Pre-roll ads that play in front of videos generate distracted suppression instead of focused attention, according to research done by Neurofocus, a year-old Berkeley, CA neuroscience research firm.
“That’s what you get when you’re anxiously waiting for something to upload,” said Dr. A.K. Pradeep, Neurofocus president and founder, who provided iSPOT with an array of fascinating research findings specifically geared to broadband video ads.
Advertisers and agencies will not be happy to hear that pre-roll ads fail in the three major branding metric areas: attention, emotional engagement and memory retention. The problem is that the ads play in front of desired content, so the viewer isn’t really paying attention to them. “The viewer is wishing what he sees in front of him will end soon so he can get what he wants very quickly,” Dr. Pradeep said.
The company tested pre-rolls against streaming video banner ads and found the banners worked best in generating emotional engagement because “the willingness of the mind to engage while it is impatiently waiting for something to show up is lower,” Dr. Pradeep said. He also said memory retention is lower when a viewer isn’t emotionally engaged.
When Neurofocus studies a broadband video campaign, “we grab their ads and target demographics and find out how they want to showcase the ad,” Dr. Pradeep said. “We study the placement of the ad on the page and what occurs before and after it appears. We determine whether the user has requested to see it or whether they’re watching the ad while they’re waiting to see something else.”
The company monitors brain waves and performs eye tracking and galvanic skin response in its research, because even the skin responds to changes based on feelings in the brain, Dr. Pradeep said.
“One pre-roll video spot generates about a billion data points and we convert them into insights,” he said.
The company doesn’t conduct broad focus groups like many research groups, but bases its research on 15 to 20 subjects, because the brainwave analysis of a small group is “consistent with results,” Dr. Pradeep said.
Neurofocus research is used by advertisers and agencies. “We were hesitant about approaching agencies,” Dr. Pradeep said, “but we are finding that they are very excited and intrigued about how they can gain a competitive edge on behalf of their customers.” The company met with agencies and other advertising professionals at the recent Adtech show in New York.
Neurofocus research certainly won’t stop advertisers from using pre-rolls, but it might make them reduce their expectations. “Advertisers believe they’ll get mileage before the user requested video shows up, but we don’t think they’re getting the point,” Dr. Pradeep said.
Director Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love)” Wins Top Prize At The Berlin Film Festival
A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to "Dreams (Sex Love)" by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a "meditation on love" that "cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence."
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It's the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. "Sex" premiered at Berlin in 2024, and "Love" was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro's dystopian drama "The Blue Trail." Argentine director Ivan Fund's rural saga "The Message" won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for "Living the Land," set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed "If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You." Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater's "Blue Moon."
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany's parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country's economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the... Read More