One of the first decisions publishers must make when getting into digital video advertising is which types of ads they want to monetize with. Most video ad networks offer dozens of video ad formats, but not all of them are born equal. The two formats publishers find the most success with are instream and outstream video ads.
Instream and outstream video ads have been the backbone of most digital publishers’ monetization strategies for years. These ad formats have been around since the early days of online video advertising, and they’ve proven to be more engaging than rich media ads or traditional display advertising. That’s why many advertisers are ready to pay premium prices for them.
Despite being one of the oldest video ad formats on the market, instream and outstream video ads are as popular as ever. A recent IAB Europe survey perfectly illustrates that:
- More than 65% of advertisers spend 40%–100% of their advertising budgets on instream video ads.
- Advertisers started spending more money on outstream video ads than banner ads in 2022.
But how do publishers choose between these two formats? Which of them is better? Can publishers use both? What’s the easiest way to monetize with instream and outstream video ads? We’ll answer all of these and similar questions in this article.
But let’s start by looking at what instream and outstream video ads are and how they work.
- What Are Instream Video Ads?
- Types of Instream Video Ads
- Pros and Cons of Instream Video Ads
- What Are Outstream Video Ads?
- Types of Outstream Video Ads
- Pros and Cons of Outstream Video Ads
- Instream vs. Outstream Video Ads — Which Are Better?
- What Lies in the Future of Instream and Outstream Video Ads?
- Start With Instream and Outstream Video Ads at Brid.TV
What Are Instream Video Ads?
Instream video ads are video ads that interrupt an ongoing video stream to appear before, during, or after watching a video. If you’ve ever watched a video online, you’ve surely seen these on video-sharing platforms like YouTube or your favorite news outlets.
Instream video ads are usually 15–30 seconds long but can be as short as five seconds. They often come with a “skip ad” button that appears after a few seconds for the best user experience. This option is fully customizable on the publisher’s end.
Over the years, instream ads have proven to be one of the best ad formats for short-form video advertising and particularly excel at building brand awareness.
Types of Instream Video Ads
Although all instream ads have one thing in common — they are served within an existing video stream — there are three different types of instream video ads:
Linear Video Ads
Linear video ads are ads that appear “in the line” with video content. That means these ads interrupt playback to show an ad, similar to traditional TV commercials. These ads are the most lucrative instream ad type since they come with the highest CPMs.
Linear video ads may also contain interactive components (e.g., quiz, survey, CTA) or an accompanying overlay ad. That makes them incredibly versatile for many different types of video marketing campaigns.
Depending on when these ads appear, they are divided into three categories:
- Pre-Roll Instream Ads — Pre-roll ads appear as soon as the user tries to watch a video. These ads have the best reach and offer a good user experience since they appear before a video starts.
- Mid-Roll Instream Ads — Mid-roll ads appear at a specific point in a video (determined by the publisher). These ads have the highest completion rates because users are already highly engaged with the video, so they’re less likely to leave. However, these ads are one of the most interruptive instream ad types.
- Post-Roll Instream Ads — Post-roll ads appear after the users finish watching a video. These ads offer the best user experience, but they are the least lucrative, as only a handful of viewers reach the end of the video.
Choosing which instream formats you’ll use depends entirely on your priorities as a publisher. If your goal is to maximize ad yield, you’d be best off combining all of them. However, focusing on pre-roll linear ads will be your best option if you want to strike a balance between revenue and user experience.
Non-Linear Ads
Non-linear ads are also known as overlay ads because they appear on top of a running video without obscuring or interrupting it. These ads offer an uninterrupted user experience and usually appear in the form of a banner, text, or rich media ad. They often cover only a small fraction of the screen, allowing users to continue consuming content without the ad getting in the way.
Non-linear video ads are an excellent addition to any publisher’s repertoire since they complement linear ads perfectly and serve as an additional source of revenue. That is why Brid.TV allows publishers to combine overlay ads with linear ad formats to maximize revenue.
Besides standard overlay banner formats, our publishers can also take advantage of a unique non-linear ad format — branded canvas unit. This format was designed to simulate the ad experience from the OTT and CTV space on the web and offer an excellent addition to your linear advertising efforts. Follow the link below to see how these ads work in a live web environment.
Companion Ads
Companion ads are a type of instream ad that usually shows up alongside a video in the form of an image, text, or rich media. The primary difference between these and non-linear ads is that companion ads appear outside of the player’s borders. These ads are most often used to improve brand visibility and appear in conjunction with linear or non-linear instream ads.
Pros and Cons of Instream Video Ads
When comparing instream video ads to other available options, they excel in many regards. One of the most notable ones is that instream ads come with high CPMs (much higher than their outstream counterparts). That is why these ads are the go-to choice for publishers looking to increase video ad revenue.
Another thing that goes in favor of instream ads is that they don’t stick out as much as their outstream counterparts. The reason is that publishers get to serve these ads only to people looking for video content. Since people are already expecting to see video, they are more likely to stick around and watch the entire ad.
Another excellent aspect of instream ads is that they are compatible with OTT and CTV. So if you’re a publisher looking to leverage the booming CTV and OTT advertising space, instream ads should be your go-to choice.
Despite all their advantages, instream ads come with a few downsides too. One of the most noticeable ones is that users may find them intrusive since most of them interrupt user experience.
Another significant downside is that instream ads require publishers to have an HTML5 player and on-page video content. Unfortunately, not all publishers have a rich video library or the means to make one. So although instream ads are incredibly lucrative, publishers also need significant investment to use them.
Pros:
- Higher CPMs
- Compatible with OTT and CTV
- Users expect them
Cons:
- Can be considered intrusive
- They can only appear over on-page video content
- Publishers need an HTML5 player to serve them
What Are Outstream Video Ads?
Unlike their instream counterparts, outstream video ads don’t appear on top of existing video content. Instead, they often show up in a website’s sidebar, in one of its corners, or within editorial content.
Publishers can serve outstream ads natively on a web page or through a third-party video player. That allows even publishers without any video content to try their hand at video advertising.
Although these ads were originally designed for the mobile video advertising space, publishers quickly noticed their potential and adapted them for the web too.
Types of Outstream Video Ads
There are many unique outstream video ad formats on the market, but we generally divide them into three primary types:
In-Slide Outstream Video Ads
In-slide outstream video ads are likely the most common outstream format. These ads appear in one of the corners of the web page in a small video player and follow the users as they scroll down the page. These ads play automatically (without sound) and don’t require users to interact with them.
Users can turn these ads off at will (or after a few seconds of delay, based on publishers’ settings), or the player will close once the ad finishes. This format is the best choice for publishers looking to maximize ad viewability or advertise on pages without video content.
Publishers at Brid.TV can easily set these ads up through our in-slide ad unit and start monetizing without much hassle. Our outstream units also come with various customization options (player and close button position, volume control, etc.), allowing publishers to tailor them for maximum yield.
In-Content Outstream Video Ads
In-content outstream video ads are placed in the heart of editorial content and appear only after users scroll down to where they’re embedded. A video player will then pop up and play an ad. Here’s how these ads generally behave based on how much of the ad is in a user’s view:
- Player Is 0% Visible — The ad loads on the page, but the player isn’t visible until users scroll down to it.
- Player Is <50% Visible — The player loads, but the ad doesn’t play until it comes at least 50% into view.
- Player Is >50% Visible — The ad plays as soon as more than 50% of it is visible on the user’s screen.
- Player Is <50% Visible After Users Scrolls Past It — The ad pauses as soon as 50% of it leaves the user’s view. If the user scrolls back to the ad, it will continue playing until it finishes.
This outstream ad format is particularly popular for websites with plenty of editorial content, as it enables a seamless and non-intrusive video advertising experience.
Publishers at Brid.TV can easily set these ads up with our fully customizable in-content outstream units and start monetizing without much hassle.
In-Banner Video Ads
In-banner video ads are an outstream ad format that usually appears as a short video or gif in the form of a banner on a web page. As a rule of thumb, these ads play muted and include subtitles or captions.
The most interesting thing about in-banner video ads is that they take up a banner ad slot on a page, not a video slot. Publishers usually combine this format with other video ads to offer visitors a more interactive advertising experience.
Pros and Cons of Outstream Video Ads
Outstream video ads come with several irrefutable benefits over their instream counterparts. One of the most noticeable advantages is that they are far less intrusive since they don’t interrupt user experience.
Publishers leveraging outstream ads also get higher ad viewability across the board and have an easier time with audience targeting. Outstream video ads let publishers leverage contextual targeting to only serve ads relevant to their page’s content anywhere on their website.
But perhaps the biggest advantage of outstream ads is that publishers can use them even without any video content on their website. This flexibility is undoubtedly their primary selling point.
However, as versatile as they are, outstream ads have several notable flaws. The most significant one is that, unlike their instream counterparts, their use is much more tightly regulated by advertising giants like Google. The best example of this is that outstream ads must play muted, making them much less memorable than instream ads.
Another notable flaw is that outstream ads are heavier on the back-end and may slow down your website. These ads are also more prone to discrepancies in the communication between ad exchanges and ad servers than instream ads. Also, if your goal is to enter the OTT and CTV advertising realm, you’ll need to look elsewhere since this format isn’t compatible with the space.
Pros:
- Higher ad viewability
- Less intrusive
- Highly flexible
- Don’t require on-page video content
- Easier to target (contextual targeting)
Cons:
- Must play muted
- Can negatively impact website speed
- More prone to discrepancies
- Not supported on OTT and CTV
Instream vs. Outstream Video Ads — Which Are Better?
As you have seen by now, instream and outstream video ads have their fair share of pros and cons. That’s why we can’t say either is strictly better. They’re both suited for different types of publishers.
If you are a publisher with a rich video library or want to launch an AVOD service, you’ll be better off monetizing with instream ads. This format offers higher CPMs, simulates the familiar TV experience, and has excellent completion rates.
If you’d like to boost your ad revenue on a website without video content, outstream ads would be the way to go. These ads offer an interrupted user experience while offering more engaging ads. The sheer flexibility and superior targeting capabilities that outstream formats provide make them the obvious choice.
However, we believe it’s best to use these two formats in unison. For instance, publishers could focus on instream advertising for maximum revenue but still serve outstream ads on pages without video content. That way, publishers can make the most of their ad inventory and ensure maximum profit and user engagement.
At the end of the day, what you choose is entirely on you. Here’s a quick reminder of the areas in which these formats excel at.
What Lies in the Future of Instream and Outstream Video Ads?
Video advertising technology is constantly evolving; the same can be said for instream and outstream ad formats. Although the two rival each other in popularity, the video advertising landscape is slowly but surely shifting in favor of instream ads.
One of the primary reasons is that instream ads earn publishers more money. Although they’re harder to set up since publishers need an online video player and on-page video content, it’s well worth it in the long haul.
Recent developments in video technology even helped bring instream ads more on-par with outstream ads in terms of viewability. With the mass adoption of floating video players, publishers can now mimic sticky ad units with a regular video player and serve instream ads the same way as their outstream counterparts.
Another reason we predict instream ads will dominate the industry over the next few years is that many publishers are expanding their businesses into the OTT and CTV space. With as many as 42% of agencies and marketers in the U.S. planning to increase their OTT ad spend, publishers wish to take a piece of that lucrative cake. But since OTT devices don’t support outstream ads, publishers will naturally gravitate more toward instream formats.
However, the above doesn’t mean that outstream ads will go out of use. Quite the contrary — we believe more publishers relying on display advertising will begin experimenting with outstream video ads to boost ad revenue. Also, outstream ads are still one of the most popular mobile video ad formats, which is unlikely to change any time soon.
Start With Instream and Outstream Video Ads at Brid.TV
If you’re looking for an easy way to put video ads on your website, a versatile online video platform like Brid.TV will be your best bet. Publishers can use our monetization solution to set up and serve instream or outstream video ads in just a few clicks.
Our monetization platform also has several advanced features and yield optimization tools like Google ADX, Prebid.js, SpotX, and Amazon video header bidding and ad podding. Publishers can also use our server-side ad insertion feature to bypass ad blockers or serve ads across OTT and CTV.
Don’t take our word for it. Try our platform for free, and see for yourselves.
