Six second ads are effective at reinforcing messages previously delivered via longer ads or other forms of content, and are more likely to resonate with younger audiences.
Those are two takeaways from new research released by FreeWheel Council for Premium Video, who recently teamed up with Realeyes in attempt to gain a better understanding of how ad length translates to end user experience and customer actions. Like many content formats, the shorter ads can work well, but only when used in the right way, at the right time.
Six second ads have become more popular in 2018, largely due to their arrival on social media platforms, and they are yet another creative outlet for brands to experiment with when putting together their content marketing and brand content campaigns.
When used in isolation, six second ads are not as effective as 15 second ads – but the short snippets are good at supporting messages that have featured in other ads with different lengths. They are also a useful tool for creating impact and can drive a notable uplift in engagement, purchase and brand recall.
NBC Universal executive vice president for business operations and strategy, Krishan Bhatia said: “The emergence of the 6-second ad format is particularly interesting in light of lower attention spans, and we believe that shorter ads can have a complementary impact on results for certain types of ad creative when paired effectively with other ad formats within a campaign.”
Striking the right balance is the key message then as brands look to leverage a range of formats to deliver relevant content to audiences.
