Outstream Video Ads: Moving Beyond the Limitations of Pre-Roll

What is the most appealing ad format in 2025? Video ads for sure. 96% of marketers want to have it in their advertising strategy, while 54% of users crave for more video content in their feeds. How do you match this demand if most of the pre-rolls are already taken by somebody else? The answer is outstream video ads.

Videos are magnets that stick to your eyes. Even when it comes to crappy clips on YouTube, we usually can't help but click “play”. Resisting watching a video with a clickbait headline is as hard as resisting stealing fries from your friend's Big Mac combo. And if regular videos look so delicious, why can't online video advertising be the same?

There is a problem, however. In-stream video ads are expensive and need a video player to work. Web pages with video players are rare, let alone the fact that pre-roll or post-roll ad setup is challenging.

Is there something to make video ads look great again?

Meet the outstream video format. These video ads have nothing to do with video players and just emerge in the middle of any page. Let's discover what makes them so appealing, why the setup is so easy, how they differ from in-stream ads, and which ones would work for you.

What Is Outstream Video Advertising?

Simply put, outstream ads are all video ads that live outside video players.

Nobody has been talking about it, but you've seen them scattered around editorial content. Muted videos that appear out of nowhere when you're reading a cool article on Forbes are exactly what we're talking about.

Speaking more professionally, outstream video advertising is a form of native advertising that involves a large-format video player that emerges in the middle of the page content and automatically plays a video ad. Outstream can be played anywhere, anytime, and still brings most of the benefits of regular programmatic video.

Outstreams aren’t the only ad formats that bring engagement.

When to Use Outstream Video Ads?

Outstream video advertising comes to the rescue when you need to expand your video ad campaign beyond the video player. There are several major use cases of the outstream video format:

• Absence of the video player. You work with publishers that don't have videos on their websites.
• Reach expansion. You already run in-stream campaigns and want to grow further.
• Native-like look. You want your ad to be coherent with the website's content.
• Customization. You need to spill over the standard requirements of in-stream video ads.
• New effective format. You are curious to see if outstream does well for your business.

Let's elaborate on why outstream video ads may perform better than in-stream by looking at specific cases.

What Are the Examples of Outstream Video Ads?

Outstream video ads are becoming one of the most widely adopted ad formats in online advertising. You see dozens of these video ad placements every day, often without realizing how efficient they are at driving performance and boosting ad revenue compared to more traditional video ads. Here are a few real-world examples that broaden the perspective.

Revolocity Creative

One of the earliest and most successful campaigns came from Revolocity Creative in 2015. To promote the lawn-care brand Scotts during the Women’s World Cup, they ran an outstream campaign across 200 websites with 900,000 impressions.

The result? An extra 290,000 views thanks to shares on Facebook. The key driver was non-intrusiveness: instead of forcing the entire ad, customers engaged only if interested, making this format highly effective in non-video environments.

HOT

The Israeli company HOT, a provider of internet, phone, and TV services, wanted to expand beyond YouTube with fresh ad formats. It integrated outstream ads into customer feeds, designed to play automatically only when 100% visible and muted by default. With advanced targeting and a customized video player, CPCV dropped by 66%, proving this format is more efficient than traditional video ads on video platforms.

Uber

Uber Eats tested a unique ad format within mobile apps: post-checkout video ads. These appear while customers wait for order updates, a moment of high attention. Brands like Domino’s Pizza and Stan quickly adopted the format, and early U.S. tests showed 37% higher viewability compared to industry benchmarks.

This demonstrates how outstream can outperform other ad formats by using context-specific video ad placements to capture attention.

Benefits of Outstream Video Ads for Users, Publishers, and Advertisers

Aside from benefits for ad agencies, advertisers, and website users, outstream video advertising also has strengths that can be utilized by publishers.

Let's summarize the major gains for each party.

Disadvantages of Outstream Video Format

More freedom also means more responsibility. If implemented the right way, outstream video ads are indeed less intrusive and more effective. But the customizable nature of these ads has a flip side. Poor optimization and wrong placement of the ad are not uncommon here. So, instead of having a neat native-like look, they may turn into the user's worst nightmare.

The second drawback of outstream is that it's hard to purchase programmatically via a demand-side platform. Publishers can't list such inventory units in their SSP platform, as this kind of inventory is not intended to be on the website from the start. Those video ads can be placed anywhere and nowhere at the same time, and that's a problem when it comes to automatic media buying: an RTB algorithm is not able to read unlisted units.

Now that you know all there is about outstream video ads, let's compare them to their siblings.

Outstream vs. In-Stream Video Advertising

In-stream advertising refers to ads that run inside traditional video content, think pre-roll, mid-roll, or post-roll units within a video player. These ads occupy valuable video inventory on advertising platforms like YouTube or streaming services. That's why they typically command high CPM, work flawlessly on mobiles, and always remain in high demand.

However, while they guarantee visibility, in-streams often frustrate audiences: a pre-roll or post-roll interrupts viewing, can’t always be skipped, and rarely feels relevant. In fact, research shows that 66% of U.S. users dislike it when they press play and an ad plays automatically with sound. This forced model may deliver impressions, but it doesn’t always engage users.

Outstream, on the other hand, detaches the ad experience from video players and traditional video content. Outstream video advertising works in non-video environments, where ads appear between text, in social feeds, or even within interstitial ads on mobile apps.

Unlike in-stream, outstream ads are skippable (most of the time), and users can scroll past them if uninterested. They’re also muted by default, so engagement happens when a viewer actively chooses to watch. For advertisers, this makes outstream less intrusive and more aligned with native browsing behavior. For publishers, it unlocks new ad spaces that would otherwise remain unused, boosting ad revenue without requiring their own video content.

From a setup perspective, outstream is lighter. Embedding a snippet of JavaScript allows publishers to serve video units almost anywhere on a webpage.

Instream ads, by contrast, require a customized video player and strict technical standards to function properly. This difference makes outstream much more flexible for publishers and marketing teams looking to diversify their advertising campaigns.

Quick Comparison: Instream vs. Outstream

• In-stream video ads require a player and interrupt the main content (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll).
• Outstream video ads run in non-video environments and can be skipped or scrolled, making them more user-friendly.
• Instream ads autoplay with sound; outstream ads are muted by default and rely on active user interaction.
• Instream requires strict integration with the video player; outstream can be added with a simple script.
• Instream is limited by available video inventory; outstream opens new ad spaces across websites, feeds, and apps.

Outstream vs. In-Banner Video

It’s worth clarifying how outstream vs. in-banner differs. In-banner ads are standard display banners that play video inside them. While they do extend the use of banner inventory, they don’t adapt as seamlessly to context and often deliver weaker engagement compared to native outstream video ad formats. Outstream goes further by integrating video naturally into the content flow, offering advertisers more scalable options and publishers a stake in the growing outstream video advertising market.

Outstream Video Formats + Templates from Epom Ad Server

The only reliable way to show outstream video ads on the website is to give a well-written piece of JS code to the publisher. And you don't need to come up with it by yourself. We at Epom ad server have already thought ahead and created outstream video templates to provide the best user experience to hook your target audience.

The following templates are the most widespread examples of outstream video: in-read, overlay, and slider ad formats. Here we will go over each one in more detail.

In-Feed Outstream Video Ads

In-feed or in-read video ads are also dubbed as native video advertisements. They are called so because they blend in editorial content and seem like they're meant to be there. In-read ads smoothly appear in the middle of the page, surrounded by text or other types of content. It happens when the user scrolls the feed to the designated place, which can be the best spot for displaying such an advertisement.

Outstream in-feed offers benefits to both users and advertisers. It can't go unnoticed and draws attention, especially if you tailor it to look like the website's design. On the other hand, it doesn't distract the user from reading the article. So, if they're not interested, they may just pass by and ignore this video ad.

Benefits of In-Read Ad Format:

• Native-like look;
• Non-disruptive user experience;
• Can't go unnoticed;
• May be placed anywhere on the page;
• Draws the attention by its dynamics.

Overlay Outstream Video Ads

An overlay video ad is a good candidate to replace a pre-roll ad, as it works almost the same way but is much simpler to implement. While the user is on the page, overlay covers up an existing video player or another fitting element on the website, auto-playing a muted video. The user can watch it just as a pre-roll video ad, yet it gives you more customization freedom to make it less intrusive for the audience.

Thus, you can allow users to skip overlay whenever they want, setting up a close button. Once they press on it, the ad will disappear, and they'll get back access to the main video. I want to also remind you that overlay is not a part of a video player, so it can be installed over it in a matter of seconds using the Epom overlay video template.

Benefits of Overlay Ad Format:

• Highly customizable;
• Can be skipped or muted;
• May serve as a pre-roll;
• 2X cheaper than a pre-roll;
• Easy to set up;

Slider Outstream Video Ads

Sliders are the most spectacular among other outstream video ad examples: they drive into the page from the designated corner, ready to impress the user with the compelling message. It's important to carefully select the pages on which to display slider ads, as they may cover up primary content in a way the user may dislike. But if applied properly, sliders are the most engaging and notable video ads.

Benefits of Slider Ad Format:

• Spectacular and engaging;
• Can be easily skipped;
• Extra customizable.

Did you know that you can test each of those directly from your demo account in Epom ad server?

Tips on Using Outstream Video Advertising

To get the most out of this ad format, advertisers may want to try:

• Keeping outstream video ads short. Longer (over 15–30 seconds) ads are less engaging.
• Optimizing ads for viewing in silent mode. Many customers don’t turn the sound on, so your message should be clear even when muted. Also, it’s essential to add a clear CTA (call-to-action).
• Providing mobile compatibility and high loading speed.

As for publishers, to get the best results, they should offer optimal placements, ensuring both viewability and quality user experience.

Now that you know all the basics about outstream video advertising, you can make an informed decision. This decision must also include choosing the right platform that allows you to enjoy all the benefits of the outstream video format.

Epom Ad Server is one of the most potent options in the market. It helps publishers transform banner placements into video ads and offers outstream templates to create ad placements beyond the standard ones.

Another great thing about Epom Ad Server is the 14-day period to test the platform for free. You can try all its features and decide if they satisfy all your needs.

FAQ

• What is outstream video advertising?

  Outstream video advertising refers to video ads that appear outside of existing video content. Unlike in stream advertising, these ads aren’t tied to a player. They usually show up within non-video content like articles, social media feeds, or desktop inventory placements. Outstream ads often play automatically when they enter the viewport and pause once the user scrolls away, which encourages natural user interaction and higher user engagement.

• What are the most common types of outstream video ads?

  Popular formats include in-page ads (placed within online advertising articles or between images), in-banner ads (running inside display ad inventory units), interstitials (short, full-screen video ads in apps), as well as native ads integrated into social media feeds. Some publishers also experiment with sticky or expandable units that let the entire ad remain visible during scrolling, further boosting user interaction.

• What is an example of outstream video ads?

  A strong case study comes from Revolocity Creative, which used outstream ads in an advertising campaign for Scotts during the Women’s World Cup. With 900,000 impressions across multiple websites, the campaign generated an additional 290,000 views thanks to social sharing. The ads play only when viewers choose to engage — instead of forcing the entire ad, which made the format less disruptive, more interactive, and ultimately better for user engagement and brand recall.

• What are the main benefits of outstream video ads?

  For publishers, outstream provides new revenue streams by monetizing non-video content and unused desktop inventory. For advertisers, the benefits include stronger user engagement, better control over ad inventory, and seamless integration into existing content. These ads typically improve the user experience since they don’t interrupt own video content, while publishers also reduce banner blindness by offering formats that look closer to native ads.

• When to use outstream video ads?

  Outstream is a smart choice when advertisers want to extend advertising campaigns beyond in-stream advertising, test new ad formats, or diversify revenue streams. It’s especially effective for brands that lack their own video content but still want to leverage video in online advertising. Outstream ads can complement social media feeds, reach broader audiences across desktop inventory, and deliver performance without relying solely on in-stream placements.