[April 16, 2012]

Adobe Study Shows Growing Similarities Between TV Commercials and Video Ads Online

At the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, Adobe (News - Alert) Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today released a report showing increased viewer acceptance of TV-like ad experiences on the Web. The report found high audience engagement with ads during live online events and mid-roll commercial breaks and that users are the most actively engaged viewers when it comes to consuming video ads on tablets and smartphones.

Compiling data from the last six months of 2011, the semi-annual report was generated using an aggregated and anonymous sample of 2.5 billion ad impressions served via Adobe® Auditude®, Adobe's video ad management and monetization platform and a key component of Adobe's Project Primetime. The report shows that online video ad consumption is beginning to mirror that of traditional TV commercials, opening the door to greater revenue potential for media companies. Compared to data from the first six months of 2011, there has been an increase in the average number of video ads per content stream in professional, long form content and the record high completion rates for video ads.

"Market research shows that over the next five years the number of people watching video content online could grow as much as 50 percent, and a significant number of them will be doing so on connected devices like tablets, IPTVs and smartphones," said Jeremy Helfand, vice president, Monetization at Adobe. "For professional content owners and media companies exploring TV-like ad experiences online, the latest data demonstrates the strong potential for extending traditional broadcast advertising dollars to digital video."

Key Findings of the Report Include:

• The mid-roll video ad format continues to hold its place as the most engaging online ad placement and easily outperforms completion rates of pre-roll and post-roll ads. With an 87 percent completion rate, mid-roll ads are performing almost 30 percent better than pre-rolls. This placement is most comparable to traditional TV commercial breaks, which suggests audience willingness for consuming TV-like ad experiences online.
• Completion rates on mobile devices are the highest of any environment with 94 percent, suggesting that mobile viewers are more engaged and open to watching ads on the go in exchange for the content they want, where and when they want it.
• Live content continues to drive the highest engagement rates when compared to video-on-demand (VOD) content. The completion rate of video ads i live content now reaches 85 percent, almost one quarter higher (23 percent) than ads within VOD content. This suggests viewers understand they may miss their opportunity to see the content once the live event is over so they are more willing to stay focused during commercial breaks.
• An average of 5.5 video ads are now being served as part of long form, professional content. With an average completion rate of 70 percent, viewers are willing to watch more ads through their entirety in exchange for professional content. Completion rates of ads in professional content are higher (76 percent) compared to those in user-generated content (UGC) with 63 percent, which indicates the ability of professional content to better engage audiences.
• The majority of overlay ads continue to be delivered across UGC while the majority of linear ads are served across professional content.

A key component of Adobe's Project Primetime, Adobe Auditude, offers professional content publishers and media companies industry-leading video ad management and monetization technologies across internet connected devices. Customers include Major League Baseball, Comcast (News - Alert), Dailymotion, Fox News, News Distribution Network, UK's Channel 5, Major League Gaming and Brazil's largest media company, Globo.

Project Primetime

Project Primetime is the industry's first fully integrated video technology platform to enable seamless, TV-like experiences for ad-supported videos across Web-connected devices. Addressing the increasing challenges of device and platform fragmentation, Primetime will deliver professional video content and video ads more efficiently across all major platforms, and offer a single, end-to-end workflow that interconnects Adobe's publishing, advertising and analytics technologies. The integration enables professional video providers to give customers a superior viewing experience through seamless dynamic ad insertion into any content type, whether linear, live or on-demand across Web-connected devices.

Major components of Primetime include Adobe Auditude, the Adobe Digital Marketing Suite, Adobe Access, Adobe streaming technologies, Adobe Pass and Primetime Highlights. Primetime will be available in 2012 with support for Windows, Mac OS, Apple iOS, Google Android (News - Alert), Samsung SmartTVs and other platforms. For more information about Primetime and to download today's report visit the Digital Media blog.

About Adobe Systems (News - Alert) Incorporated

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo and Auditude are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. Microsoft (News - Alert) is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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