30 Jan 2018: The year for Making 6-Second Video Ads
The High Diver: 6-second video ad of a person diving into a pool. Changes to the scenery happen as the person dives.
Through the years video ads have become shorter starting with standard 60-seconds and moving to 30-second videos in the 1970’s. Since the mid 1980’s video ads were predominantly 15-seconds long.
In recent years video has become more prominent and as a result is an effective tool in digital marketing. Due to the increase of competition, brands have chosen to create shorter videos to grab their audience’s attention. Six-second videos or less is an up and coming trend that brands can’t get enough of. YouTube has named this snackable content ‘bumper ads’.
Considering that the general attention span of audiences in 2018 is around six seconds, this snackable content is evolving with 21st century consumers. This is particularly true for the younger demographic. This content is small enough to engage with during multiple times of the day and across multiple channels.
We are living in an increasingly mobile world. Many people do everything on their phones, from social media, emails, and most recently video streaming. With the shift in the digital landscape, ads have more flexibility on social media platforms offering shorter videos which entices brands to become more interested in six-second videos.
This recent change in the length of video advertising has been recognised by technology and social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Google. Facebook intends to use plenty of video advertising on their platform, with a greater focus on short form ads.
Here is why you should take the move and make short six-second ads.
Short Format Captures Younger Audiences
Brands have the responsibility of crafting their videos, creating an impact as well as making it memorable for the young viewers. Brands must also be aware that ads are being viewed across multiple platforms, on different devices and apps.
Samsung Galaxy India S8 and S8 Plus: A club scene with the samsung recording with the feature of infinite display.
The Samsung Galaxy S8 India video ad is a great bite-sized piece of content that creates brand awareness specifically towards the younger audience. The ad has stunning visuals of a club scene combined with the Samsung phone, showing off the latest specs and seamless screen (infinity display).
Businesses can still create long form ads to play on traditional media channels and tie them in with short form digital content to help reach the younger audience.
Short Format Can Be Used On Multiple Platforms
When a longer ad has been created it becomes easier to create a six second format video from that material. The longer video can be segmented or used in different channels such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
Mom’s Touch Chicken 15s Video Ad: Sheep tastes the food and react to the heat.
Mom’s Touch Chicken 6s Video Ad: Sheep tastes the food and react to the heat.
Mom’s Touch created two video ads: 15-seconds and 6-seconds. Their humorous video ad could easily be adapted to fit into 6-seconds, only keeping the most important part.
Even if you have invested in long form ads, start thinking about the crux of the message and think about how you could create multiple short videos. It’s a good way to boost your video ad presence on different platforms such as Instagram.
Short Format Can Tell A Longer Brand Story
Okay this might not seem possible but because you have carefully narrowed down the video to 6 seconds your brand will benefit. Repurposing a longer ad into very short video ads is needed in today’s as consumers have less tolerance towards interruptive ads.
This doesn’t mean that you have to produce many 6 second story arcs to meet the ever changing digital demands. Instead of watching a 2 min video, consumers will now be able to watch multiple short videos throughout the day, keeping them engaged. This way over time these short video ads will combine to tell a larger story.
KFC Malaysia Chizza Duo Combo: Movie type introduction to new items on their menu.
KFC Malaysia recently created this six-second ad to promote their new menu items. KFC Chizza Duo Combo ad is inspired by movie trailers with the high impact titles and fast transitions of the images of food. This is just one example of how brands can create suspense by creating a series of short video ads to tease their audience and entice them, making them want to watch the next ad.It builds up anticipation of the new product and a series of videos creates the telling of a larger story.
Are 6 second ads right for your company?
A test was formulated where different length ads were made from the same material, namely 6 second, 30 second and 45 second.The test revealed that the six-second ads performed the best, leading to better consumer recall and brand recognition. Short form videos are ideal to test out certain variables for a clients products. It allows the brand to see what customers like and dislike about their products, branding or messaging.
There is an assumption that the video length affects the quality of the video. However the industry is not used to shorter videos as the creative thinking approach is different. Brands that tell unique stories with this short form will benefit as creativity, multiple channels and purpose are all necessary regardless of the length of the video.
If you think your brand and it’s story may be too long and complex for short video, you should still take into account this format. Think about the story you want to tell, start to break it down to the key components into smaller pieces to create snackable content for today’s digital consumer.
Have a look at our video process. Have a look at video animation pricing. Get a quote from us for an explainer video. Here is our video and animation work and processes.
Why not add the explainer video onto your website landing page? It is a good way of increasing your conversion rate plus a video captures the viewer’s attention for longer periods of time and decreases the bounce rate of your site. For more information go here.
If you would like to view our other creative processes and see how we work go here.
If you are in need of any Video Marketing needs, feel free to contact BWD Advertising and Breeze Website Designers.
Here are some more examples of 6-second video ads:
Corona Extra Ad: Jumping and living care-free.
Duracell: Durability of the battery and No 1 trusted brand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZbtH2rEQ6M
Coolish: Dance about a refreshing cool ice drink.