Why advertise around online video?

I was recently asked to summarise the reasons to advertise around online video. I came up with four broad factors:

1. User Experience

• Users are actively choosing to watch a clip
• Adverts generally can’t be fast-forwarded
• Ads can be interactive
• Ad breaks are shorter than TV and so spots have a greater chance of standing out
• Online is a “lean forward” medium with viewers closer to the screen and in a more attentive state

2. The ways in which it can be bought

• A specific number of impressions can be bought and capped
• The variety of metrics it can be bought by (though this will vary by site)
• It can be bought alongside display and other forms of advertising to maximise exposure

3. The way it complements TV

• Audiences with TV and online are strongly positively correlated
• TV and Online work together
• Advertising within catch-up increases reach
• Advertising within clips increases frequency and engagement among a show’s biggest advocates (and fans of shows tend to be more positive to the ads)

4. Effectiveness

• Higher clickthrough rates
• Online has incremental benefits to effectiveness
• Lab tests suggest the lean forward consumption and higher attention levels lead to ads performing better online than they would elsewhere (and the lab test element of that has to be strongly emphasised) – some data can be found in this presentation (pdf)
  

What do people think? Any suggestions to add to this?

sk

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/warmnfuzzy/

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