The death of 30 second stories
YouTube has recently announced they are officially doing away with skippable pre-roll ads, starting 2018, and moving to the 6-second "bumper" instead. What exactly does this mean for you and your 30+ second video ads? Adapt.
In the beginning of YouTube pre-roll advertising you just took your TV ad and threw it up on the internet. It was easy! No special production, no double cost for producing a brand new spot. You said your website at the end anyways and could embed a link. Smart phones were just taking off (remember the iPhone was one of the first fully internet capable phones and it launched MID 2007) so video was limited to desktop views only, and it was still lower than TV or buying a radio spot. Then the internet exploded, literally. Social media became the #1 source for information. People got everything from Facebook, Twitter gained it's main popularity (I still accredit this to the rapid spread of the announcement of Michael Jackson's death almost exclusively) and YouTube became THE thing for info after it's purchase by Google for $1.65 Billion in 2006.
At first ads weren't skippable at all. You watched the whole thing while your video loaded. Then as internet speeds rose, videos loaded faster and ads became skippable. If you've done any form of YouTube advertising you know that you only pay if someone watched the entire ad (also getting reports on 25-50-75% views). Then as time progressed and YouTube realized everyone was skipping ads they created the unskippable format. Now, many facts and figures I'm sure could show you all sorts of reasons why this was done, and why subsequently it was removed. My theory: impatience.
If a website doesn't load fast enough, I leave. If the first few items in my Google search don't answer my question, I revise my keyword. If a video doesn't get my attention in the first few seconds, I'm gone. This is how things work now. We are a society of "now". We know this as advertisers. The best of us have learned to get to the point. Most notably in the internet video advertising world is Geico.
These are a sample of Geico ads, all deliver their message in the first 7-10 seconds of their 30 second spots. Geico was smart with this. They saw that people were skipping ads that may not necessarily be relevant and created a way around it. Also, they essentially got their message for free. Instead of relying on the clicks, they relied on the impressions and the inevitable brand recognition. I use this as an example often as a company that delivers a simple message: 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. That's all you need to know. Nothing else. No website, no phone number, just that.
Why did this work so well? Everyone knows this phrase now. It's not a feel good "Grab a Coke and a smile" or a "Where's the beef?". It states exactly what they offer. Simple sign up, money saving on car insurance. Boom. It's their entire companies value proposition in 11 words. They successfully created experiential marketing without making an experience or an emotional tie.
With this new format, your new YouTube spots will have to follow suit. Can you describe your product and brand in under 6 seconds? Being able to convince the impatient why they should spend their money with you instead of your competitors is something you already do, but in one sentence? Luckily, you have the rest of this year to figure it out.