Adroit Digital's New Study Dives Into How Consumers Interact With Online Video Content and Advertising

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – Jun 18, 2014) – Adroit Digital, a digital media solutions provider for omni-channel marketers, today announced the results of a study on consumers’ evolving preferences for online video and advertising content.

The “Online Video — Look Who’s Watching Now” report illustrates a significant appetite for and reliance on online and streamed video content. The research also suggests that consumers continue to embrace video advertising on their second screens.

The study examined the full spectrum of online video and advertising preferences and behaviors including: the optimal length of a video ad, willingness to “cut the cord,” the most-used streaming services and average weekly video consumption.

Highlights from the study can be found below:

Responses to video advertising:

• 56 percent of respondents said they will skip an online video ad most of the time while 24 percent said it depends on the ad and 20 percent said they usually do not skip the ad
  • Adults ages 25-34 are least likely to skip online video ads most of the time (24 percent)
• 46 percent said the optimal length of a video ad is one to 15 seconds; 19 percent said they’d prefer an ad that is more than 30 seconds in length
• Survey respondents are most likely to respond to video advertisements in the following top content categories: health and fitness (35 percent), sports and outdoors (33 percent) and news and current events (33 percent)
• Respondents were split on behavior while watching a 30-minute recorded or on-demand show in its entirety: 51 percent will watch all of the ads, whereas 49 percent will skip them

Video viewing preferences and habits:

• 28 percent of respondents are consuming more than 15 hours of streaming video content a week through gaming consoles or web TV devices
  • People ages 35 to 44 are viewing the most online or streamed content (33 percent watch 15 hours or more per week)
• 63 percent of the respondents said they would cancel their cable subscription if all their broadcast TV needs could be met by an online provider
  • Men are more willing to cut the cord (67 percent) than women (57 percent)
• 69 percent of men believe their TVs are essentially transforming into a large viewing monitor for self-selected content; 51 percent of women believe this to be true
• 68 percent of those surveyed watch video content via YouTube, 51 percent consume live television broadcasts and 49 percent view content through Netflix
  • Women watch content on Netflix more often than men (56 percent vs. 43 percent) and DVRs more often than men (32 percent vs. 28 percent)
• 70 percent of respondents said they typically watch video content alone. Seventy-five percent said someone else is often or sometimes somewhere else in their home accessing video at the same time

“Just a few years ago, content was relegated to specific devices within your home. Now, those lines have completely blurred and consumers can watch what they want, where they want, and when they want it,” said Glenn Humble, Adroit’s Digital’s director of marketing and communications and the author of the report. “This research shows that 75 percent of households frequently have at least two viewers watching different content on different devices simultaneously. This multi-screen world will continue to be a challenge for advertisers as they break new ground and test novel technologies and measurement practices, but it’s the future. Consumers are hungry for online video content and, much like ‘regular’ TV content, they’re growing accustomed to seeing advertisements on all of their screens.”

The research was fielded in April 2014 and represents the responses of 2,000 consumers over the age of 18. Respondents own a television, smartphone and personal computer or laptop.

To download the full report, please visit: http://www.adroitdigital.com/onlinevideo. Interested parties may also download Adroit Digital’s previous report, “Millennials: The New Age of Brand Loyalty.”

About Adroit Digital
At Adroit Digital, we believe people move technology, not the other way around. Our team of programmatic experts uses human insights, our exclusive data set and unmatched media access to intelligently drive marketing performance. We work hard to delight our customers every day. We have offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. For information, email hello@adroitdigital.com or visit www.adroitdigital.com.