Facebook Business
In a Mobile-First World, Shorter Video Ads Drive Results
To learn more about what works well for mobile video ads, we teamed up with some Facebook Marketing Partners (FMPs). FMPs are third-party developers that provide technological solutions to help advertisers spend more efficiently. We asked FMPs to work with businesses and uncover best practices, specifically optimal length, for mobile video ads. Through these collaborations, we found that shorter video ads were most successful.
The power of 6-second ads
Champs Sports, a Footlocker brand, and their media agency PHD, worked with FMP Adaptly to increase brand awareness and drive conversions. Champs Sports tested 30-second video ads and 6-second video ads to see which was more effective. In this case, the 6-second ads delivered an 11% increase in estimated ad recall, 12% increase in return on ad spend and 271% increase in video completion rate—proving to be most effective in driving results for the brand. The 6-second ads also resulted in incremental lift across several other key metrics including conversion rate, average purchase value and clickthrough rate.
The test also showed that people are more inclined to remember an ad that quickly communicates the message and grabs people’s attention. Average watch time for both the 6-second and 30-second video ads was the same, but ad recall was significantly higher for the 6-second ads. The difference in ad recall underlines the importance of keeping video ads short and communicating key messages in the first few seconds.
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With our consumers’ ever-changing interests and thirst for compelling video content, mobile-first short video ads were very intriguing to leverage. After looking at the positive results, we’re excited that these ads allowed us to break through to our consumer with meaningful placements, to influence their buying decisions in the future.
Matt McNichol
Director of Social, Champs Sports
Impactful messaging and repetition
When launching a new mobile game, Netmarble teamed up with FMP Wisebirds to increase awareness of the new product and drive downloads. Wisebirds helped Netmarble produce several options of video creative and they also conducted optimization and cost effectiveness analyses throughout the campaign. The team ran a test with 6-second, 15-second and 30-second ads, and the 6-second ad performed the best. The video ad campaign for Netmarble’s Lineage2 Revolution broke records as the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) with the most downloads in both the App Store and Google Play in five Southeast Asian countries. The campaign also proved that delivering short, impactful messages repeatedly drives the best results.
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Before Lineage2 Revolution’s massive update campaign, we conducted a test to find out which length of the video creative showed best results. We used the Creative Split Testing function on Facebook, a very helpful tool to ensure accurate measurements to find out the best performing creative asset. In terms of branding, 6 sec videos showed the best performance in all branding effectiveness measurements. We found that exposing short videos repeatedly and leaving a strong impression on the audience produced an unforgettable branding message. After this test, Netmarble decided to spend more than 3 times their original budget and execute video view campaigns using 6 sec videos, and these campaigns were delivered at a cheaper cost and better efficiency.
Dong Gyeong Kim
Sr. Campaign Manager, Wisebirds
Given these case studies, we encourage advertisers to continue testing and learning with shorter video ads that capture attention quickly and deliver key messages. And consider working with an FMP to develop your most effective ad campaigns.
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