Consumers are bombarded with messages every day. To cut through the clutter, marketers need to shift online engagement from interruption to engagement—in the digital world it‘s about entering the conversation. With the shift in control from marketers to consumers, choice-based video (also known as social video) becomes even more important—consumers no longer want to be forced to watch a commercial, they want to decide how, when, and what they want to watch.

According to YouTube, 70% of viewers would abandon a video if it were to carry pre-roll, as opposed to a social video campaign in which viewers are encouraged by trusted sources to watch. In the past year, spirit brands like Heineken and Calsberg have recognized the importance of choice-based video and are investing more and more heavily in this fast-growing space. So how much is social video growing? Well, in 2010, users shared the top 20 video ads 5.3 million times. In 2011, the figure spiked to 24.5 million.

Unruly media reports that the average social video ad spend for US spirit brand media buys has been between $100K and $500K over the course of 30-60 days. Currently, Heineken is dominating the choice-based video space, increasing its choice-based video ad spend by 25% in less than a year (between Q4 2010 and Q3 2011). According to Unruly Media, one of Heineken‘s primary social video distribution partners, Heineken tests their creative online and applies learnings from their social video campaigns to create the TV spot.

Spirit brands in general are seeing improved performance of online video when it is based on choice vs. forced, and generates earned media impressions and shares that translate into additional free views. Choice-based social video ads typically see 300%to 450% brand lift to pre-roll ads. In addition, on average, the brand trust increases by 30% because of increased sharing and organic spread, greatly increasing brand engagement by 50%.

How is social video different than pre-roll video? 

• Qualified views from your target audience: click-to-play, users are choosing to watch and engage with your content as opposed to a forced view
• Contextually relevant environments: Social video is usually in-page or within editorials due to its relevancy among the site‘s audience where pre-roll is not seen as content
• Sharing capabilities: Social video offers sharing in a variety of ways to all social platforms, where pre-roll offers none
• Insights: Social Video offers transparency and reporting on earned/organic activity in addition to paid media
• Viral uplift: Social seeding is used to build brand awareness and increase web traffic, engagement and, ultimately, sales where pre-roll is strictly awareness

With the Super Bowl and presidential election coming up, social video is inevitably going to grow even more. According to Unruly Media, the potential market opportunity for social videos could reach $100 billion in 10 years.