Completion rates for online video unveiled in new study by Coull
London – Videos featuring cars are most likely to engage UK online video audiences, with 61 per cent of viewers watching to the end. Animal and pets also enjoy a high completion rate with almost half of viewers (49 per cent) staying the course.
That’s according to data released by Coull, a provider of video monetisation technology, following analysis of 12 million videos plays.
People and blogs (52 per cent) and travel and events (51 per cent) were also found to hold viewers’ attentions well. However, music was named as one of the least engaging, with just one in three viewers likely to make it through to the end. Sport videos and politics and news videos enjoy just a 43 per cent completion rate.
Globally though, Brits are more engaged than other nations. Coull’s study found that on average, 41per cent of online videos watched by Brits are watched to the end compared to just 18 per cent in Russia and 20 per cent in Japan. The US and South Africa lead the way, with almost half of all online videos watched all the way through.
For those who do drop out, the most common point to switch off (globally) is in the first quarter of the video.
Irfon Watkins, CEO at Coull, commented on the significance of the findings: “For online video publishers and brands alike, completion rates are an important metric, revealing what video content engages viewers the most.”
“Video advertising has exploded in recent years with further growth expected over the next twelve months. But with premium pre-roll inventory scarce, publishers must unlock additional revenue streams that will also prove an attractive proposition for brands – such as in-video advertising or post-roll.”
“Strong completion rates show engagement. If publishers can identify their most valuable inventory and make it available via new ad formats with contextual content-level targeting, they’ll be able to provide a highly effective advertising model for brands while increasing their own revenue simply through more effective monetisation of existing inventory.”
Coull’s data also unveiled an interesting trend in sports videos. A staggering 75 per cent of viewers remain engaged a quarter into the films, dipping slightly to 62 per cent at the half way point. However, the videos then tend to experience a sharp drop off after this point, with just 43 per cent still watching the video at the end.
Watkins commented: “The most lucrative event in sports advertising – the football World Cup – has now kicked off. With millions of pounds being allocated to TV advertising during coverage, online sports publishers should be looking at ways to give brands new opportunities to augment their TV ad spend online. One way is by providing access to inventory where video viewers are demonstrably engaged in category-specific content such as football highlights, previews and related coverage.”
Methodology
The information above is based on analysis of 12.4m video plays across 60 countries from Coull’s global video network during May 2014.
