AOL has introduced five new video ad formats to its video properties, including preroll ads that users can skip if they respond to a poll from the advertiser. The media firm says the new formats are all designed to make its preroll ads more interactive and engaging.
The new formats range from an interactive end-frame that caps off an ad, to an overlay banner that expands into a content-rich microsite. (Check out the examples below.)
AOL says it will offer the ads on AOL On, the video hub that hosts video content for its owned properties Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget, as well as its original online video series. The formats will also be available for third-party publishers in AOL’s network to add to their sites.
The new ad formats align with AOL’s strategy to increase the value of its inventory by providing unique, engagement-heavy ad formats. In display and mobile, it has come up with a number of proprietary rich media formats like the Devil and homescreen Video Wall to give advertisers better ways to reach its audience. The new video formats expand that functionality into preroll, which is seeing growing demand from advertisers.
Advertisers can buy the new interactive inventory through AOL’s One platform. According to a release, Havas will be the first agency to access the format.
Here’s what each of the new formats look like:
Branded Skip: Users have the option to watch the video or skip it. If they skip, they’re directed to a form where the advertiser can ask for feedback.
Linear Expandable: a banner that expands to an interactive microsite experience.
Linear Modules: a set of floating icons that support modular features, similar to YouTube’s floating labels and captions.
Linear Sequence: an interactive end-frame at the end of an ad video.
Branded Slate: A 7-second interactive slate that runs before video content.
