Brands constantly strive for consumers to engage with their advertising, but the focus on CTR to determine interaction success falls short. MediaPost explains that the dwell metric – i.e. clicking play, video completion rates – more accurately depicts engagement levels.

Ads featuring theatrical trailers and episode previews lure more readers in with a simple benefit: the ability to sample entertainment without having to jump to another site. It's no surprise that readers who dwell on an ad (in the most literal sense) develop deeper interest in, and affection for, the brand's messaging. Going beyond on-site metrics, MediaPost finds that dwell rates allow "marketers to predict the success of a film before opening day" and drive readers to search for brand-related keywords three times more than usual.