What’s a Pre-Roll and Why Should You Care?

Into this wonderful new age of digital communications, a new term has been birthed.  Pre-roll.

It’s that wonderful little piece of video advertising you get to watch before you can view the video you really want to see  — be it on YouTube, Hulu or elsewhere.  I’m betting over the course of time Richter7 will be doing more and more of such animals for our clients.

The research I’ve seen in trade journals indicates that viewers despise 30-second pre-roll ads – just like most abhor TV spots, except perhaps during the Super Bowl.  Even 15-second pre-roll ads are judged as only slightly less annoying.  ADWEEK reported a 2009 study from MTV that found a 5-second pre-roll spot combined with a 10-second, lower-third overlay is the most effective and audience-friendly advertising for Web video.

With increasing frequency, we’ll have to produce highly impactful 10-second (or less) spots.  That’s my bet.  And that may be even more challenging than creating a billboard – something I’ve always felt is the ultimate creative test – simply because video involves more elements.  The advice I’ve read is to open with a 5-second pre-roll spot that can stand alone, and follow the content with a 5-second post-roll spot that completes the thought and sticks with people.

Food for thought as we dig deeper into the digital ad world.