Commentary
70% of Online Video Ad Viewers Visit Site or Buy
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 17, 2011
According to a Burst Media survey of online U.S. adults aged 18 or older, 71.6% of web users overall watch online video content in a typical week, and 39.0% of all viewers spend between one and five hours per week with online video. Men aged 18-34 are the heaviest consumers of online video content, with 19.7% saying they consume 10 or more hours of video on the web per week.
39.1% of viewers say they typically watch full-length television shows, movies and/or sporting events on the Internet. 25.5% of online viewers watch news, sports and entertainment highlights of regular television programming online, and 49.7% say they also watch user-generated content.
Comedy is the most popular form of online video content among all viewers (38.8%), followed by news (33.3%) and music (31.2%). However, there are some dramatic differences between what men and women typically watch online:
- Women are more likely than men to watch educational videos (31.2% vs. 24.5%) and drama (24.7% vs. 13.9%)
- Men are more likely than women to watch sports (31.2% vs. 8.2%) and animation/cartoons (22.0% vs. 11.3%)
Compared to standard display media on the web, viewers are more likely to interact and engage with online video. 24.1% of men aged 35-54 say they have taken an action, as have 22.1% of women aged 35-54. Men aged 55 or older are the most likely group to take an action after viewing an online video ad.
And, eMarketer notes that the number of viewers over 65 is expected to nearly double between 2011 and 2015, and the number of older boomers watching video online will increase by double-digit percentages through 2014, adding millions to online video advertisers’ responsive audiences.
US Online Video Viewers Visiting Site or Purchasing After Viewing Online Video Ad (% of Respondents by Group) | ||
| % Group Respondents Taking Action | |
Age Group | Male | Female |
18-34 | 9.2% | 14.5% |
35-54 | 24.1 | 22.1 |
55+ | 26.3 | 19.1 |
Source: Burst Media, November 2011 | ||
Interestingly, 80.8% online video viewers say they also use the Internet while they are watching television. 49.0%)say they either always or often surf the web while watching, and only 14.3% say they never go online while watching television.
Online Video Viewers Using Internet While Watching TV (% of Respondents) | |
Frequency of Use | % of Respondents |
Always | 15.3% |
Often | 33.7 |
Sometimes | 20.5 |
Rarely | 11.3 |
Never | 14.3 |
NA | 4.8 |
Source: Burst Media, November 2011 | |
Burst Media Marketing Director, Mark Kaefer, says "Web publishers... could benefit from incorporating video content into their sites... to align their messaging with content...”
For additional information, please visit Burst Media here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.
With such as larger percentage of consumers watching TV and surfing the Internet at the same time, marketers need to take advantage of having these two touch-points to promote their brand to interested consumers. We recently did an analysis of a company that has taken advantage of this trend by promoting its brand through an online social platform that connects fans of popular TV shows. You can check out this post blog at: http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=6428
What does the headline have to do with this article? Nowhere is the 70% referenced. At best, I'd guess the % for this survey would be in the high teens/low 20's.
Who writes these headlines? Better yet, is anyone proofing them?
@Dave is right-on. This headline is flat out wrong. Reading everything I can find of the survey, even the sponsor's (Burst Media) headline is different. They say "BURST MEDIA SURVEY REVEALS 7-IN-10 WEB USERS WATCH ONLINE VIDEO CONTENT IN A TYPICAL WEEK".
Big difference between "watch" and "visit web sites as a result".
Truth is, I'm quite skeptical of these results. Self-reporting of hourse/lengths of time on media consumption is EXTREMELY unreliable.
Given that Burst has an agenda here (to show online video as a happening thing), I think the entire study should be considered suspect.
Sad that MediaPost gave it more credit than it deserves by making it a "research brief".
@Dave/@Doug: Good eyes! I think it's unfortunate that they've lumped "purchase" with "visit website" when it comes to video as well. While both are a form of conversion, there's a difference between the two.
There was a similar article about rich media and mobile -- a focus on high click-through rates without considering that the conversion rate is what was really important.