advertising is a banner that appears on the video screen while the video is playing. The banner may appear along the bottom, top or one of the sides of the video pop-up screen. The pro is there is a brand presence for the entire video, but the con is it requires the watcher to take an extra step to click to the advertisers site.
The third type of online video advertising is interactive. This type of video advertising tries to engage the watcher by getting them to enter some form of information while they are watching the video. It may even request this information prior to, in the middle of or at the end of the video. For example, an interactive online video advertising effort may request the email address or zip code of the person who is watching the video. The pro is you can customize the ad. The con is it can be distracting.
The fourth type of online video advertising is invitation. This is when a message briefly appears alongside the video that tries to get the video watcher to interact or take action. The message does not stay, but appears long enough for the watcher to decide to act or not and then it disappears. The pro is it is less intrusive, but the con is that many web publishers don’t support this type of ad.
The final type of video advertising is overlay. This is when a message overlays the video screen while the video is playing. It is similar to the invitation form of online video advertising, but it only appears at the top or the bottom of the video screen for a short period, not the entire time the video is playing. The pro is it doesn’t interrupt the video watcher. The con is some watchers do not recognize them as ads.
