With ad-supported content continuing to gain traction, streaming services are trying to evolve ads to better engage with digital audiences. Roku and Magna Media Trials found not only do consumers gravitate towards ads they find entertaining, but they also liked ads that helped them learn something new.
Asking consumers what would make them less likely to skip over TV ads, 60% said they would prefer more entertaining commercials, while 53% would like ads that offer value in return. Viewers were also more likely to tune into ads if they were relevant to the content they’re watching, offered new information or if they just “felt less like typical ads.”
Only 42% of consumers said they preferred fewer ads, which falls in line with an increasing acceptance towards ads in streaming.
To find out which kinds of ads would be considered the most interesting, Roku and Magna recruited 1,316 streaming TV viewers from an at-home panel and had them watch a TV show or movie of their choice. Programming was interspersed with both streaming-specific ads and traditional TV ads.
The companies tested three streaming-specific ad formats; the Thematic Tagged Vignette (ads relevant to a specific season), the Roku Original Premiere Tagged Vignette (ads referencing Roku original content being streamed) and Watch Along (ad breaks where brands sponsor discussion on a show or movie).
Kara Manatt, EVP and managing director of intelligence solutions at Magna, noted Watch Alongs were “one of the most memorable formats for viewers,” because the advertiser is supplying added value to the content they’re watching.
“In the current advertising environment, it is important to recognize that viewers can easily skip over advertising, but our study found they are less likely to do so if the ads are as entertaining as the programming and present a more enjoyable experience,” she said in a statement.
Watch Alongs provoked a nostalgic response from viewers. One respondent commented the ads reminded them of “the family movie night shows I watched growing up, while another said, “I enjoyed them and miss this format that was popular when I was growing up.”
The Watch Along format bolstered top-of-mind ad recall for brands by 66%, Roku and Magna found. Whereas traditional ads impacted that key performance indicator (KPI) by only 39%.
As for the other two formats, ads referencing Roku Originals drove up purchase intent for the brand by 10%, particularly for viewers who regularly watch the sponsored show’s genre. And most of the consumers (77%) who watched the thematic ads said the commercials “provided helpful information,” urging them to learn more by looking up the product.
Several players in the streaming space are experimenting with different types of ad formats, particularly ones that boost interactivity. Vizio recently partnered with Brightline to allow viewers to directly interact with brands and purchase products. Peacock is also dabbling with more personalized ad experiences, while also testing interactive features that unlock bonus content during a show.