August 21, 2007 6:00 PM PDT
YouTube tests 10-second ad format
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Google's YouTube will feature ads that are similar to a model used by TV broadcasters for years, the company said Tuesday. TV viewers have grown accustomed to watching a show and seeing the image of David Letterman or some other star walk across the bottom of the screen as part of a promotion. YouTube's new ads are very similar.
YouTube's mini commercials, which are produced through Flash animation, appear at the bottom of a video, are mostly transparent, and disappear after 10 seconds. Once the ad appears, a user has the option of clicking on it while the video pauses. The viewer is then taken to a "player within the player" where he or she is encouraged to interact with the advertiser's content. When the person clicks out of the ad, the video resumes.
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Google announced that it has begun testing the new advertising format for YouTube with a small number of advertisers. Google, a company that made its fortune on Web advertising, is ignoring the long-held belief by marketing gurus that a video-sharing site has only two choices when deciding where to place ads: before or after the video.
The new commercials, which will begin appearing Wednesday, are the fulfillment of a promise, analysts say. Google had long said that no ad format would be launched unless the company was sure it wouldn't spoil the viewing experience, as well as offer marketers a chance to get in front of YouTube's 130 million subscribers.
"This is a relatively unobtrusive way to get an ad in front of viewers," said Joe Laszlo, an analyst with JupiterResearch. "This shows a lot of thoughtfulness. To avoid alienating audiences, we have to create overlays and bugs that don't get in the way of the viewer and then allow them to get rid of it if they want."
To Google, which acquired video-sharing giant YouTube last October for $1.65 billion, the ad format may be the answer to cashing in on its investment. The experiment, if successful, could mean billions of dollars in advertising revenue to other video sites.
Those trading in user-submitted video have long wrestled with how to advertise to viewers who have demonstrated a reluctance to sit through 15-second commercials for a 30-second snippet.
JupiterResearch analyst
For more than a year, YouTube teased marketers by saying that an ad format was forthcoming. Critics predicted that Internet viewers had become spoiled, that YouTube fans had grown accustomed to watching ad-free videos at YouTube and would never tolerate them.
But Shashi Seth, YouTube's group product manager, said the company took pains to prevent the ads from annoying the viewer. The ad appears 15 seconds into a video, but vanishes after a 10-second run.
If a person tries to watch a video a second time, the ads won't reappear. Shashi said the company has tested the format and is satisfied that Flash-animation ads--tucked discreetly into videos for a brief period--won't upset the apple cart.
According to Seth, the man Google sent over in January to fix YouTube's advertising problems, the tests have so far revealed the new ads produced click-through rates 5 to 10 times higher than traditional display ads.
He said that 75 percent of users who clicked on to the overlay ad came back and continued watching the video.
Google said the ads will be inserted into a select inventory of video clips that have been screened for copyright and inappropriate material.
To take advantage of YouTube's new format, marketers must come up with entertaining and engaging new content, said Greg Sterling, an independent marketing analyst.
"They are going to have to come up with material that is creative, intriguing and compelling enough to get them to click on those ads," Sterling said. "That's the first step. But once they do click they will then have to engage them with interactive content."
Seth that he was surprised to see how prepared advertisers were to create Flash content. Of the 20 or so companies Google is dealing with during the test, most already have staff who are experienced with Flash.
"We found that the advertisers were in tune with this even though the model doesn't exist," Seth said.
But Laszlo warned that there's no guarantee that YouTube's audience will take to the ads. First, the overlays could obscure some of the picture. Then, there's the problem of guaranteeing advertisers that their brands won't appear alongside copyrighted content, violence, sex or other dodgy material.
"YouTube is still in a situation where they can't run ads against every video," Laszlo said. "Advertisers are very leery of posting even display ads next to iffy material. You can just imagine how much more cautious YouTube would have to be if, say, David Letterman were to be featured inside one of these ads."
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Youtube splits the ad revenue with the publishers (according to NYT). Seems they will want to use the publishers to select the ads for their content, that will save Google a lot of manual work. This also rewards entertaining ads and reduces irritation among users. Read (a bit) more about this at http://www.77lab.com/youtube_ad_082207.html
Maybe paid content is the only answer.
Glumbert.com recently starting doing ads on the videos too and it is irritating not because of the fact they're using ads, but that the ads sometimes block content and they're distracting overall. I suppose if it's only appearing once and won't be there if I re-watch the video that's good enough.
Instead of trying to find a way to "force" users to watch ads, just accept that there are always going to be people who just don't want to do so.
It's as simple as going to the bathroom when there's a commercial on TV. In addition, I DON'T like it when a program I'm watching allows a sidebar to appear onscreen. The idea that viewers aren't bothered by this is frankly, naive.
I guess Google ran out of smart people to hire so now they're bringing in the dumb ones that ruin everything else they touch. Case-in-point: doubleclick.
This is a bad move by Google! Google was known for non-intrusive ads, now they're moving away from that. Bad move. I'm sure it will get worse from here on out.
Using this model we can also gauge what other online video sites might be worth by comparing user engagement relative to that of YouTube.
To read more, go here:
http://www.edwardjthomas.org/?p=10
Some is just LESS annoying.
Sticking anything in my face is the best way to get me to dislike the product being advertised.
"TV viewers have grown accustomed to watching a show and seeing the image of David Letterman or some other star walk across the bottom of the screen as part of a promotion" Note the use of the phrase "grown accustomed". No one likes it. People just put up with it because they have little choice.
I HATE the useless and irritating junk that constantly swirls around on commercial TV.
Thank goodness for pop-up blockers, ad blockers, and other tools that allow me to control my web surfing experience.
Google is NOT a web search company. They are now an advertising company that just happens to use a search page as one of their ways of getting ads in front of people. Their motto "Don't be evil" is becoming a joke.
"TV viewers have grown accustomed to watching a show and
seeing the image of David Letterman or some other star walk
across the bottom of the screen as part of a promotion."
TV viewers may have become "accustomed" to these ads in the
dictionary sense of "accustomed," i.e. that such ads have become
"customary or usual." I find them an invasive affront to the
viewer. The overlays permit a network or channel to advertise
their own content on the viewer's time, freeing more commercial
time for sale. For me, the ads have become such an annoyance
that I find myself rarely watching TV. I'm seriously considering
canceling my satellite television service and using my TV
exclusively for watching DVDs.
YouTube is completely irrelevant to me. When it became a
"phenomenon" I decided to spend an hour surfing its contents to
see what the hubbub was all about. I concluded that (a) 99.999
percent of the videos were rubbish, and (b) both the user ratings
and the number of viewings were worthless as indicators of
quality. I haven't been back since.
I suspect that no one, on their death bed, will wish they had
spent more time watching videos on YouTube.
http://www.nanananananananananananananananana.com
Enjoy
A solution we believe worth considering is to watch one opt-in, full-screen ad in exchange for one hour of uninterrupted, ad-free video viewing. When the hour is up? Watch another ad. Ad and content never compete while the ad is the positioned as the "enabler" to pay for content. Give users credit, ads pay for content. Why are we constantly trying to trick the viewer into watching and ruining their experience?
Additionally, a value exchange grants access to the experience so the advertiser is never associated with, next-to or over potentially racy content. Paul Grusche, Ultramercial
YouTube because of this? Yeah right! Where else can you get
quick and easy access to an unimaginable amount of content?
Nowhere! For content creators, where else are you going to get
quick and easy access to 130 MILLION eyeballs? Nowhere!
Google has spent a large amount of time (with investors crying
hurry up!) to monetize the site without alienating its users. I
hardly doubt they are going to make the site one gigantic
billboard.
Furthermore, the vast majority of us will never come in contact
with the ads! The ads are only going to be run on content
agreements with the major production companies that have
signed agreements with YouTube. The Mom & Pop backyard
producers will never see ads on their videos ...
Rusty Rothwell
Louisville, KY
- VERY Annoying
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by woggs123
September 4, 2007 10:46 AM PDT
- Why does the audio have to cut out in the middle of a musical video?? Jesus this is annoying. I thought google programmers were smart?? Have the ad video fade in and fade back out without interupting the audio for cripe sake. Talk about gut-wrenching, anger inspiring ads... Completely and instantly take the audio from something I'm listening to and I hate you and anything you're advertising just as instantly and abruptly. Morons... Do they even try this crap on themselves first??
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