So, are you so over that pre-roll ad one sees when accessing streaming audio on one major platform? Perhaps data from a “Viewer Experience Lab” initiative released in partnership by FreeWheel and MediaScience is of importance to both the agency who create the spot, and the media company in control of what’s shown and how often it appears.
The report from FreeWheel and MediaScience, “Improving the Quality of Ad Experiences,” offers this top finding — there was no change in how much viewers enjoyed a program when there were ads present, versus when there were no ads present.
For those building free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels or actively engaged in advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms, that’s further evidence subscription fatigue has set in with consumers.
That said, there are a variety of factors that contribute to “a low-quality ad experience.”
FreeWheel General Manager Mark McKee comments, “The good news for advertisers is that contrary to what some may think, research found that ads themselves don’t actually impact program enjoyment for consumers. However, what does bother them is bad ad experiences.”
For McKee, the content of the ad isn’t tied to the “bad ad experiences.” Rather, he looks at it from a tech lens, and points to latency, “unnatural ad breaks,” and “slate,” which negatively impact brand perception and recall.
McKee continues, “It is our responsibility as an industry to work towards building better viewer experiences, which in turn will help brands connect with audiences in
premium environments. We need to get this right not just for the advertisers, but for all of us as viewers.”
The study, available by clicking here, shows that latency bothers nearly 80% of viewers and negatively impacts the perceived quality of the program, ads, and brands.
At the same time, moments when an ad appears at a time in the content that feels disruptive are troublesome, with 71% of viewers bothered by unnatural ad breaks. This leads to higher ad intrusiveness (16%) and decreased brand recall (14%).
While viewers are less bothered by slates (33%), FreeWheel and MediaScience found that their physiological response to the content indicates they experience “less joy” compared to a program with no slates. In addition, slates negatively impact perceived quality of surrounding ads (-3%).
For the study, viewers participated in an in-lab viewing session where they were shown 30-minute programming on a blinded streaming service with varied ad experiences, including no ads, latency, slate, and disruptive ad breaks compared to a control cell with limited ad breaks in a seamless viewing experience.
“With the premium video content and advertising ecosystem rapidly evolving, brands are struggling to break through the clutter and get their message in front of audiences in a meaningful way,” said Dr. Duane Varan, CEO, MediaScience. “On top of that, ads are showing up across multiple apps and platforms without any adjustments, resulting in less-than-optimal execution.”
Thus, while an ad’s content may be detrimental to the viewing experience of some, the bigger takeaway here may be when to place it — ensuring total consumer time with your media is maximized as much as possible.
