Video Advertising Versus Performance TV

5 Min Read

We previously pitted Performance TV against Display-Only Retargeting and DSPs, and now it’s time for video advertising to step into the ring. The first question you may ask upon first glance: aren’t video advertising and Performance TV one and the same? Not quite. In fact, as we look closer at the features and benefits of each, we realize how different they actually are. 

If there’s one thing we want you to take away from this comparison, it’s in the table below.

Video Advertising vs. Performance TV

Now, let’s look at each of these online advertising strategies in more detail.

What Is Video Advertising?

Video Advertising is defined as pre-roll, or mid-roll, or outstream video advertising on the internet, but is really a catch-all for any type of video ad run on YouTube or any other programmatic-enabled platform, such as social networks, websites, gaming apps, etc.

• Skippable Ads – Those pre-roll or mid-roll clips that interrupt your video viewing experience can get old really quick; old enough for you to skip over the ad altogether, bounce off the page or distract yourself with something until the ad is over and you can resume your original program. MAGNA and the IPG Media Lab published figures on video advertising skip rates, and found that 65% of people skip online video ads, and 76% skip these ads out of ingrained habits – proving that the majority of viewers do not plan to watch a video ad in its entirety. Consequently, this is not a great option for online advertisers looking to engage their users for these reasons alone. 

• Unreliable Brand Safety: If you thought ad pre-roll or mid-roll clips were annoying, it gets worse. Advertisers don’t have complete control where their video ads are being published and it’s causing quite a press circus – YouTube recently came under fire by global brands like L’Oreal and Samsung for displaying ads along videos actively promoting climate change misinformation. Such a misalignment can erode brand image and equity in the long term.

• Subpar Ad Experience: A combination of the skippability and unreliability of video ads results in less than desired ad quality. Data doesn’t lie either – a recent study by eMarketer of internet users reported that 67% of users were annoyed by video advertisements that play automatically on websites with sound: 

• Reporting Inefficiency: One common measure used is Cost Per View (CPV), which charges advertisers for every measurable “view” of their ad – YouTube has an estimated average CPV of $0.47 and hovers between $0.01 to $0.15 on Facebook. However, let’s not forget that the definition of what constitutes a completed “view” is used loosely. Facebook considers a completed view as ads that are played to completion or for at least 15 seconds. This means for a 30 second video, it would already consider a video viewed in its entirety if only viewed for half that time, making the true CPV stats on Facebook double what is actually reported above.

What Is Performance TV?

Performance TV is a new digital channel that can be added to your marketing mix, with both superior quality and reporting capabilities than video ads, displayed on any Connected TV or OTT (Over-The-Top) device. 

• Non-Skippable Ads: One key advantage to Performance TV – Viewers are a captive audience and engaged on TV compared to when they are thrown a barrage of video ads on the internet. Most of the video ads you will find are either skippable or non-skippable but are mandated to be shorter as a result, e.g. five seconds. From an advertisers perspective, there are clear limitations to this – imagine having to create an effective five second video advertisement? On the flipside, studies show CTV averages a 95% completion rate, since viewers tend to be committed to the content they choose to watch.  

• Curated, Premium TV Networks: We take brand safety seriously, and choose to only partner with the best networks to give your brand the limelight it deserves. Many other CTV competitors co-mingle their inventory with traditional video inventory to drive down the cost and garner more impressions for advertisers, which lacks both transparency and legitimacy. We only partner with broadcast quality, top-tier TV networks like CNN, Food Network, NBC, and ESPN, to name a few. Combined with the non-skippability feature, this packs a powerful punch.

• Living Room Quality: Premium networks and premium ads go hand in hand, which is why our platform has been built to support high-resolution ad assets, either 15 or 30 seconds long. In short, the whole TV advertising experience is amplified and ensures your content performs optimally when viewed in your living room. 

• Customized Reporting: There’s no point in having an effective ad if you can’t measure it. A more accurate representation is CPCV (Cost Per Completed View), which is the standard metric we use and averages $0.03 at MNTN. Our Performance TV solution is an analytics standard measure of powerhouse that is integrated with Google Analytics to give you network level reporting. Better yet, it allows you to customize your reporting and performance alongside your other digital marketing channels.

Final Thoughts on Video Advertising

While advertising with video is better than no advertising at all, Performance TV is the clear winner, yet again. Watch this space for our next battle blog post, where we take a look at how Performance TV compares to the OG of boxes, Linear TV.

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