Showing 3 billion minutes of videos every month, Google-owned YouTube is the top video destination on the Internet today. And starting tomorrow, marketers will have another reason to turn to YouTube—a new InVideo ad format designed to offer high engagement without negatively impacting the user experience. As an alternative to preroll and postroll ads, InVideo ads offer more engagement, less disruption for viewers and lower video abandonment rates—a win all around.
Screen shot of an InVideo ad. View this video to see the animated ad.
InVideo Ads appear 15 seconds into the selected video, occupying the bottom 20% of the video player. If a user doesn’t click on the ad within 10 seconds, it minimizes for the duration of the video. The time marker at the bottom of the video player features a gold stripe to indicate the 10 seconds when the InVideo Ad displays. While the InVideo Ad displays, there is an option to close the ad, but less than 10% of YouTube users exercised that option. After the ad minimizes, an arrow in the bottom right offers the opportunity to expand it at any time.
Clicking on the ads open a new player within the video (which is paused). The InVideo Ads can use a Flash overlay to display anything from related albums for sale to concert tickets to movie trailers to commercials. Options include interactive features, video, and click-through offers.
Still visible in the background, the video pauses while the ad plays within the video player.
Shashi Seth, YouTube Group Product Manager, stated that YouTube would not place limitations on the length or level of depth that its advertisers wanted to use in their InVideo Ads—as long as users were engaged, it would be a good experience all around. At the conclusion of the InVideo ad, or upon closing it, the user is returned to the video right where they left off.
YouTube has found that this ad format offers a deeper level of engagement. YouTube made an effort to preserve this engagement by delaying the ad display by 15 seconds. They found that when their users start a video, they need time to get into it. If they interrupt or display ads before that window, viewers are unlikely to engage, and more likely to abandon videos as they do with preroll ads.
They’ve also seen five to ten times the click-through rates on the InVideo Ads versus traditional display ads on YouTube. When a user does engage with the ad, 75% return to watch to the end of the video.
The ads can be targeted based on user demographics (age and gender), location, day part and content genre. Seth stated that the content genre could be narrowed down to be as focused as “sports, specifically soccer.” In addition to be able to target, users, marketers would also be provided with metrics on click-throughs and ad viewers (presented in quartiles), as well as YouTube community metrics (links, comments, favorites, subscriptions, etc.).
For a select group of partners, the ads will run on both professional and original content on a CPM basis. (If a user abandons a video before the ad displayed at 15 seconds, that video view does not count as an impression.) YouTube will use frequency tracking to ensure that users “are unlikely to” repeatedly view the same ads or be served so many ads that their experience is “saturated.” Seth advised, “Never anticipate that a very large portion of our videos will have ads on them.”
The InVideo Ads are designed to provide users, advertisers and publishers the best experience possible. If there must be ads on YouTube, these ads are definitely an innovative step in the right direction.
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56 comments on “YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format”
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muhammad.saleem » youtube launching invideo advertising Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 10:12 pm
[...] mccollum has an interesting post detailing the impending launch of invideo advertising on youtube. As an alternative to preroll and postroll ads, InVideo ads offer more engagement, less disruption [...]
Marketing.fm » YouTube Introducing in Video Advertisements Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 10:45 pm
[...] in video ad placements that will not be shown to users until 15 seconds into the clip according to Marketing Pilgrim, which will start tomorrow. This is big news for the Internet video industry as well as the [...]
Chris Pirillo Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
…and guess who is already a partner?
Jim Kukral - Marketing Ideas Online » Blog Archive » HUGE News For Video Publishers Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 11:22 pm
[...] Andy Beal has a good write up as well. YouTubeHi, and thanks for visiting my marketing ideas blog. If you’re new here, you can easily subscribe to my RSS feed, or by email on the right of this page. Thanks for visiting, Jim Kukral. [...]
Jim Kukral Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 11:38 pm
It’s a brand new day for video publishers. Nice write up.
Jordan McCollum Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Thanks, Jim. And thanks for the link!
YouTube Launches New Video Advertising Format Says:
August 21st, 2007 at 11:58 pm
[...] YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format [MarketingPilgrim.com] tr { border: 0px } td { cellborder: 10px} table { border: 1px solid black } [...]
Deep Jive Interests » Yes, Google / YouTube Introducing In Video Ads Is A "Big Deal" Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:14 am
[...] it should be. I’m referring of course, to Google / YouTube introducing in video ads, which is covered in detail by Jordan McCallum (who does a good job), and the New York [...]
Marcelo Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:38 am
Thanks, Jim.
Att,
Marcelo
Andy Beal Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:28 am
Great stuff Jordan!
YouTube Rolls Out Overlay Ads at $20 CPM Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:38 am
[...] (Screencaps by Jordan McCollum.) [...]
YouTube’s New InVideo Ad Format Is Not Google AdWords - Publishing 2.0 Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:55 am
[...] new YouTube InVideo ad format is big news not because the format is new — Google has been testing the format for a while, [...]
How To Monetize YouTube | How To Split An Atom Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:11 am
[...] In what has to be the second most brilliant move the team over at YouTube has cooked up (the first being letting Google fight their legal battle), they are finally introducing a way to viably monetize all those eyeballs that they have acquired over the years. The answer, InVideo advertising. [...]
Music Software Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:38 am
Its a brilliant idea. Looks like it is sure to work. Another great avenue for advertisers and another great stream for Google to make moolah.
Dan Blank: Publishing, Innovation & the Web » Blog Archive » YouTube Reinvents the Video Ad: Let the Games Begin Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:37 am
[...] McCollum gives a recap of YouTube’s foray into video advertising, called InVideo: “InVideo Ads appear 15 seconds into the selected video, occupying the bottom 20% of the [...]
nico. Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:42 am
Hi Jordan,
Great post and great news you’ve written here! Would you accept that I translate and post it on a French blog (giving all due credit of course)?
Mark Evans Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:33 am
Andy,
If Google can prove this format works, it will be seconds before the rest of the video industry jumps on the overlay bandwagon. Obviously, everyone is looking for an ad vehicle that works but I wonder if enough people will pull themselves away from a video to focus on a small ad on the bottom of the screen.
Mark Evans - The Monetization of YouTube Begins Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:35 am
[...] Karp makes a great point that the video ads not only need to be unobtrusive but relevant, while Andy Beal calls it “an innovative step in the right [...]
The Equity Kicker » Blog Archive » YouTube finally launches in video ads Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:17 am
[...] was pleased to read today on Marketing Pilgrim about YouTube premiering InVideo ads. It is at once a little surprising that they haven’t done something before now and a [...]
Andy Beard Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:26 am
I saw one story on Sphinn that the adverts are appearing on video where the content creator wasn’t signed up as a partner to receive revenue.
What happens when the video is served on a 3rd party site?
Jordan McCollum Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:20 am
@Andy Beard—I haven’t confirmed it with YouTube, but I do think that’s the case. Are you asking about what happens when you embed the video on a different website? I tried that with this video yesterday; the ad didn’t play.
Andy Beard Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:29 am
Here is the article I saw in Sphinn
http://justinhayward.net/2007/08/22/youtube-becomes-theirtube/
Google’s Plan to Pull YouTube Out of the Money Drain « Cheesy Ramblings: a test-drive before the Autobahn Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:05 am
[...] A lot of the conversation seems to be circling around whether or not this will have a negative impact on the site’s audience. My vote is a clear no: banner ads along the bottom of video is on TV all the time now (seen TBS lately?) and will only increase in frequency and popularity as more people decide to skip the traditional commercials with their DVR or Tivo boxes. [...]
YouTube Adds Ads To Videos » Webomatica - tech, movies, music blog Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:09 am
[...] Internet video ads generally annoy me, the solution Google has developed for YouTube is quite decent. Check out a YouTube video advertisement in action via this [...]
Google pone publicidad en los vídeos de You Tube « Cosas sencillas Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
[...] Mas información: YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format. [...]
Publicidad en los videos de Youtube « El sabueso 2.0 Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:24 pm
[...] estrategia publicitaria,llamada InVideo Ads, consiste en poner 15 segundos de publicidad en el video. El anuncio permanecerá minimizado hasta [...]
YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format (Jordan McCollum/Andy Beal’s Marketing …) Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:31 pm
[...] YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format — Showing 3 billion minutes of videos every month, Google-owned YouTube is the top video destination on the Internet today. And starting tomorrow, marketers will have another reason to turn to YouTube—a new InVideo ad format designed … [...]
At least it won’t be too annoying « Kambel Ramble Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:50 pm
[...] 22nd, 2007 · No Comments Starting tomorrow, YouTube will include advertising within videos. My initial reaction to this news was one of much dismay. I generally find advertising to be [...]
Mark Barrera Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Hopefully they will start integrating this with Adsense and give me more motivation to embed their videos on my sites.
Brian Chappell Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Am I the only one here who thinks this is terrible. Ads are evasive enough, but on top of videos? Keep the ads and video separate imo.
Webmaster Money Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:44 pm
So who is actualy making money from the video? Is it the video owner or just YouTube.
YouTube Now Showing Ads On Their Videos Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:10 pm
[...] their videos by showing ads on the bottom of them. For the full story check out the post at the Marketing Pilgrim blog [...]
PodeCrer » YouTube - modelo de anúncio inovador Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:32 pm
[...] Marketing pilgrim: “…InVideo ads offer more engagement, less disruption for viewers and lower video abandonment rates—a win all around.” [...]
YouTube ganha publicidade em vídeos Says:
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
[...] MarketingPilgrin Notícias Relacionadas YouTube ganha player mais interativo →YouTube ganha versão para [...]
Publicidad en los vídeos de YouTube: un filón | adseok Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:29 am
[...] Si quieres ver el aspecto que tienen los vídeos con publicidad, en MP tienen unas cuantas capturas. [...]
La publicidad, de verdad, llega a Youtube | | David Guardado Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:14 am
[...] para el usuario y, supuestamente, más eficaces para el anunciante. Los mensajes publicitarios se muestran como una capa durante unos segundos en la parte inferior de la pantalla mientras estamos viendo el vídeo de [...]
Adventures in YouTube Profiteering / Jossip Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:33 am
[...] a foolhardy attempt to make money off of the Internet, Google launched ads above YouTube clips yesterday. The InVideo ads cover the bottom 20 percent of the screen, and disappear [...]
nalts Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:09 pm
You know I can’t understand why people are reacting negatively to these. They’re so unobstrusive and highly interactive/profitable. Prerolls would legitimately make viewers (and creators) crazy, but these are nice. My two cents. I’m biased, though. I’m potentially going to make $ from ‘em.
Ty Graham Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:02 pm
How can these be “nice” after disrupting my viewing experience repeatedly? Can you imagine not being annoyed by one of these after the inevitable 1000th online video you watch? Come on guys, pay attention, soon, everyone is going to get blip’d!
Digmann.com » Google Just Might Take Over The World After All Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:12 pm
[...] testing a new ad system on YouTube for a few weeks Google announced a new system call InVideo this week. In a nutshell this is a way to have ads within the video which play on [...]
YouTube 동영상에 광고 시험게재 시작 Says:
August 23rd, 2007 at 11:50 pm
[...] 형식에 대한 사진 설명은 Marketing Pilgrim에서 볼 수 있다. YouTube가 한국 시간 기준 24일 오후 2시 부터 시스템 정비가 [...]
YouTube Introduces Ads Says:
August 24th, 2007 at 5:32 am
[...] window contains the ad, which begins playing while at the same time it stops the main content. See this article for a detailed description with [...]
Conexion Central » “InVideo Ads” Publicidad en los Videos de Youtube Says:
August 24th, 2007 at 8:21 am
[...] Fuente: Marketing Pilgrim [...]
YouTube incluye publicidad en los videos de los usuarios « ConsumoWeb Says:
August 26th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
[...] Via | MarketingPilgrim [...]
ryo Says:
August 26th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
They need to generate income from their youtube subsidary, if not how are they accountable to their shareholder?
Youtube muestra publicidad en los videos | MilBits.com Says:
August 26th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
[...] Imágenes extraídas de marketingpilgrim.com [...]
This Week In SEO - 8/24/07 - TheVanBlog Says:
August 27th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
[...] YouTube Premiering InVideo Ad Format [...]
ödev sitesi Says:
August 29th, 2007 at 7:42 am
On the contrary, I can’t wait to try it out. Who knew the up-do was so easy?!
Perde Says:
September 16th, 2007 at 11:55 am
Here we go. One of the reasons I almost never watch TV is the huge load ads and hopefully that’s not gonna be the case with Youtube.
August 23, 2007 | Keku.com [alpha] Says:
September 17th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
[...] officially launches an unobtrusive style of video ad on YouTube after several weeks of tests had positive results. Could this become a $13 billion business by 2012? TV advertisers ignore developments like these [...]
WorkAbroadJobs.com Says:
October 25th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
it’a a great idea.
unfortunately, its not available in our country.
too bad, hope google and youtube will make it available soon.
stor perde Says:
November 13th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Here we go. One of the reasons I almost never watch TV
oto gazete Says:
April 21st, 2008 at 3:45 am
Their aim is to take place of television. I wonder when google will buy cnn, bbc ,etc.
Publicidad online de video en Youtube | Closemarketing Says:
December 20th, 2008 at 9:31 am
[...] comenta en Marketingpilgrim, que la publicidad (vía google dirson) parece que va a ser Videos con un tamaño 20% más pequeño que la zona de [...]
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May 24th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
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May 25th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
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