With Google looking to abolish 30-second unskippable pre-roll video ads next year, and Facebook vowing that this format has no place on its platform, pre-roll formats have come under the spotlight recently.
As our data makes clear, for brands looking to tap into the explosion in online video, context is key. 17% of Online TV Watchers say they use ad-blocking software to avoid pre-roll video ads. Nevertheless, 3 in 10 of these ad-blockers state that they have watched a branded video in the past month, showing that less intrusive and more native formats, like outstream or social video, have a key role to play.
This is especially true for those at the forefront of the online video explosion – 16-24s – who are the most averse to pre-roll formats; it’s these younger users who are also most likely to be watching branded videos.
