BARELONA – Online advertising network ExoClick has launched a new pre-roll, in-stream video ad format. The company claims the format is compatible with all major video players that use Flash and HTML5, and it can be integrated within custom players.

Software inserts an ad at the beginning of existing video content such as a scene or trailer. The ad, customizable with clickable calls to action, automatically plays as a pre-roll when a user clicks to play the video content they decided to watch.

ExoClick’s pre-roll in-stream video ad format conforms to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Video Ad Serving Template, a universal protocol that standardizes communication between ad servers and video players.

For publishers, the ad format places high-quality, premium video ads on their site. Video ads are proven to generate higher revenues using the cost-per-view pricing model. Furthermore, publishers have control over the video format by adding a “skip this ad” button within the advertisement.

Advertisers can create premium-content video ads to tell a compelling story about their offers and engage the consumer with customizable calls to action. Frequency capping is available for retargeting, and advertisers can access real-time statistics for impressions, part views, greater-than-10-seconds views and completed views.

“ExoClick is the first advertising network to bring this format to the adult market,” said Benjamin Fonzé, ExoClick’s founder and chief executive officer. “Pre-roll video gives marketers the capability of getting ads in front of premium video content on publisher sites.

“This format already has a high click-through rate,” he continued. “According Business Insider, video ads have an average click-through rate of 1.84 percent, the highest click-through rate of all digital ad formats. This can be pushed even higher because of the creative potential to engage consumers with this new ad format.”

According to Syncast, 74 percent of all online traffic will be video by 2017.

“Used in conjunction with ExoClick’s deep-targeting features, advertisers can greatly increase their sales potential while maximising the spend of their advertising budgets,” Fonzé said.

For more information about the new ad format, visit the online demo here or email help@exoclick.com.