Ads on videos: Has InSkin resolved the debate?

Posted on January 7, 2008
Filed Under Video, Start-Ups, E-Marketing & E-PR |

YouTube may be big, but it seems a lot more is waiting to happen in the online video segment; it may well be the big story of the next couple of years. But while the Bulls may be riding on the future of video, the sentiment is still bearish on another front: how do you monetise video on the net?

Current formats of ads like pre-roll (where an ad plays before a video starts) seem to be intrusive and a turn-off for viewers. Who wants to be forced to see an ad before the actual video starts? Banner and text ads on the site tend to get missed as attention is on the video itself. InSkin, invented by Patrick Knight, may have resolved the debate by being able to frame the video player with an interactive ad, positioned in the consumer’s line of sight.

I got an opportunity to interact with Patrick, also the company’s Founder and CEO, at AdTech, New York recently. Excerpts of our chat:

The need for InSkin? The problem with banner ads is that consumers have become blind to them. And a pre-roll is something consumers do not like. The answer lies in creating something that is like a banner, is in video format and wrapped around the media player. And this is what InSkin is: a non-interruptive, non-intrusive online video ad format.

How does it work? The InSkin ad is viewable during the entire time a consumer is watching an online video. The patent-pending ad format is Flash-based, allowing for any combination of interactive features such as expanded banner ads, games, data capture, etc. to allow advertisers numerous options to engage consumers. There are clickable hot spots on the ad: When a viewer clicks on these, the video pauses and the ad expands to a full screen or opens another website. After viewing the ad, one can go back to the video and resume watching from where one last left off.

Does this mean the end of pre-roll? Not really. Big agencies say pre-roll of up to 12 seconds is usually acceptable to viewers. One can have these, and carry InSkin ads as a companion advertisement.

Have you signed up any clients yet? We have tied up with Dennis Publishing and EMap who can address their large online video viewership with non-intrusive ads. They are already selling other inventory, and can sell InSkin ads too. Our first market is the UK, but we will soon expand to others too.