Maximize Your Brand Awareness with Pre-Roll Advertising

The pre-roll video serves as an introduction to your brand, showcasing your products, services, and unique selling points compared to competitors. Unlike a traditional elevator pitch, the video can be viewed by your most valued customers from anywhere in the world.

What is addressable pre-roll?

Programmatic pre-roll ads are video ads that are shown before short videos on mobile, tablet, and desktop devices. They usually last for 15 or 30 seconds.

What makes it special?

Pre-roll can be bought programmatically, offering cheaper CPMs and the same audience targeting and optimization as programmatic display.

Programmatic video allows you to target users who are currently engaging with content that is relevant to your brand. Additionally, it provides the opportunity to secure inventory on high-quality websites such as Forbes, CNN, and Business Insider, which may not be accessible through other methods.

Programmatic video is served across the internet and offers the added benefits of transparency and scalability. Frequency caps can be set on a minute, hour, daily, weekly, and lifetime basis when buying pre-roll programmatically, similar to display ads.

Programmatic video offers the ability to target skippable or non-skippable inventory. Non-skippable inventory ensures high video completion rates, typically around 75%, as the only way a user doesn't complete the ad is if they close the tab or pause the video.

What is the optimal time to run programmatic video?

Programmatic video is a cost-effective method to enhance current marketing efforts. Pre-roll effectively delivers your brand's message through a powerful medium. Additionally, pre-roll can be used to test creative assets and gauge their performance before investing in Connected TV and other more expensive lead generation channels.

 What metrics and KPIs are recommended for measuring programmatic video?

When evaluating the performance of pre-roll video, it is recommended to use high-funnel metrics as it is typically used for awareness purposes.

Common metrics for evaluating the success of a programmatic video campaign include video completion rate, first quartile completions, and cost per landing page visit. Pre-roll ads can be tracked in Google Analytics, but click data may be limited. It is generally not recommended to solely rely on direct website action to assess the effectiveness of a programmatic video campaign.

Another approach to measurement, outside of direct metrics, is brand lift studies. These studies use in-flight advertising to measure survey-based outcomes such as brand awareness, ad recall, and purchase influence. It is in these areas that pre-roll video ads are more likely to have an impact compared to final purchases.

What are some recommended practices for programmatic pre-roll video?

Programmatic video can seem complex, but there are best practices to follow. When launching a campaign, it's recommended to test both 15-second and 30-second ads. In general, shorter videos have higher video completion rates (VCR), usually around 15 seconds. This helps viewers absorb the brand message better and improves brand recall. Results may vary for each campaign because they are unique.

Thirty-second ads generally have a slightly lower VCR (usually 5-10% lower), but they tend to generate higher engagement in terms of longer time-on-site and more cost-efficient landing page visits. It is important to make the most of the first seven seconds of your ads, even when running 30-second ads. We advise against running programmatic pre-roll videos that exceed 30 seconds in length.

Both skippable and non-skippable inventory options are available, with non-skippable videos typically resulting in higher video completion rates and engagement. The cost per thousand impressions (CPMs) for non-skippable inventory is slightly higher at approximately $14, compared to skippable's CPM of around $12. Overall, performance tends to be stronger with non-skippable videos, so we generally recommend starting with those. However, depending on your specific goals, skippable videos could also be a suitable option.

Pre-roll video offers a unique combination of optimization capabilities, allowing for the utilization of similar strategies used in display advertising but in a more impactful medium. It is important to note that after launching a campaign, it is advisable to wait for approximately 3-4 weeks to gather sufficient data before making any significant adjustments. During the initial "learning phase," it is crucial to closely monitor frequency, day of week patterns, creative performance, and make necessary targeting adjustments.

Although programmatic advertising encompasses a wide range of strategies, this explanation focused specifically on pre-roll video. We hope that it provided helpful information to determine if pre-roll video advertising is suitable for your brand. To explore more content on programmatic advertising, click on the topic tag at the top of this blog post. For additional tips on video advertising, you can download our Performance Marketer's Guide to YouTube Advertising.