Most Likely to Click on an Online Video Ad in Q3? The 65+ Demo

October 21, 2013

Videology-Online-Video-Ad-Performance-by-Age-Group-in-Q3-Oct2013Slightly fewer than 1 in 8 online video ads in the US were targeted towards the 65+ crowd during Q3, according to Videology’s latest quarterly report [download page] on its platform’s activity. Interestingly, among the various age groups, this demo proved the most likely to click on a video ad, with an index of 103.3, slightly above the index score for 18-24-year-olds (102.1). Even on what some argue to be a more important metric – video completion rates – the older group held up well.

With a view completion rate index of 100.6, the 65+ crowd tied with the 55-64 group and kept pace with 18-24-year-olds (100.7).

A plurality 23% of ads targeted the 45-54 audience, although these viewers proved the least likely on average to click on an ad (index of 97.8), while being right on average in terms of completion rates. The next-most targeted demo, 35-44-year-olds (22% share of ads) were slightly more likely to click on an ad (index of 100.7) but less likely to complete one (99.1).

It’s important to remember that the data is limited to Videology’s platform, and may not be representative of the entire online video viewing population. However, they suggest that older Americans are a viable target for online video advertisers.

For the quarter, 31% of ads were targeted to viewers aged 55 and up, an increase from 28% during the second quarter.

The study also provides other completion and click-through rate breakdowns:

  • View completion rate was highest on a relative basis for charity ads (index of 112.7) and lowest for retail ads (99.7);
  • Charity ads also enjoyed the highest click-through rates (132.7) with consumer electronics (92.4) ads faring the worst of the 16 industries tracked;
  • View completion rates were significantly lower for 30 second ads (index of 94.8) than for 15 second ads (108.1), though click-through rates were higher for the former (105.8 vs. 91.1);
  • Click-through rates indexed far higher than average on mobile devices (211.6), a finding that tracks with recent research from Unruly, although completion rates were below-average (index of 77.1) on mobiles;
  • Among the various content genres examined, click-through rates were easily the highest for movies (302.6), while view completion rates were highest for sports (109.2).

In other results, entertainment websites hosted the lion’s share of impressions (54%) again, with news and information (15%) sites next. The most active advertising vertical was CPG, which accounted for 36% of total impressions, followed by auto (14%), retail (11%) and restaurants (8%).

Video advertisers continue to become more sophisticated in their targeting, according to the researchers, citing a 19% increase in the share of advanced ads quarter-over-quarter. Behavioral targeting was most common during the quarter (54%), followed by geo-targeting (38%) and day-part (8%).

Total online video ads served increased by 14% quarter-over-quarter (more on online video ad trends here). Connected TV ad impressions increased by 27% quarter-over-quarter, but remained at just 1% share of total impressions.

Finally, a majority 61% of ads were 30-seconds long. Unlike data from FreeWheel showing an increase in 30-second ads, the Videology report indicates that 15-second ads saw the largest quarter-over-quarter increase, of 25%.

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