Sometimes you need to run advertising. And sometimes you want that little extra edge when you run that advertising. This can extend not only to how often you are advertising but additionally to what platform and what medium. While the latter two often go hand-in-hand, especially when answering their own questions; they can make a huge impact on the style and nature of your content. This is where preroll ads can come in. But what are preroll ads and how can they help?
What Are Preroll Ads?
Preroll ads are advertisements that come before videos on the internet. This is as opposed to midroll and post-roll ads. Respectively played at the middle and end junctions of a video. You can think of these as the television commercials of the internet. They are nearly as annoying with preroll ads being expeditiously infamous.
Most commonly associated with the platform YouTube preroll ads are often partnered with creators who can choose from a selection of ads typically deemed “associative” with the video’s content.
Given the nature of internet video consumption, preroll ads are the most likely to be seen, with a decreasing likelihood of user viewing with each further placement in the video. This is important because the location in the video timeline is reliant on the video itself retention. The key takeaway being you should opt for preroll advertisement as opposed to mid-roll or post-roll options.
How Long Are They?
Additionally, preroll ads are only several seconds long – 5, 15, or 30. This is due to the fact that internet videos are typically only several minutes in length. When structuring a preroll ad it is important to keep this in mind. Preroll ads need to be punchy. This can be accomplished with an excellent call to action and a simple but nonetheless memorable soundscape and imagery.
Many platforms, in particular YouTube – the world’s second-largest search engine, offer a skip button as a potential obstacle. This increases the necessity of the preroll’s hook. Which again can alter the construction of your ad. In instances like this, it can be important to open very strongly, targeting the essentials.
- Creating Intrigue
- Building Allure
- Entertaining
While one can build credibility that is done over time. Something that a preroll ad simply has very little of. Taking a holistically ‘pathos’ approach in this involuntary, short-term content is a much more effective object to venture toward.
Execution
As far as actual execution, it would be key to keep budget and once again – timing in mind while constructing these advertisements and allocating their allotted funds. However, some save costs by simply reusing television commercials. With the proper editing, this can be a huge benefit. Especially considering the costs involved in figuring out new filming costs and administrative set-ups.
Most of all, it is important to remember the scaling and emotional efficiency advertisements like these need to have. By hitting the memorable, higher-impact moments you can easily increase viewer attention and proliferate generally higher, name-brand awareness.
