Adding pre-roll video advertisements to your livestream events can be an effective way to monetize your content. To incorporate pre-roll video ads into your livestreams, you’ll typically need to work with an advertising network or platform that provides ad inventory for your content. Here are the general steps to add pre-roll video advertisements to your livestream events:
Choose an Advertising Platform:
Start by selecting an advertising platform or network that supports pre-roll video ads for livestreams. Some popular options include Google AdSense, Ad Manager, or third-party ad networks like AdRoll, SpotX, or JW Player.
Sign Up and Set Up an Account:
Create an account with your chosen advertising platform and follow their instructions to set up your publisher or content creator account.
Create or Upload Advertisements:
Pre-Roll Video Advertisements
Create or upload the video advertisements that you want to display as pre-rolls. Advertisers may provide ad creatives, or you can create your own ads, depending on your agreement with the advertising platform
Configure your monetization preferences within the advertising platform. This includes specifying the types of ads you want to display (e.g., pre-roll video ads) and defining criteria such as ad duration and content categories.
Integrate the Advertising SDK or Tag:
To serve ads within your livestream, you’ll typically need to integrate the advertising platform’s SDK (Software Development Kit) or ad tag into your streaming setup. This involves adding a code snippet provided by the platform to your livestreaming software or platform.
Schedule Ads:
Use the advertising platform’s interface to schedule when pre-roll video ads should be displayed before your livestream starts. This may involve specifying the timing, frequency, and order of ads.
Test the Setup:
Before your livestream event, test the ad integration to ensure that pre-roll ads are displayed correctly and that they don’t disrupt the user experience.
Promote Your Livestream Event:
Promote your livestream event to attract viewers. The more viewers you have, the more valuable your ad inventory becomes to advertisers.
Go Live:
Start your livestream event at the scheduled time. Pre-roll video ads should automatically play before your livestream begins.
Monitor Performance:
Keep an eye on the performance of your pre-roll ads, including metrics like ad impressions, click-through rates, and revenue generated. Use this data to optimize your ad strategy over time.
Comply with Advertising Policies:
Adhere to the advertising policies and guidelines of the advertising platform you’re working with. Non-compliance can result in ad revenue loss or account suspension.
Remember that the specific steps and requirements may vary depending on the advertising platform you choose and the streaming software or platform you use for your livestreams. It’s essential to carefully review the documentation and guidelines provided by your chosen advertising platform to ensure a smooth integration of pre-roll video advertisements into your livestream events.
Client-side ad insertion (CSAI) stands as one of the most widely employed methods for monetizing video content. CSAI involves preloading ads within the video player, ensuring they are ready for display to the viewer. Nonetheless, more than 26% of present-day viewers employ ad blockers, which prevent these ads from loading and consequently result in revenue loss.
Telecommunication companies, broadcasters, and publishers are swiftly transitioning from client-side ad insertion to server-side ad insertion (SSAI). With SSAI, ads are loaded on the server side and seamlessly integrated into the content stream. This article explores the challenges associated with client-side ad insertion and delves into the reasons behind the widespread adoption of server-side ad insertion as a solution.
Client-Side Ad Insertion (CSAI).
Ad Blockers: A Revenue Roadblock
One of the significant challenges with CSAI is its vulnerability to ad blockers. These browser plugins are on the rise, with approximately 26% of desktop users and 15% of mobile consumers employing them to escape ads. Ad blockers disrupt the revenue streams of content publishers by preventing ads from playing.
In the CSAI process, ad blockers identify requests to ad servers (often blacklisted by ad blockers) and thwart these requests. Consequently, ads fail to play, and content videos continue without interruption. While it’s possible to detect ad blockers and restrict content access, this approach often leads to a subpar viewing experience, resulting in decreased viewer retention and, ultimately, a negative impact on earnings.
Diminished Quality of Service
CSAI involves frequent switches between the main content and advertisements. These transitions are often accompanied by loading indicators, which are particularly conspicuous on mobile devices with stringent video playback requirements. The complexity of managing CSAI steps within video players can sometimes lead to playback stalls, ad playback failures, stream restarts, or even video player crashes.
Viewers tend to engage more with content when immersed, watching longer and more content. Quality of service issues disrupt this immersion, potentially causing viewers to exit prematurely. This negatively affects ad completion rates and overall CPM (cost per mille).
Client-side ad insertion is well-suited for video-on-demand (VOD) content with pre- or mid-roll ads. However, the same doesn’t hold true for live streamed content, where ad breaks need precise scheduling to ensure viewers don’t miss important content.
To address this issue, publishers have introduced secondary communication channels between the video player and ad server to trigger CSAI workflows when ad breaks occur in live content. However, this approach has downsides: it’s often custom-built, susceptible to ad blockers, and can introduce additional overhead that affects overall scalability.
Server-Side Ad Insertion to the Rescue
Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI)
Thankfully, there is a solution in the form of server-side ad insertion (SSAI). With SSAI, most of the ad handling logic is managed by server-side components, mitigating the drawbacks associated with CSAI and offering new avenues for efficiency and revenue generation.
1. A Shield Against Ad Blockers Unlike CSAI, where ads are loaded or blocked at the viewer’s browser, SSAI makes ad requests server-side before delivering integrated content to viewers. This integration makes ads an intrinsic part of the content stream, rendering ad blockers powerless to block ad requests or distinguish between content and ads. This results in a boost in played ad inventory and an increase in CPM.
2. An Uninterrupted Viewer Experience In SSAI, much of the ad logic is handled by the server, simplifying the workflow and reducing the occurrence of edge cases or video player issues that disrupt viewer immersion. Furthermore, because ads are stitched seamlessly into the content stream, viewers no longer encounter loading spinners during ad breaks. This leads to an enhanced quality of service and higher viewer retention rates.
3. Simplified Monetization of Live Streams Server-side ad insertion facilitates precise ad scheduling in live streams. Publishers can annotate their live content with ad markers, specifying when ad breaks should start and end. On the server side, these markers trigger the replacement of content within the stream with relevant ads, streamlining the process of inserting ad breaks in both live and VOD content.
A Brighter Future Ahead
In this article, we’ve explored the limitations of client-side ad insertion and how server-side ad insertion addresses these challenges. With ad blockers unable to thwart server-side ads, a smoother viewer experience, and simplified ad scheduling, server-side ad insertion offers a promising future for content publishers and advertisers alike.
Great content is crucial, but it won’t make you stand out in the competitive broadcast world. Almost everyone else has fantastic content too. To succeed, focus on making money from ads. That’s the solution: aim for the highest ad revenue you can get.
At its core, the fundamental distinction between CSAI and SSAI lies in the way ads are integrated into the video content.
In CSAI, the video player, or client, initiates the process by requesting an ad from the ad server when it encounters specific ad-markers within the video stream. Essentially, the client takes charge of fetching and displaying ads.
SSAI, on the other hand, takes a different approach. Ads are seamlessly stitched into the video stream on the server side, reducing the involvement of the client. This means that the client has less responsibility in the ad-serving process.
While CSAI has its merits, it comes with significant drawbacks. The most notable among them is its vulnerability to ad blockers and various technical issues. Here’s why:
Ad Blockers: CSAI often falls victim to ad blockers, which prevent ads from loading and disrupt the viewer’s experience. This can be frustrating for both content creators and their audiences.
Technical Hiccups: CSAI can suffer from time-outs and other technical glitches, causing ads to fail to play. These interruptions can result in a suboptimal viewing experience and reduced ad revenue.
When seeking to boost ad revenues, content creators and publishers are increasingly turning to SSAI as a more effective solution. While it may be somewhat more expensive than CSAI, SSAI offers substantial benefits that make it a worthwhile investment:
A Broadcast-Like Viewing Experience: SSAI seamlessly integrates ads into the video stream, providing viewers with a broadcast-like experience. The high-quality video and graphics ensure that ads blend seamlessly with the content, enhancing the overall viewing experience.
Effective Protection Against Ad Blocking: Ad blockers pose a significant challenge to content monetization. SSAI, however, significantly mitigates this issue, as ads are incorporated directly into the video stream on the server side. This reduces the effectiveness of ad blockers, ensuring that your ads reach your target audience.
An Overall Great Experience for Your Viewers: Viewer satisfaction is paramount for content creators. SSAI’s ability to deliver a smoother and less disruptive ad experience translates into happier viewers, increased viewer retention, and ultimately, higher ad revenues.
To begin increasing your advertising revenue, which SSAI service provider should you opt for?
To answer this question, we have listed the best SSAI service providers here.
In this article, we will spotlight Thudo Multimedia, recognized as one of the premier SSAI service providers in 2023.
Sigma DAI- a brief overview
Thudo Multimedia is a prominent enterprise in Vietnam and holds a prominent position as one of the largest Over-The-Top (OTT) technical solution providers in the country. As the top-rated SSAI service provider, they have earned the trust of prominent businesses, including Vietnam National Television (VTV), due to their competitive pricing, exceptional technical services, and exemplary customer care.
Sigma DAI takes advertising to the next level by delivering personalized ads to users on every screen they view through precise targeting. Additionally, it supports innovative and unintrusive ad formats like Dynamic Brand Insertion (DBI), contextual video ads, and graphics overlays ads. These advanced advertising options empower content owners to provide viewers with a seamless and enjoyable viewing experience while enhancing brand affinity.
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