Digital video advertising is growing like anything today. Advertisers believe healthy ads can make a genuine impression with the right audience, and the video marketing stats testify. Ninety percent of users claim that watching a video of a product helps them make a decision to buy it online.
That is why most savvy business marketers are investing extravagantly in video ads, which has skyrocketed their marketing strategy for good reasons. While there are many different types of video ads in the industry, instream video and banner video ads lead.
But before you decide which one's the right for you, it's essential to understand the different resource and technology specifications of the two ads. Lucky for you, this article will talk about the pros and help you differentiate between the popular instream ads and in-banner video ads.
Part 1. What is In-Stream Video Ads?
Instream ads are a good choice to cash in on a video. These advertisements are played before, during, or after a streaming video content a user intended to watch. Since these ads can pop-up uninvited in a live stream, most users complain about them being distractive. For this very reason, in-instream video ads that are typically just 15-30 seconds long, the recent formats have increased the user experience by adding a "Skip this ad" button.
This button gives users a sense of power and freedom to skip the ad or watch it till the end, making these ads more potent. However, skippable ads can be effective only if they are related to the original video content or fascinating enough to grab user attention within the first five seconds of the video. The pricing basis for In-stream video ads is CMV or CPV (Cost Per View). For CPV, advertisers pay for complete views on the video or mouse actions over the call-to-action overlays consumers take. Even though these are slightly vulnerable to the ad-blockers, Instream videos are still a reliable advertising system.
Types of In-Stream Video Ads
Instream video ads are typically linear or nonlinear formats, either of which can include a companion banner ad.
1. Linear Ads
Linear ads are the most common format used for Instream videos. They are named "linear" because they are played in-line, interrupting the original video content. They also take up the entire video player screen. Here are the three forms of linear video ads:
- Pre-roll ads: played before the streaming video
- Mid-roll ads: like TV commercial, they are shown once or several times during the video
- Post-roll ads: displayed after the video ends when a user is waiting for the next video to play.
2.Nonlinear Ads
The video ads are aired without discontinuing the streaming video. Often referred to as "Overlay video ads," nonlinear ads appear as an inviting image, text, or video in a small portion of the video played space. If the ad is quite engaging, a user might click on the ad, which pauses the original video until the ad is finished. Users can also choose to ignore the ad, in which case the ad may disappear, minimize, or stay as it is on the screen.
3. Companion Ads
A linear or nonlinear video ad may be accompanied by a companion banner ad with distinct size and format. Companion ads stream together with the video content, with a primary goal of brand visibility. They are not just videos but can also be text or rich images.
Part 2. What is In-Stream Video Ads?
In contrast to In-stream video ads, in-banner video ads are in-page, in-feed GIFs or videos without sound that are embedded in display banner slots on a webpage. The majority of these ads are placed in 300×250 pixel and unit size, while some also follow other IAB standard banner sizes that are 728×90 or 160×600.
The in-banner video ad appears as a screenshot image of the video with a two-three lined description. Upon activating, they expand to a large panel or redirect the user to a domain where the actual video ad is hosted. While in banner video ads are an innovative way to increase advertising turnover, advertisers are still waiting to use this new system.
Types of In-Banner Video Ads
1. Click to Play: This in-banner ad is displayed as a static image, usually a screenshot of the video, which starts playing once triggered.
2. Hover to Play: As soon as the mouse hovers over the video, it starts playing.
3. Autoplay with No Sound: This type does not require a player. It starts playing once the window opens, catching the users off-guard.
Part 3. The Difference Between The Two Video Ads
Benefits of In-Stream Video Ads
1. Maximum User Engagement: In-stream video ads are a popular advertising format for brand awareness campaigns. With the right placement (preferably mid-roll), they can increase user experience by providing excellent reach to the relevant audience.
2. Cost Effective: Owing to the CPV pricing model, In-stream video ads, views can cost only a few cents each. More importantly, the advertisers only pay for the complete views, which means that if a user skipped the video early, they could reduce the advertisement's payment. This makes Instream video advertisement quite affordable.
3. Flexible: Yes, they are intrusive, but with the advanced option of skipping the ad, Instream videos have proved flexible and thus earned user compliance.
Benefits of In-Banner Video Ads
1. Visitor Experience: The major benefit of an in-banner video ad is that they are less disruptive. They appear on a sidebar without interrupting the visitor experience. Moreover, they also increase user compliance since people are used to seeing banners on websites.
2. Affordable: With a traditional PPC (Pay-per-click) pricing model, In-banner ads are cheaper. PPC offers advertisers handy monetization, which means they only have to pay when a user clicks on the advertisement preview.
3. Lengthy Videos: Unlike instream ads, which are limited in size, In-banner videos can have up to 500 MB. Still unsure about which of these two ads will work for you? Let us help you choose.
How To Choose The Right One for Your Video Ads
When it comes to choosing the video ad for a brand, selecting the "right" one can be overwhelming. At the same time, a wrong one might even harm your product campaign. However, it all depends on your digital marketing budget as well as the audience you are trying to reach.
- 1. Say your brand needs acknowledgment and recognition within the audience, you should try In-banner video ads.
- 2. Are you on a budget for your digital advertising campaign? In-banner will again save you.
- 3. On the other hand, if your goal is to maximize product visibility, brand awareness, or engagement, In-stream videos will be a great choice.
- 4. Opt for In-stream linear mid-roll ads if you want to boost engagement.
Part 4. Recommends A Useful Video Ads Maker
Are you ready to influence your audience and reach the marketing goals? A creative video ads maker is what you need. One such useful video ad maker Wondershare VidAir. VidAir is designed with a pleasing interface, offering a suite of powerful video editing tools that will help you create eye-catching ads. It offers pre-themed templates, royalty-free stock images, stickers, and fancy texts to save you time and effort to design a captivating video. Furthermore, it also provides a vast music library to explore or add a custom song to your video ad.
How to Make a Video with VidAir
Once you have decided on the best video ad format and the video ad maker, it's time to bring your imagination to reality. Here we have a quick tutorial on how to make a video ad with VidAir.
Step 1 Sign Up and Choose A Template
Launch VidAir on your browser. After signing up for free, explore the template library. Choose a template that best fits your ad theme. Select an aspect ratio and then hit Use This Template.
Step 2 Edit to Create Instream Ads or In-Banner Video Ads
On the editing panel, customize your video with fancy texts, magnetic elements, or beautiful images. To draw attention, add a piece of cheerful background music to your ad.
Step 3 Save and Export
After all the edits are done, save your video. Click on Export on the top-right corner, choose the resolution you want, and again click Export.
We say make digital video advertisement a priority in your marketing strategy. A well-executed and customized video ad can be a win for your business campaign. Whether you opt for an instream video ad or in banner video ads depends on your business requirements. Besides choosing the right video ad format for your brand, make sure your ad has a clear message that reaches the relevant audience. Now that you know the power of video advertisement, what are you waiting for? Hop on to Wondershare VidAir and start crafting a fascinating video ad to boost user engagement.
