If you are a publisher that hosts video content, be warned: consumers blame you for advertising interruptions. Recently CatapultX conducted a survey of consumers asking them about opinions on current video advertising models as well as new emerging models. Questions ranged from how they felt when interruptions took place to ad relevance were explored.

Most Users Know How Video Ad Targeting Works

That’s right, advertisers and publishers… they’re onto you.

Most respondents realized that they received advertising based on their demographic versus what topics they were watching. Also, they were often upset or annoyed that they had been placed “in a box” based on their age, location or gender. When asked how they would prefer ads to be targeted, 47.3% answered that they would prefer ads relating to what types of videos they are watching. Only 17.3% responded that they preferred ads related to demographics.

There are also plenty of times where demographic-based advertising doesn’t work. For example, one user said that they were using their phone for their children to watch Mr. Rogers and a horror movie trailer was shown. The user said that “parents shouldn’t have to worry about that when using a channel with ads.” Another described how they hated a certain fast food restaurant and within minutes that restaurant was showing up in pop-up ads in their feed.

Who Gets the Bad Wrap for Advertising?

Speaking of channels, 70.9% expressed annoyance with the site that they’re on when an ad interrupts their video. Surprisingly, only 31.8% responded that they disliked the product or advertiser, which is normally thought of within the industry, as who customers blame. For consumers 18–23-year-olds, a striking 86% believed that all advertising is deliberately lying to them.

How Can The Video Advertising Industry Be Fixed?

Multiple new ad formats were shared with the study such as a shoppable experience that allows users to continue watching their video. Of the respondents, 44.9% were favorable to a form of shoppable video experience would make video advertising more useful and intuitive. One respondent said “I want to see ads for clothing people are wearing in videos with the opportunity to buy pieces directly from within the video.”

It is no surprise that 90% responded that they would favor video ads that do not pause or interrupt their content. This is a reflection of the current technique of suddenly switching video from content to commercial that many times creates a jarring effect sense the user is not expecting it. Over the past 70 years, traditional television prepared the viewer for a commercial break with a fade-out and maybe some music so that the viewer understood a commercial was about to happen. However, the current interruption of content, sometimes in the middle of narration or right when it gets to the “good part”, creates strong feelings ranging from frustration to hatred toward the publisher first and second toward the advertiser. In our opinion, the opportunity for creating interest in any product that is being sold may be compromised in losing potential customer interactions, damage to brand loyalty, and simply wasting marketing funds.

Furthermore, 84.6% responded in-kind to ads that are hyper-contextual, meaning that they are directly related to the video that the user is watching. Certainly combining non-interruptive ads with a serving strategy that is hyper-contextual would be an enticing user-experience that CatapultX is advocating.

Interested in the full results from this research?

Download our Consumer Survey Results today — “The Perception of Video Advertising in 2020.”

As a new startup creating a buzz in the digital advertising exchange world, CatapultX is changing the way advertisers reach their audience through engaging them with intuitive, content-specific placements. As our work continues to gather research and increase industry steam, it will require both advertisers and publishers to create an advertising experience that addresses the “why” instead of just the “where” to provide a better user experience for all.

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