I recently had the chance of speaking at WeLoveDigital Forum in Bucharest, tackling what is next in digital advertising and how brands can get into the minds and hearts of busy consumers, millennials in particular.
Living in a world where the human attention span is now only 8,25 seconds long and the average consumer is exposed to around 360 different advertising messages per day, means brands have few opportunities to actually be seen & heard by their audiences.
Not to mention that out of these 360 ads a day, less than half are seen and acknowledged. And so my presentation focused on how brands can create memorable advertising and some key trends in video advertising.
At Brainient, we are very much video enthusiasts – it’s a medium that allows to easily convey a message, and people prefer to watch video content over reading text or viewing images. Even more, we are used to watching video, courtesy of the TV era. [As a side note, a study conducted by Nielsen shows that globally, 48% of users say they trust online video ads, so it’s a pretty compelling medium too.]
Here are the five main trends I focused on:
#1 The future of video advertising is mobile
We spend more and more time on our mobile devices, consuming anything from news, to music or social media, for an average of 3 hours a day or more. Which turns the smartphone into first screen, while TV and desktop are becoming second screens. Out of all the time users spend on their mobile, an estimated 44% is spent watching video. As brands will always follow where their audience is, video mobile is on the rise. But should mobile video advertising look & feel the same as desktop video ads? Surely not, mobile video will ideally be:
- interactive – we behave differently when using a tablet as opposed to a TV set, we expect to be able to interact and tailor the experience as much as we like, not have to sit through watching a given content
- vertical – horizontal video is inherited from TV/cinema era, but in the mobile world, vertical video looks & performs better
- personalized – making the video information relevant to each viewer context
#2 Short ads are becoming the norm
While advertisers don’t have yet the magic recipe for what is the ideal length of video ads over mobile, one thing is for sure: 30 seconds video are just not cut for mobile. Imagine having to watch a 30 sec ad, just to be able to view 2 minutes of video news – no wonder people are installing ad blockers. On the other hand, 5-10-15 sec ads have a greater positive impact on the audience and are easier to remember, particularly for millennials. YuMe and IPG Media Lab have conducted quite an interesting study on this topic.
#3 Real-time video
Being always connected and having fast access to latest news has an interesting side effect: we expect video content to be available in real time as well. Which explains the popularity of Periscope and why Facebook is investing heavily in live video (Facebook changed their algorithm to prioritize live video at the top of the feed and even created a live video hub, among others). News agencies and entertainers were the first ones to adopt real time video, but we can soon expect to see product launches or real estate embracing it.
#4 Personalized video powered by data
Personalizing the information within a video ad, based on users’ specific context can only add value & relevancy, and we see more and more demand for such video formats.
#5 360 degree video
360 degree video offers an interactive experience, where the viewer can control the angle and point of view. With both Youtube and Facebook allowing to upload 360 degree video into their platforms, it’s no wonder that brands already started to test & play around. While the experience is not as immersive as VR, 360 degree video has the big advantage of being easy to consume & adopt, as it doesn’t require any special equipment.
For those of you who are more visual, you can have a look at the deck here.
Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash
