Shower thought of the day: Advertising on video sites

The best thoughts come in the shower. So I'm starting a Shower thought of the day section. Because I shower once a day. At least.

Anyway, the first thought that popped in my head is the way we see advertisements on video streaming sites. I have only first hand experience of YouTube, not being subscribed to Netflix. Currently, the advertisements shown at the start of videos are completely unrelated to me. I have no interest in watching them. Which is a huge problem for both the advertisers and the video site. The advertisers aren't getting through to their target audience, and the video site is pissing off it's users with non relevant unskippable advertisements. This is a gaping flaw in a world where google adwords pretty much knows you inside and out and bombards you with ads that actually matter to you.

So what I thought of, in the shower, was a new system where users could choose which category of advertisements they want to watch, based on their needs and interests. They categories could go from things like property, to gaming, to movies, to cars, to upcoming events. The catch is that the user has to pick at least 3 categories, and no less. For example, I would probably pick gaming, upcoming concerts, and movies. A housewife could pick Tv shows, home appliances and food. A banker could chose Current Affairs, property and insurance. The possible categories are endless. And of course, random and most popular ads could be categories as well.

 There are obvious benefits to the user, the video site and the advertiser. First, the user has relevant, interesting ads that would add to their viewing experience. Secondly, the video site can track the number of subscribers each category has, and provide valuable data to companies. Thirdly, the advertiser can pay less money to advertise in a category with less subscribers, and yet effectively reach their target audience that has openly declared an interest in their products. I'm not sure if video sites already do this, but with some tweaking, this could be a great paradigm for websites to monetize themselves.