Will Standardized “Cost Per View” Pricing Revolutionize Video Advertising?

Google AdWords transformed search advertising by only charging an advertiser when someone clicks on a search ad. A similar revolution is beginning to take shape in online video as viewer-initiated video ads are proliferating across the Web. The currency is slowly changing from impressions to views as pre-rolls allow viewers choose which ad to watch and in-banner video ads require a viewer initiated click-to-play. Google’s latest foray into the medium is TrueView, an in-stream video format on YouTube that actually lets viewers skip an ad, while only charging for actual video views.

As the landscape changes, TubeMogul and Google have jointly proposed a new, standardized metric for pricing and serving video ads to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Digital Video Committee: “Cost Per View” (CPV). The CPV framework would distinguish videos ads that viewers choose to watch ("views") from ads that automatically load in a video player ("impressions"). This emphasis on "views" is more powerful and a better indicator of viewer engagement.

Read more in the joint editorial in AdAge from Brett Wilson of TubeMogul and Baljeet Singh of YouTube, explaining the impetus for this proposal. To get the latest updates on the proposal’s status, follow TubeMogul on Twitter (@TubeMogul).

Posted by Neha Mandal, Marketing Manager for YouTube