YouTube Introduces New Ad Formats

The Google-owned video sharing network has announced the latest update to its video advertising content, with plans to roll out ‘Ad Pods’ to all devices over the next few months.

The new ad delivery experience will see two skippable pre-roll or mid-roll ads stream, one after the other. The feature is currently being tested on desktops, but YouTube says it’s also working on rolling this new advertising feature out on mobile devices and connected TVs as well.

YouTube introduces ‘Ad Pods.’

According to Khushbu Rathi, Google’s product manager of video ads, the new ad format has been designed to capitalise on new trends in user experiences.

“[We’ve] learned that fewer interruptions are correlated with better user metrics, including less abandonment of content and higher rates of ad viewing. To respond to this, we will begin testing ad pods – two ads stacked back to back, where viewers have the option to skip directly to the content if it’s not the right ad for them,” he wrote in a post on the Google Ads Blog.

Google’s early experiments on viewer engagement have reportedly revealed that by showing users two ads in a row, they’re less likely to be interrupted by ads later. “Those users will experience up to 40 percent fewer interruptions by ads in the session. Early results also show an eight to 11 percent increase in unique reach and a five to 10 percent increase in frequency for advertisers, with no impact to Brand Lift metrics,” Rathi said.

YouTube believes its Ad Pods will give viewers fewer interruptions, which will result in improved user metrics like lower rates of abandonment and higher rates of ad viewing. According to Rathi, the updated ad format will accommodate viewer preferences, while also helping advertisers connect to their preferred audiences.

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