Video ads are an emerging trend and are only going to increase in numbers. However there’s a way to do them without alienating your viewers. NineMSN have decided the best approach to someone visiting their site is to take over their screen with a massive video overlay.
This is incredibly annoying when your trying to get to their content. I’m sure they could sell this type pre-site advertising for quite a lot, the problem is NineMSN are likely driving viewers away, lowering the total value of the site.
I’m not opposed to advertising, it’s the revenue stream that drives the internet, I’d just like to see it done tastefully and respectfully. My biggest problem is the relevance of these ads. On a site like http://ninemsn.com.au/ with so much content, the audience is incredibly diverse. So whilst the ads may actually appeal to some, it would be such a small percentage of the overall audience, that the ad is irrelevant to a majority of the audience, which ultimately sends viewers elsewhere.
Basically, cut it out NineMSN. Whilst they are the example I’ve used here, they are certainly not the only ones to take this approach.
NineMSN after the video ad finishes or you get sick of it and close it.
