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YouTube Changes and Google “Lightbox ads”
  • goannagoanna

    I doubt many users will have noticed much difference in the way YouTube videos are being presented in the last few days. Unless you're like me, using only expensive HSPA for net connections (out here in the desert).

    But whatever is happening, I'd have had to change browsers to see a YouTube version of @oscillian's Fantastic wedding video. - and even then, put up with the extra resolution (now minimum 360P instead of previous 240P, which was good for slow connections as well as low-cost).

    Anyway, Google have done a few things to YouTube in the past few days, (including browser and Ad-Block incompatibility) which may have had something to do with it:

    Google Unveils “Lightbox” Display Format, Pushes “Engagement” Metric

    Advertising Week, Oct 2 2012

    The company calls it “smart hover,” and says this type of expandable increases engagement by 6 to 8 times over click-to-expand ads. When the ad expands, it appears in the middle of the screen and dims the rest of the page behind it.

    image

    The pay-for-engagement model is similar to the “True View” video formats Google offers on YouTube and the Google Display Network (GDN). The company today released new metrics after analyzing 92 different ad campaigns and found that, on average, every $1 spent on YouTube resulted in $1.70 in sales. The company also said that ads on YouTube and the GDN drove a 36% increase in website visits and a 36% increase in brand searches."

    http://marketingland.com/google-unveils-lightbox-display-format-pushes-engagement-metric-23186

    http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/google-expands-its-ad-formats-lightbox-144119

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  • goannagoanna

    @subco

    Oh, there'll be no new technology implemented here. I probably won't bother looking.

    What's going on is a combination of Ad-Speak and a sweetening-up of the package to the clientèle [higher res].

    I happen to be a strong supporter of the proven advertising/content revenue model which newspapers have used all these years.

    Of course, Newspeak terms like "Lightbox Ads" were first announced to the poor advertisers along with a changed terms of service agreement where, in plain English, pay-per-click has become pay-per-hover.

    On the user side, this type of obfuscation and "What do you think of our new look?" (AKA "we care about your experience") talk is really underestimating the burgeoning net-savviness of the public.

    With us, it's a pay-per-waiting-around. Meaning, if we don't start that video playback promptly, we'll see lots of ads. We pay with our bandwidth and time.

    time to compile video hosting alternatives

    Yep! Reminds me of a previous thread.

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