Online video viewers might prefer shorter ads (or even no ads at all), but longer ads are still more effective, according to Frames Of Reference, a study from the Online Publishers Association claims. Measuring a variety of ads, including packaged goods, financial services, airlines and pharmaceuticals, 96 combinations of visuals were tested for how they impact advertising and brand metrics. The four ad attributes were: length (15 vs. 30 sec.); placement (pre-roll and post-roll); companion ad (with/without); and, advertising type (original online vs. repurposed TV).

Looking at those attributes, 30-second ads were dominant. In terms of ad relevance, 30-second ads outpaced 15s, providing 30 percent more lift. The longer ads also raised “brand consideration” by 23 percent. The study was conducted with consumer researcher OTX and was based on surveying 1,422 online video users. Other findings included:

-- Online video ads work: Of the 80 percent of viewers that have watched a video ad online, 52 percent have taken some sort of action, whether it’s checking out a website (31 percent), searching for additional information (22 percent), going into a store (15 percent), or making a purchase (12 percent). Also, visitors to media sites (magazine, newspaper, cable, broadcast and pure-play) said they were more inclined to take action after viewing a video ad than visitors to portals and user generated content sites.

-- News beats humor: Looking strictly at online content, humor appears ubiquitous, the report found that news/current events was most popular, with 14 percent of respondents watching daily). Weather ranked second (11 percent watch daily), followed by jokes/funny clips (9 percent watch daily).

-- Halo effect: If a consumer has a prior brand affinity toward an advertised brand and they liked the adjacent video content, brand consideration jumped 61 percent. If the consumer’s initial attitude toward the brand was neutral or negative, brand consideration still rose 21 percent if they liked the video content.

-- Companions help: Ads that are related tend to be viewed as complimentary rather than redundant. The combination of a pre-roll and a companion ad were seen to be most effective than stand alone messages. Release