Are Shorter YouTube Ads Better?
Video has been part of the marketing nomenclature for more than 60 years, but we are still learning more about this medium every day. Now Google is offering insights and help in building a content strategy surrounding video from its Google BrandLab.
Google conducted research with Mondelez International to test ad length effectiveness on YouTube. Because of broadcast television, it can be difficult to break out of the typical ad lengths of :15, :30 or :60 seconds. Although we could make a 23-second length or a 42-second length.
Surprisingly, the average length of ads on the YouTube Leaderboard in 2015 averaged 3 minutes. That is an increase of 47% over 2014.
Although it is thought that the shorter lengths are less likely to be skipped, Google’s research found that the longer cuts were watched more that the 15-second ads. The “view-through rates” (VTR) were higher in the 30-second ad than the :15 or 2-minute ad. The longer cuts were watched more and skipped less than the short :15. The longer forms also lifted brand favorability because the “more complex stories created a more meaningful connection to the brand.”
The :15 did drive high recall. The study asked marketers if we want higher favorability ratings or recall ratings? For most of us, the favorability ratings will result in more brand action than just being able to recall an ad.
The final thought from the research was “Don’t leave your brand for last.” Google recommends finding a way for viewers to connect with your brand as the story unfolds, weaving the brand throughout the video.
Even though it feels like attention spans are narrowing, a good story can entice and hold a viewer for a longer brand experience. The problem is the same as it has been throughout time, how do you blend brand and story together for electrifying results?
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.