Common mistakes with video ad serving (part 2)
                     Common mistakes with video ad serving (part 2)
Watson F
Writes on ad servers, involved with ad server solutions 
and Ad server software.
There is a great feeling of relief that comes once you are happy with the 
current script for your upcoming video ad because it is an interesting 
and convincing video script. However, there's still several pitfalls that 
you need to avoid and we will discuss them today.
Focusing too much on features
Yes, it is natural for advertisers to talk about their baby, which is the product 
and you certainly want to use video ads to show off the main features. 
However, having nothing but a list of features can be seen as off-putting and 
boring. Instead of putting together a rather dull list of features, find a 
creative way to show how a specific feature solves a common problem that 
will make it much more appealing to potential buyers. When they see the 
value or benefit that they get using your product, that is the easiest way to 
get them to open their wallets and buy. But before you can do that, you 
need to understand your target audience. Find out what they want, how 
they make a purchase decision and where is the best place to reach out and 
when is a good time. Understanding the potential customers helps you 
design an ad that is the starting point for a sales process that is optimized for 
your benefits and also the buyer’s experience.
Ignoring video metric reports
You might think that you are onto a winner with a solid and entertaining video ad. 
However, the buying public might not feel the same way. Without seeing the ad 
performance report, you are basically walking in the dark and guessing the direction. 
How do you know if the video ad reached its goals or not without using an ad server to 
keep track of data and using the reports to make adjustments? Video metric reports 
are available for a reason, which is to show you what is and isn't working so you can 
improve. The video ad server will track many different events, including errors, 
impressions, clicks, the number of people who viewed the whole ad or only half or 
even a quarter of the ad. If you see any ad serving errors, you should check for the 
error codes and fix them promptly. The goal is to have no video ad serving error 
because each error is an impression wasted. As for the other events, it is natural to 
see a drop in views after each quartile because you cannot expect all viewers to watch 
the whole ad. However, if a large number of viewers failed to make it to the end of the 
video then they are almost certainly not buying. Use these reports to look for patterns 
and make necessary changes before it is too late.
Using the same video for too long
We have all seen ads on TV that were fun at first, but quickly became 
annoying on repeated viewing. This is what can happen if you keep the 
same video up and running for too long. Viewers will learn to ignore and 
block the same ad over time. Online ad serving is a dynamic 
environment that changes frequently. You cannot set it, forget it and yet 
expect a perfect campaign. Use the ad metrics to see when a video ad 
has run its course and is no longer effective. If click-thru rate, response 
rate or the number of Complete events are dropping significantly then it 
is the time to revisit, adjust and deliver something new and refreshing. 
One possible solution is to use your video ad server to rotate a number 
of different ad versions to maintain the freshness factor.
About Adspeed
AdSpeed ad server is a reliable & powerful ad serving and ad 
management solution that serves your ads, tracks impressions & clicks 
and reports ad statistics in real-time. Driven by the latest ad serving 
technologies, the goal of Adspeed adserver is to provide a reliable 
platform that can help in executing online advertising strategy more 
efficiently. 
Thank you for spending your precious time in reading this article.