Introduction
In the rapidly changing landscape of digital marketing, video advertising is one of the fastest-growing and most potent types of ad format. With online video consumption booming on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, brands are pouring dollars into video advertising campaigns with messaging designed to attract attention and drive measurable engagement. Hence we need to figure out what are in-stream video ads.
In-stream video ads have become increasingly dominant among these video ad types by offering advertisers a location for their ads that connects to audiences, and places the ads mid-content where they are generally most engaged.
Let’s understand a bit more about in-stream video ads, and why they are going to be so important in 2025. In-stream video ads are videos that play on a video stream user interface before, during, or after a video, allowing advertisers to deliver their ad messaging directly within a viewer’s experience. The seamless way for engaging target audiences tends to be very successful for brand and product awareness, conversions, and recall.
In this guide, we’ll define in-stream video ads, discuss each of the types of in-stream video ads (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll, etc.), and consider the strategies that help optimize in-stream video ad effectiveness. Whether you’re an advertiser looking to achieve positive return on investment, or a publisher looking to monetize video inventory, understanding how to leverage in-stream video ads is vital.As a professional ad management network, Newor Media helps publishers and content creators optimize video ad placements for maximum yield and viewer satisfaction—making every impression count.
What Are In-Stream Video Ads?
In-stream video ads are video ads that run before a video, during the ad breaks, or after the video, known as pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, respectively. These ads are embedded into the viewer’s streaming experience in the same video player as the main content, thus the term “in-stream.” Unlike out-stream or native video ads, which locate themselves outside a video player (such as in social feeds or in-text advertising), in-stream video ads are meant to run with the flow of the video content and therefore have the benefit of ensuring a viewer is already in the same medium as the product or service will be advertised. Being in that medium merely makes the advertising message more prominent in the viewer’s mind.
In-stream ads are mainly two types, either skippable or non-skippable. Skippable ads allow a viewer to decide what to do next in their viewing experience, often allowing the ad to be aborted after a few seconds, while non-skippable ads allow the advertiser to expose the viewer entirely.
These advertisements are prevalent across platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, and OTT (over-the-top) streaming applications such as Hulu or Peacock, where consumption of streaming video continues to grow.
In essence, when marketers ponder, “What are in-stream video ads?” they are, in fact, talking about their integration—in stream video ads deliver messages into the actual content the user has chosen to engage with and are designed to fit the “create engagement and have impact on the advertisement” realm of advertising. It has become one of the most utilized formats in the toolkit of modern digital marketers.
Types of In-Stream Video Ads
In-stream video ads come in several distinct formats, each designed to capture viewer attention at different points in the streaming experience. Understanding these types helps advertisers and publishers choose the most effective format for their goals.
1. Pre-Roll Ads
These ads run prior to the viewer’s main video content. They are one of the most popular types of in-stream video ads because it offers instant exposure prior to immersion into the content. Pre-roll ads are most effective in raising brand awareness or high-level messaging, in that the audience is most engaged while watching ads.
2. Mid-Roll Ads
Like TV commercials, mid-roll ads pop up inside the video content, usually at natural break points. These streaming ads have a slightly higher completion rate since audiences have already engaged with the stream and are more likely to resume watching afterwards.
3. Post-Roll Ads
Post-Roll ads appear after the video has finished running, and although they may have a little less views than pre-roll or mid-roll ads, the ads are now running in front of an audience that has completed the content, which makes them more open to a call-to-action (CTA, for example) to subscribe, or visit the website.
4. Skippable vs. Non-Skippable Ads
Skippable ads allow users to skip ads after 5 seconds, giving the audience some control to voluntarily engage with the brand with skipping. Non-skippable ads offer guaranteed full exposure, while requiring that some convincing or organizing storytelling is engaged to keep the viewer engaged.
5. Bumper Ads
Bumper ads are brief, six-second non-skippable video formats designed for quick, memorable messages. Despite their brevity, they are highly effective for reinforcing brand awareness and complementing longer ad formats.
How In-Stream Video Ads Work
Understanding how in-stream video ads function helps advertisers and publishers make smarter campaign decisions. These video ads follow a structured, technology-driven process that ensures the right ad reaches the right audience at the right time.
1. Upload and Create an Ad
The process starts with an advertiser uploading a video ad to a platform like YouTube Ads Manager or a demand-side platform (DSP). It allows advertisers to set campaign objectives around brand awareness, engagement, or conversions.
2. Setting Up Targeting
Advertisers state audience qualifications including demographics, interests, behaviors, or viewing places. Advanced tools even allow for retargeting to the user based on prior user engagements or website visits.
3. Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
When a user plays a video, there’s an auction that occurs in milliseconds. Ad platforms uses real time bidding to determine which advertiser’s video ad spots are available, inside the media. The winning ad slot is typically the highest relevant bid among other relevant quality factors.
4. Ad Serving
After the auction has been won, the ad is served to a viewer, either before, during, or after the video content. For example, a brand running a campaign on YouTube, could have its video ad served mid-stream to a user that is actively interested in the content of the videos they’re watching.
This precise, data-driven delivery mechanism ensures in-stream video ads are both contextually relevant and highly effective, maximizing viewer engagement while optimizing advertiser ROI.
Benefits of In-Stream Video Ads
In today’s competitive digital landscape, video stream ads have proven to be one of the most engaging and impactful advertising formats. By combining sight, sound, and motion, these video ads deliver stories that resonate emotionally and visually—helping brands stand out in an oversaturated online environment.
1. High Engagement Levels
Video is a medium that naturally attracts attention. In-stream video advertisements deliver significantly higher levels of attention and engagement to mounting charges of streaming content than equivalent static display advertisements, facilitating deeper brand associations and, consequently, generally result in higher view completion rates.
2.Stronger Brand Recall
Research has shown that viewers are far more likely to recall video-based messaging than messages based on images or text. The use of audio and video elements in the messaging of in-stream video advertising increases brand consciousness and recollection, and makes ad campaigns more memorable.
3.Precise Targeting Capabilities
Through the use of platforms such as Google Ads, YouTube, and Meta Ads, advertisers can sharpen targeting based on a wide range of demographic data, interests and browsing behavior based on device type. This helps to ensure each ad impression is served to the most relevant audience segment.
4.Cross-Device Reach
In-stream video advertisements deliver pervasively on mobile phones, desktops, tablets and smart TVs allowing a brand to achieve breadth of exposure across multiple touchpoints in the customer journey.
5.Scalability and Measurable Results
Programmatic heating technology helps brands to easily scale campaigns, begin tracking results in real time, and optimize creative elements to achieve outcomes.
Challenges of In-Stream Video Ads
While in-stream video ads offer powerful engagement opportunities, they also present certain challenges that advertisers and publishers must navigate to maintain performance and viewer satisfaction.
1.Ad Fatigue and Skip Rates
Repeated ads lead to advertising fatigue and diminish engagement while increasing skip rates. An audience will tend to ignore or skip an ad if they perceive that the ad does not deliver relevance, value, or utility, immediately or otherwise.
2.Intrusiveness and User Experience
Because streaming ads are disruptive to the user experience, they can feel intrusive, especially when placed too frequently and so quickly in the viewing of short-form content. Success is dependent on providing an optimum amount of ads to discourage long-term risk of viewer disengagement.
3.High Production Costs
Producing video content generally incurs higher production costs when compared to static display advertising. Scripting, filming – shooting content, and editing to produce engaging content is an added cost(s) with video compared to display ad. This typically presents larger barriers for smaller brands and publishers who cannot afford to hire professionals.
4.Ad Blocker and Desktop
Advertising blockers may block in-stream ads from reaching their audience, limiting the reach of the ad campaign and efficiency of delivering ads. Although these blockers are generally applied to browsers on desktop computers, this practice may limit reach occurring from mobile devices where ad blockers are less frequently used.
Solutions: To overcome these challenges, advertisers should focus on concise, value-driven creative messaging. Using shorter ad formats, such as six-second bumpers, and ensuring high audience relevance can significantly reduce irritation and improve overall engagement with in-stream video ads.
Best Practices to Maximize Impact
To maximize in-stream video ads, advertisers must blend creativity with strategy. A well-optimized campaign goes beyond simply running video ads—it requires careful planning around audience behavior, ad placement, and message delivery. Below are key practices that can help brands and publishers enhance performance and engagement.
1. Capture Attention Immediately
The initial moments of the ad are critical for viewer retention. Open strong with a visual hook, captivating headline, or intriguingly surprising statement; something that captures and keeps the attention of the viewers.
2. Keep Your Length Reasonably Short
Skippable ads should vary in length from 15–30 seconds; aim to be concise and consist of a message that is clear before the skip button is available. For bumper ads, stay under six seconds total. Brand recall and simpleness is key here.
3. Create Personalized Targeting
Use audience data to easily and precisely target them. YouTube and Meta audiences can segmented by demographics, interests and behaviors, so your ad gets to the right viewers, at the right time.
4. Include a Call-to-Action (CTA)
Every video ad should include at least some direction. It can be “Shop Now,” “Subscribe,” or “Learn More.” Keep your campaign CTA aligned at the end, clearly outlines both visually and verbally.
5. Test Different Ad Types
Pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll placements should be tested together to see which gets completion and conversion rate. A/B test different creative types to see what works better.
6. Leverage Captions and Subtitles
Many users watch videos on mute, especially on mobile devices. Adding captions ensures your message remains clear, even without sound, increasing accessibility and comprehension.
When advertisers apply these best practices to maximize in-stream video ads, they transform passive viewing into active engagement—achieving stronger ROI and long-term brand impact.
Real-World Examples
The effectiveness of in-stream video ads is best illustrated through real-world applications across major digital platforms. From awareness to conversions, brands are leveraging streaming ads to achieve measurable results.
1.YouTube Pre-Roll Campaigns
A consumer brand, operating on a global scale, utilized a YouTube pre-roll advertisement campaign to generate awareness for its new line of products. In using targeted demographics and interests, the campaign produced a 35% lift in ad recall, as well as considerable increases in search inquiries for the brand. The brief and entertaining videos produced high completion rates and strong awareness of the brand.
2.Facebook In-Stream Advertising
A retailer filled Facebook’s ad placements, utilizing the mid-roll ad capacities, within lifestyle and fashion videos. The ads contained suggested offers based on users’ interests along with explicit browsing history. This tactic produced a 25% increase in click-through rates and an observed rise in conversions during the campaign.
3.OTT / Connected TV (CTV) Ads
Consumption of long-format programming on streaming platforms, such as Hulu and Roku, is typically accompanied by ad placements that leverage mid-roll, in-stream ad operations. Entertainment and technology brands often product ads in this format due to viewer attentiveness when consuming this type of content. In one campaign for a streaming service, brand recall increased by 40% after consumers had been exposed to the CTV ads.
Future of In-Stream Video Ads
The future of in-stream video ads will be influenced by rapid technological growth and changing viewer behaviors. With more audiences leaving traditional TV for digital platforms, the need for streaming ads will only continue to increase, especially on connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) services.
A key trend that will drive this change is AI-driven personalization. Machine learning capabilities enable advertisers to create personalized video stream ads based on consumer preferences, habits, and contextual data, creating more actionable and relevant experiences. Personalized storytelling is becoming the new backbone of video advertising; fewer advertisements, improved viewer retention, and less ad fatigue are paramount.
A similar change is happening with shoppable video ads. Now, users can interact with video content and engage directly by clicking to purchase or learn more about products all in one video experience. This is bringing entertainment and commerce together in more engaging ways to convert action.
In conclusion, the prevalence of short-form content on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels is shaping ad creative. Ad dollars are shifting to short-form, high-impact creatives that fit today’s quick consumption mode. In short, the next generation of in-stream/streaming ads will be more customized, interactive, and integrated than we could ever imagine—making it seamless—from viewer experience to brand engagement.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, it is important for anyone engaged in modern digital advertising to understand what in-stream video advertising is. These video ads have been shown to be one of the best formats for generating brand awareness and conversions due to their ability to captivate viewers while they are engaged in the content they intentionally chose to view.
But success is about balance. Advertisers must accomplish the competitive mix of targeting, storytelling, and execution. The best video advertising campaigns efficiently use creativity to capture attention while honoring the viewer’s decision to take time for the ad.
The future of in-stream advertising is in personalization and interactive engagement. By leveraging AI-enabled targeting and shoppable video formats, brands that keep pace with the technology shifts will be at the forefront of brands competing for visibility in an ever-expanding viewing landscape. They will create an opportunity to convert passive audiences into active participants in the brand journey. As a digital ad management network, Newor Media works with publishers and digital content creators to match the value of the viewer to ad yield while optimizing the engagement of in-stream video advertising.
Optional FAQ
Q1: What are in-stream video ads?
In-stream video ads are advertisements that play before, during, or after a video—known as pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll formats. They appear within streaming content, providing brands with a direct way to engage active viewers.
Q2: How does in-stream video advertising work?
Advertisers upload their creative assets to platforms like YouTube Ads Manager or a demand-side platform (DSP). Through real-time bidding, the ad is served to a targeted audience based on demographics, interests, or behavior—ensuring relevant delivery and maximum impact.
Q3: Are in-stream video ads effective?
Yes. These ads consistently outperform static formats, delivering higher engagement, stronger brand recall, and better conversion rates. Their immersive nature helps capture attention and drive measurable results.
Q4: What’s the difference between in-stream and out-stream ads?
In-stream ads run within a video player as part of streaming content, while out-stream ads appear independently on webpages or in social media feeds, typically auto-playing without related video content.
Q5: How long should an in-stream video ad be?
The optimal length depends on format: 15–30 seconds for skippable ads to maintain viewer interest, and under 6 seconds for bumper ads designed for quick, memorable impressions.
These best practices help advertisers create more impactful and viewer-friendly video ad experiences.
