OPA Video Study: Do You Buy It?

This MediaPost article discusses some of the findings of a new Online Publishers Assn. video study “Frames of Reference.” Here are selected excerpts from the release (emphasis mine):

• In two of the four advertising and brand metrics measured, ad length was the leading factor driving lift. And with each, 30 second ads outpaced 15s: ad relevance (30% lift using 30s) and brand consideration (23% lift using 30s).
• [T]he leading video content category is news/current events (14% watch daily). Weather ranks second (11% watch daily), followed by jokes /funny clips (9% watch daily).
• Of the 80% of viewers that have watched a video ad online, 52% have taken some sort of action, whether it’s checking out a website (31%), searching for more info (22%), going into a store (15%), or actually making a purchase (12%).
• Of consumers who made a purchase in the last month, 48% said the Internet drove initial awareness, 57% said they learned more using the Internet, 55% used the Internet to decide where to buy, and 56% made the final purchase decision using the Internet. Word of Mouth, which also has strong Web components, was second in importance — however the Internet outpaced all others by at least 50%.

There are very interesting data here, though I haven’t read the full report. But I’m confused by the finding that 30 second pre-roll performed better than shorter ads. On one level, this makes sense — more information equals greater recall. But, fundamentally, people don’t like random ads interrupting content.

I and others I know simply stop watching streams if ads appear before them unless there’s some really compelling reason to do so. As empirical support I’ll cite the Harris Poll about hypothetical pre-roll ads on YouTube:

When asked if the inclusion of short commercials before every clip would change how often they will visit YouTube, nearly three-quarters of adults who frequently visit the site say they would visit it a lot (31%) or a little (42%) less often as a result.