Commercials bought in premium content are more likely to engage the consumer and be viewed all the way through, according to a new paper from the FreeWheel Council.
The council was formed by Comcast-owned FreeWheel, which provides technology for video-on-demand and several programmers, including ABC, A+E Networks, Discovery Communications, ESPN, Fox, NBCUniversal, Turner Broadcasting System and Univision Communications.
According to the paper, almost 70% of ads delivered in premium environments are both viewable for two seconds and in-view and audible on completion, whereas only 32% of impressions achieve that.
"Premium video's differentiation demands that it be considered as a distinct and unique media channel," said James Rooke, chief revenue officer, FreeWheel and FreeWheel Council for Premium Video Executive Board member. "We believe premium video delivers truly engaged audiences in environments that create positive brand associations for advertisers."
The white paper features data from a new FWC study conducted in partnership with independent marketing analytics and intelligence firm Moat.
"Viewership of TV content on new platforms is a growing opportunity, yet advertising budgets have not followed viewers there as quickly," said Pooja Midha, senior VP, digital ad sales and operations, ABC. "To realize the full value of premium video, there are major measurement challenges that must be addressed. At the same time, as buyers and sellers we can also help by streamlining how we transact premium video. If we do this together, everyone wins. Creating a common understanding of those dynamics between both sides is the first step."
By providing targetable and quantifiably real viewers across multiple screens, premium video protects advertisers against the risks inherent in lower-tier audience-only/audience anywhere models, the paper says.
Some advertisers are buying the premium-video pitch.
"We are now really prioritizing premium video, and it's not a pricing decision," said Lou Paskalis, senior VP and enterprise media executive for Bank of America. "It's not a return-on-sale decision. It's actually, in our lexicon, a return-on-relationship decision, which is an amalgam of internal considerations that really look at brand relevancy, brand saliency, and ultimately those impacts on business outcomes."
