It’s not easy to get consumers’ attention online, particularly if you’re an advertiser trying to do so with ads or a publisher trying to sell inventory to advertisers. But when they can, they are willing to pay handsomely for it.

Publishers who can turn heads with their digital advertising have access to an ocean of brand visibility, purchasing intent, and, quite simply, revenue. We’re in the business of connecting advertisers who want audiences with publishers who have them, and at that cross-section, creating unique and engaging experiences that benefit both publishers and advertisers alike.

Playwire-ad-units(click to enlarge)

Let’s keep this simple: Playwire creates exclusive ad units that get real visibility and engagement that help both the publishers in our network and the advertisers who partner with us. We have worked hard to build a deep bench of world-class ad units that advertisers and publishers won’t find anywhere else. Read on to see what we have to offer.

From site-customizing desktop ads to interactive video, Playwire can build nearly any ad unit advertisers can dream up. Put us to the test — contact Playwire to see if we can support your advertising needs as a buyer or seller. You won’t be disappointed.

-- Article Continues Below --

New call-to-action

Check out the Custom Ad Layout Recommendations Engine!

The Basic Ad Units

In the rest of this article, we’re going to talk about some highly complex and innovative ad units that the Playwire team creates for big brands across dozens of industries. But don’t worry — we still cover the basics. 

With Playwire, advertisers and publishers get access to the best of the basics — your widely distributed standard-size display units. With that out of the way, let’s get into the fun ad units.

Video Units

Our Trendi™ video ads solve publishers’ video content and revenue needs with a built-in video player. Our video units are one of the easiest ways to create engaging units for advertisers while increasing ad revenue while maintaining a positive user experience for publishers. Trendi™ is the ultimate video solution for any publisher looking to seamlessly maximize video ad monetization.

On average, we’ve seen that Trendi™ video units provide an 18% increase in time on page for advertisers and a 40% increase in ad revenue for publishers.

 

In-Stream Video Ads

Pre-roll Video Ads 

These ads run before publishers’ video content. Before content plays, viewers are engaged and usually willing to sit through at least part of an ad to see what the advertiser has to offer. 

 

Mid-roll Video Ads 

These ads run in the middle of the content. The payoff for this ad format is a higher average ad completion rate than other video ad formats, but it must be used carefully to maintain user experience.

 

Post-roll Video Ads

Post-roll ads run after the video content is complete. While it may appear counter-productive to place an ad after a video, some users will stick around to complete the impression. Creative transitions into post-roll ads and auto-play strategies can boost post-roll ad engagement.

Outstream Video Ads

In-Article Video Ads

An in-article video ad player can occupy a large, primary part of the screen when the page loads, but when the user scrolls down to read the text content, the player can dock to the lower corner so it stays with them.

 

Sidebar Video Ads

A sidebar video ad is exactly what it sounds like. The player loads and auto-plays within the sidebar of the publisher’s website so that it doesn’t obscure any part of the other content. In many cases, the video will remain in the sidebar, but Playwire offers integrations that allow the player to pop out and dock to another part of the screen after the user scrolls past the sidebar.

-- Article Continues Below --

New call-to-action

Read the Guide: The Guide to Video Ads for Web + App Publishers

Other Types of Video Ads

Pre-Content or Rewarded Video Ads

This is a video ad that plays before users can get access to a particular type of content. This type of video ad can be extremely effective because it’s placed before content that the user is highly motivated to see.

 

Corner-Docked Video Ads

Corner-docked video ads can appear in any corner of the page when the page loads, and they stay docked on that corner of the screen while the user scrolls through content.

Interactive Video

How can advertisers get even more bang for their buck than they do with the standard video units? With Playwire’s interactive video. We expand on the traditional units to create a memorable experience that consumers can associate with an advertiser’s brand. The type of time spent with a brand can translate to higher purchase intent than almost any other metric, including ad viewability.

Here’s how it works: A video unit displays interactive elements that ask the user to engage by clicking. The clicks generate different responses, and the unit ends with a more standard video ad for the brand.

Gamified or interactive video can boast up to a 15% click-through rate and a 15% engagement rate, making it clear why advertisers are willing to pay top dollar for these slots.

Here’s how that looks for an interactive video ad format for Treasure X Aliens:

 

The Playwire Exclusives

Other digital advertising tools may do rough versions of some of these ad units, but we challenge advertisers to find a platform that does them all and to the level of world-class quality that Playwire does. These units are the reason so many premium brands will pay top dollar to advertise across the Playwire network, driving CPMs and ad revenue up for publishers in the process.

Here are the exclusive ad units publishers can provide and advertisers get access to when they partner with Playwire:

The Cross-Platform Flex Leaderboard

Our flex leaderboards are compatible with multiple devices. As the user scrolls, the unit takes up most of the vertical space on the mobile or desktop screen and reveals more of the creative as the scroll continues. 

Advertisers can put almost anything inside these units: videos, banners, galleries, mini-games, and more. Playwire’s cross-platform flex leaderboard can turn out eye-popping metrics like 100% viewability, 1.5% engagement, 80% video completion rates (VCRs), and 0.7% click-through rates (CTRs).

Here’s a cross-platform flex leaderboard in action:

 

Web Interstitials

Publishers looking to provide a full-page ad format that works for mobile and desktop without interrupting the content will find it with Playwire’s web interstitial ad units. Between page views, these ads take over the entire screen to display a video, banner ad, or gamified unit. Content isn’t interrupted, and advertisers get 100% viewability, an 81% VCR, and an average CTR of 2.5%.

Here’s a web interstitial ad Playwire built for the popular video game Far Cry 6:

 

Skinned Pre-Roll

Our skinned pre-roll units increase the amount of real estate ads that can occupy the page by adding a brand-provided skin around the video player. Even users who ignore ads and skip them as quickly as possible will be unable to miss the high-impact skin sitting beside the video player as they watch the content they came for. 

Skinned pre-roll can provide 5% engagement rates, 90% viewability, and a 3-4% CTR.

Here’s how an awareness campaign made a bigger impact with a skinned pre-roll unit from Playwire:

 

-- Article Continues Below --

ABCya Case Study

ABCya Case Study

Pre-Roll with Intent Survey

Pre-Roll with Intent Survey is a standard ad unit with a value-adding twist: a survey that comes before or after the pre-roll. This might ask viewers about their intent to purchase a product, or it might ask them to choose their favorite character in an upcoming movie or video game. In any case, the extra engagement solidifies a high-impact user experience.

Check out how a pre-roll unit with an intent survey worked out for an upcoming movie:

 

Takeovers

Takeovers take control of every inventory slot on a given page to make it so the user has to engage with the brand. A video may play in one spot, while banners spread the need-to-know information across the remainder of the homepage. Almost any takeover configuration is going to provide maximum brand awareness and engagement.

Publishers can offer a 1% to 2% average click-through rate (CTR) and 100% viewability to advertisers, which they’ll pay handsomely for.

Here are some examples of takeovers we've launched:

Takeover Packages Gif

 

The Desktop Site Customizer

Not all takeovers are created equally. In addition to the “standard” takeover, we can do things like a full desktop site customizer. A site customizer takeover package makes the takeover experience interactive and creates even more engagement and higher CPMS

The desktop site customizer ad unit provides a unique experience for the user’s entire time on the site. The user sees a leaderboard in which they can choose a product or character. That selection determines which site skin wraps around the entire page. It’s a customized site experience that encourages input from the user and provides a memorable brand experience.

Site customizer units have 100% viewability, a 2-4% engagement rate, and can drive up to a 3% CTR.

Here’s a desktop site customizer in action:

 

In-App Interstitials

In-app interstitials are a lot like desktop interstitials, but they can ask for somewhat more user input and engagement and get it. These units appear between page views or levels within an app, so no content is interrupted. They occupy the whole screen and can even be gamified.

In-app playable ads can generate a 2.5% CTR and a 3-4% engagement rate.

Here’s a great example of one of our in-app interstitial units:

 

OTT Video Ads

Over-the-top (OTT) channels are growing in popularity and often have reach with valuable audiences. Integrating video units with these channels can come with some relatively complex technical considerations, but Playwire does it to great effect.

Here’s an example of an OTT video unit we did for Crunchyroll:

 

Ad Units That Turn Heads and Get Results

Like it or not, if you’re an advertiser, you’re in a crazy competitive game, fighting for the attention of online consumers. And if you’re a publisher or content creator, you’re trying to stand out from the crowd of thousands who say they can reach valuable audiences. Playwire has the solution you need.

With ad units that foster engagement, time spent, viewability, and pretty much any performance metric by which you might choose to measure them, Playwire is in the business of helping you crush your advertising KPIs by bringing advertisers and publishers closer together.

See us in action. Schedule a demo with our team today.

New call-to-action