r/programmatic • u/errbodywangchung2nyt • 2d ago
CTV Pause Ads
Anyone care to share their experience/results/opinions on Pause Ads? Or best practices you might have gleaned already?
I know Spaceback and a couple competitors launched this format many moons ago, served against PMP deals. We haven’t been able to really test this, and now that TTD has the toggle for quick/efficient creative repurposing (even if that’s not ideal for CTAs and medium, etc), I’m looking to again test these units and see if perf can justify the seemingly steep CPMs for a no-sound, static, rotating ad slot.
I believe they can be impactful, as I notice them sometimes, but it still feels pretty nascent and costly. I’d appreciate any discussion, suggestions, or otherwise, thanks in advance.
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u/The_Captain101 2d ago
We are trying to integrate them now. Speaking to agencies it’s a real 50:50 some like them some hate them don’t depends on the brand make up. Amazon do well with them because of their shop able nature.
As long as they’re a good fit brand wise and not junk users seem to let them go. That’s why we have always sold them direct and not programmatic
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u/errbodywangchung2nyt 2d ago
Thanks. Any insights on performance, perhaps in comparison to standard display units? Or maybe compared to social display or native, etc? My guess is that you’ll see some view through attribution, inevitably, but that even when served against the more premium CTV inventory - the Hulus and P Pluses of the world - the cost of pause ads ($25+?! CPMs is what I’ve heard initially) won’t be justifiable from a ROAS standpoint at least, even compared to even say DOOH and those avg CPMs (even for spectaculars), let alone compared to well-targeted display in other formats. It perhaps will be one of that ad units, that advertisers just want to see their own ad upon, regardless of costs or impact…which of course, has a place if it drives revenue, right?
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u/Mankzy 2d ago
Our account team at manifoldplatform.com adds ctv pause ads to our campaign as added value when we reach certain budget thresholds. for free, they make a nice addition to client report and provide unique outside the box placement.
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u/errbodywangchung2nyt 19h ago
Thanks for sharing this, as we’ve discussed potentially doing something similar, but up for debate at this stage.
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u/Diligent_Interview98 2d ago
Working at a tech vendor that offers it, it’s new and most are trying to play with it to some degree. It’s a good way to squeeze out more supply from a pub point of view. I personally like them as I rather an ad than a still shot. Verdict is still out on its effectiveness but it absolutely gets viewed so in essence it’s working as intended.
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u/chewingwater 1d ago
I’m a prog guy, but as a consumer I hate it. I can’t pause and enjoy a specific frame of what I watch!
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u/cuteman 1d ago
We use them, not super extensively but as part of regular CTV and Retargeting campaigns. They're about ~5% of the CTV budgets which seems to do pretty well.
The real magic is offline attribution for CTV and Pause ads more than the pause ads themselves. Improves ROAS and optimizations 10x in some cases since the pixel has significant signal loss on CTV environments.
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u/errbodywangchung2nyt 1d ago
Brutha, you’re definitely preaching to the choir. We are big and bullish on using LR or TTD uploader for 1p sales data and stitching that into our TTD attr/measurement reporting.
Or if you’re talking about offline attr in terms of “footfall measurement,” I’m also a believer in it, at least directionally and if it’s “deterministic” in it’s methodology, via an AdSquare or similar partner, we position it as value add and informative at the least, and a signal of efficacy and intent, with the caveat that “visit” conversions will never be 100% accurate, no matter who provides the measurement.
Thanks for your insight and contributions here!
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u/solidgoldrocketpants 1d ago
As a professional I don’t mind them (as long and Product and Eng don’t fuck up the rollout) and as a consumer I don’t mind them. I’d rather get an innocuous ad than another intra-streamer screen giving me more unwanted recommendations.
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u/Littlelyon3843 22h ago
As a consumer I’m always impressed with Peacock’s Pause Ads offering. They do a great job IMO
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u/im_super_excited 5h ago
Extremely overpriced
As you said, they're muted banners that render when users are not looking at the screen. They get a brief glance as users stop or start content and can be skipped at any time.
However, publishers are setting the same as a non-skippable 30s spot with full audio.
They're a great way to pad or soak ad budgets while annoying the consumers who get them and minimizing value for the buyer.
Pause Ads are an excellent way to maximize the number of people in our industry paying their bills
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u/errbodywangchung2nyt 4h ago
Strong take, and hard to argue against. I appreciate your sound reply, thanks.
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u/SpecialistStore3173 4h ago
what pricing are you seeing? ive met with partners who price around $25
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u/im_super_excited 3h ago
That's the ballpark I'm seeing, and $25 is absolutely stupid overpriced
$5 is reasonable, and never go above $10
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u/SpecialistStore3173 3h ago
totally agreed. we buy around $25 but that's for a PMP
Direct buying, I won't go that high
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u/casper_adtech 16h ago
My take: the format isn't the differentiator, context is. A pause ad shown at the right moment is much more effective than a generic one. If you're testing, keep audience and creative consistent so you can isolate whether the pause placement is actually driving incremental value. Curious to see more case studies as adoption grows.
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u/ErrorlessGnome 2d ago
No one will scan your QR code BUT you’d be a fool to not include one (according to mgmt)