Do your clients know that advertising-​based video on demand (AVOD) is projected to grow this year? Consumers are enjoying more content in this format, but platform owners must be careful not to turn them off by loading too many ads into the programming. Here’s how to convince your clients to buy on AVOD.

Convince Your Clients to Buy on AVOD

Your clients might not get the difference between AVOD and SVOD, so you’ll need to educate them. As part of this process, let them know that 25% of online consumers watch a blend of AVOD and SVOD. This situation is a great opportunity for you to sell ad space to clients whose target customers watch AVOD content.

According to Variety, by age group, consumers spend plenty of time watching AVOD content on a weekly basis. 

• 18–29 (4.1 hours)
• 30 ‑44 (3.2 hours)
• 45–60 (2.5 hours)
• Over age 60 (2.1 hours)

What else do we know about these consumers? They “tend to be older and less affluent than their SVOD counterparts,” according to Deloitte data reported by Mediapost. The fastest growing audience for AVOD is the age 55–64 group. However, 64% of millennials and Gen Z consumers watch these platforms. 

The bottom line is paying for multiple subscriptions gets expensive. Consumers frequently sign up for a SVOD service to watch a specific show and then cancel when the show ends. With AVOD, they don’t have to worry about costs.

2022 AVOD To Grow

The ad revenue from these formats is quickly growing. Specifically, businesses will spend $11.2 billion, up from $7.8 billion last year, on TV ads on AVOD platforms. Part of this huge increase will come from political candidates and organizations hoping to influence voters on important issues.  Who is advertising? Last year, marketing in the media and entertainment industries bought $573 million in AVOD ad space. Retailers bought up another $325 million. In 2021, Amazon, Capital One, Verizon, and Geico were national advertisers. The four leading platforms, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and Tubi score a significant percentage of this revenue, according to Kantar.

How Platforms Can Compete for the Viewing Audience

As you sell advertising, you must reassure your clients that their message will reach their target audience. And they'll want to know your platform is delivering an enjoyable experience for viewers. Consumers have indicated their willingness to watch ads in exchange for free content. But they don’t appreciate frequent ad breaks and ads that are repeated many times during a program. 

Analysts recommend alleviating the situation by providing a countdown on the screen to show when ads will end. And there’s a traditional way to encourage consumers to appreciate the ad: increase the element of humor. In addition, be mindful of the overall ad load. Some streaming platforms have promised a lower ad load than consumers might encounter on traditional TV. Analysts point out that some channels average about seven minutes per hour versus 14 minutes for traditional TV. In their quest for viewer attention, some platforms are going as low as three minutes per hour but profitability is likely squeezed under those conditions. The appeal of these formats for many marketers is that programmatic is a part of AVOD that “allows marketers direct access to the exact demographic that they are targeting.”

AVOD continues to offer the ability to experiment with what consumers respond to. Factors include just one pre-​roll at the start of content or additional mid-​roll ads. In addition, platform owners are trying to determine the right balance of local/​regional versus national advertising on these platforms. 

2022 will be the year platform providers, media sellers and consumers learn about AVOD and whether 15- or 30-​second messages delivered as pre-​roll or mid-​roll work best. You can convince your clients to buy AVOD if you educate them on the benefits. To learn more about how to target specific consumers, check out their AudienceSCAN profiles at AdMall by SalesFuel.

Photo by JESHOOTS​.com from Pexels