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YuMe, IPG Media Lab Evaluate the Impact of Digital Video Ad Lengths

Shifts in the way people consume video content are changing how marketers strategize about video advertising. Increased consumption of snack-sized content, for example, has made shorter video ad formats more popular. Concurrently, longer video ad formats have become increasingly prevalent as marketers start to invest in custom content created for digital platforms.

While marketers are clearly experimenting with new video ad lengths, they are faced with increasing complexity about what works most effectively. To help address these questions, today, YuMe, Inc., the global audience technology company powered by data-driven insights and multi-screen expertise and IPG Media Lab, the creative technology arm of IPG Mediabrands, unveil their latest joint research, addressing the effectiveness of different video ad lengths, looking at micro and longer form ad formats, devices and consumer perspective…

Key Findings:

-Ads perform differently based on length – developing a creative length strategy is imperative for success
-Micro ads have a leg up on smaller screens, where video takes up 100% of screen real estate and short content is the norm
-Having grown up with short form content, millennials respond best to micro ads, and also tend to see them as higher quality and more enjoyable than older consumers do
-Shorter ads can serve as a quick reminder of established brands to drive top-of-mind awareness and longer ads can be employed to educate about a new brand
-While every device performs differently, the 15 second mark is the shortest amount of time for making an impact on persuasion metrics

“The research conducted with the IPG Media Lab showed us that we can deploy different video ad lengths strategically based on the individual needs of all brands within our portfolio,” said MillerCoors Senior Media Manager Dan Langert. “The research supports the importance of messaging precision and length, given the device the consumer is utilizing.”

The study sampled nearly 10,000 consumers across PC, smartphone and tablet devices, and tested ads for five brands: Charles Schwab, Hotwire, Jeep, Miller Lite and TV Land. Consumers were driven to content that matched their real-life consumption behaviors. Prior to the content, consumers were randomly shown a single pre-roll ad of 5, 10, 15, 30, or 45+ seconds.

YuMe and IPG Media Lab explored how to effectively engage audiences across all ad lengths, verticals and devices, determining whether traditional branding metrics were impacted.

The study also found that short video ads can increase awareness, drive home key messages as well as convey brand imagery. However, for brands to be truly persuasive, they need a minimum of 15 seconds to change overall favorability and drive purchase intent.

“With the increasing popularity of new ad lengths, the time was ripe to garner new insights around effectiveness that can help shape both strategy and creative direction,” said Paul Neto, Research Director, YuMe. “While we found micro ads to be effective with driving recall, especially with millennials, 15 seconds or more were required to drive persuasion metrics.”

“The study not only shows that marketers need to be thoughtful about how they deploy various video ad lengths, but also that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all best practice,” said Kara Manatt, Head of Research, IPG Media Lab. “We need to take a more nuanced approach and customize based on our goals and target audience.”