Say you’re running an advertiser’s 30-sec TV spot as a VideoAd.
Arguably, the most powerful way you can add value to that VideoAd is through overlays.
Overlays are text, image, or video objects that you place on top of the content of a VideoAd.
A recent study shows that text overlays increase the amount of a video ad that viewers watch and the percentage of viewers who watch the entire VideoAd.
While the power of overlays may lie with their ability to increase viewers’ exposure to an advertiser’s brand, the true glory of well-designed overlays is how they engage viewers and encourage them to interact.
To understand how you can harness the full power and glory of overlays, take a look at the following demo VideoAd featuring a hypothetical pizza restaurant called Best Pizza.
The VideoAd illustrates how you can:
- Transition overlays onto the screen.
- Keep viewers who click from leaving your website.
- Add interest with animation
- Use calls to action to capture leads.
- Encourage clickthroughs by making the entire VideoAd a link.
- Add depth with image (and video) overlays.
Transition overlays onto the screen
Every overlay in the VideoAd, including the Best Pizza logo, takes advantage of transitions, the most recent overlay feature added to the platform.
- The logo in the upper left corner grows in toward the beginning of the VideoAd and shrinks out toward the end.
- Authentic Italian Pizza!, a plain text overlay, slides in and out from the top.
- The animated Contact Us! overlay fades in and after a few seconds fades out.
- Click to order now! slides in and out from the left.
- See our full menu! grows in and shrinks out.
Adding transitions brings overlays to viewers’ attention and adds visual appeal to the entire VideoAd.
How do I set overlay transitions?
Keep viewers who click from leaving your website
You want your advertiser’s VideoAds to perform well. At the same time, you’re not real crazy about the idea of viewers clicking overlays in VideoAds and leaving your website.
Now both you and the advertiser can get what you want.
Play the demo pizza VideoAd again. When the Contact Us! overlay fades in, click it.
The Google map of the hypothetical restaurant’s location opens in a frame on top of this blog post. Click Close in the upper right corner of the frame and you’re right back on the website where you started.
How do I set links to open in a frame?
Add interest with animation
You probably noticed that the Contact Us! overlay is animated.
Advertisers who want to add a light touch to an offer or promotion have a small collection of professionally-designed animated overlays to choose among.
Animated overlays collection
Use calls to action to capture leads
Play the demo pizza VideoAd until you come to the Click to order now! overlay. Click the overlay.
A color-coordinated lead capture form opens where viewers can type their names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, and pizza orders.
When a viewer clicks Send, the pizza restaurant receives the order in an email message at a specified email address. The message will look something like this:
Lead capture email message
In addition to having a convenient way to process delivery orders, the pizza restaurant also has an on-going supply of contact information for highly qualified leads to whom it can send newsletters, special promotion announcements, and more.
Tip Go ahead and submit a pizza order. Just don’t expect to actually have a pizza delivered.
I’d like to read more about lead capture.
Encourage clickthroughs by making the entire VideoAd a link
Place your cursor anywhere over the VideoAd as it plays and notice that the cursor changes to a hand. The entire VideoAd is hot.
This greatly increases the likelihood that viewers will click the VideoAd and end up right on the webpage where the advertiser wants them to be.
How do I turn my entire VideoAd into a hyperlink?
Add depth with image (and video) overlays
Seconds after the demo pizza VideoAd begins playing, the pizza restaurant’s logo transitions onto the screen. The logo remains in the upper left corner throughout the VideoAd, reinforcing the Best Pizza brand.
The logo is an image overlay. Image overlays work just like text overlays. You can associate them with URL’s or lead capture forms.
In this demo, clicking the logo opens the Mixpo home page. An actual advertiser can associate a logo with the URL that best supports its promotional goals.
Tip Take a close look at the Best Pizza logo. It’s transparent. The VideoAd platform supports transparent images in GIF and PNG format.
I’d like to read more about transparent images and image and video overlays.
To see detailed instructions for adding video and image overlays, visit the Create page, and then click How do I add videos and images as overlays?
Studio Tip
With this release of the platform, overlays are easier than ever to manage in the Studio. You can now select all or multiple overlays and move them as one unit.
To learn more, visit the Best Practices page, and then click Move elements together on the Timeline.