6 Seconds Or Less: Micro Ads With Big Views

It’s been said that humans have a six second attention span (less than that of a goldfish!), and ongoing research and developments in advertising seems to be proving that theory true.

Today’s consumers are growing increasingly bored. Grabbing their attention is hard enough, and keeping it for the length of an entire ad seems nearly impossible.

From the dilemma of attention, the 6 second micro ad was born. These micro ads are quickly shaping up to be one of the most effective forms of storytelling that marketing has to offer consumers today.

History of the “Micro” 6-Second Ad

(Note: YouTube is the epitome of video ad benchmarking. So, we’ll primarily talk about YouTube in this article, but the same principles also apply for Facebook and other social video platforms.)

In recent years, YouTube found that viewers were irked—if not downright angry—at the length of ads that that preceded videos. Viewers go to YouTube to watch a vlog or funny video, and then they get stuck watching a minute or two minutes of an advertisement. In fact, video they want to watch might only be a minute or two, so they could actually be doubling their time watching the video with the ad.

YouTube decided that there needed to be a balance between monetization of videos and forcing customers to sit through long ads. So they implemented the “skip ad” button. After watching an ad for 5 or 6 seconds, the user can click “skip” to fast forward through the ad and begin watching their video.

YouTube and their paid advertisers quickly found that the skip ad button meant consumers didn’t feel “forced” into ads… but they also stopped watching the ads altogether. They’d watch the countdown and instantly click “skip” when possible.

“There must be another way!” a YouTube executive exclaimed. (We don’t know that anyone actually said that, but it’s a good guess.)

So YouTube decided to offer 6 second “bumper” ads as an in-between option. These ads are not skippable, but they’re short enough not to be intrusive.

Interestingly, these ads are actually showing higher engagement, higher watch rates, and higher conversion than longer ads (with or without skipping).

And so, the 6-second video ad was born.

(Keep in mind this only applies to video ads that come before or during another video. The same rules don’t necessarily apply to standalone videos.)

Why do 6-second ads work?

Attention

Viewers find long ads boring and obtrusive (if the visual storytelling isn’t there). People are willing to watch Super Bowl ads because they’re top-notch stories. The rest of the time, though, if you’re not telling a great story, viewers just don’t want to watch. That’s why, when given the opportunity, they’ll always click “skip ad” unless it’s a super fascinating video that’s caught their attention.

Shorter videos mean you only have to work to keep their attention for a shorter period of time.

In theory, even the longest videos should hook the audience in the first five or six seconds, though. You want to hook the viewer and grab their attention right away regardless of the length of the video. But the 6-second micro ad is different, because the medium itself is catchy and attention-grabbing.

Viewing

The longer the ad, the lower the possibility that the viewer will watch the entire thing. Even if the advertisement is super interesting, it can be a challenge to keep your viewer’s attention—especially if they are waiting for another video they’ve been wanting to watch.

If the ad is only 6 seconds, not only do they not have the option to “skip,” but they also won’t want to. By the time it would take to click the skip button, the entire ad is over. This kind of fast and furious advertising means they’re more likely to watch the whole ad and see your whole message.

Engagement

Viewing the whole ad doesn’t necessarily lend to engagement, but, the short style does. It’s only six seconds out of their lives. Because it’s short, they don’t feel that immediate sense of “dread” of a long ad that they’re looking to skip. That means they’re more open and receptive to the video ad, and this receptivity allows for greater engagement.

Also, micro second ads force the creator to get the message across in just 6 seconds. This generally requires craftiness that viewers find engaging.

Innovation

People like short ads. They know it’s hard to tell a story in six seconds. So brands that can tell a story well get extra brownie points for creativity and innovation.

Short, well-crafted videos seem to be the highest praised in the world of ad viewing.

Recall

Interestingly, research also suggests that 6-second bumper ads tend to boost ad recall—sometimes as much as 30%. That’s probably thanks to a mixture of the above results: viewers are more likely to watch, to engage, and to think highly of the ad (and thus think highly of the associated brand).

If you want people to notice you, like you, and remember you, 6-second ads might just be your ticket.

How to Create a 6-second Ad?

The trouble with 6-second ads is that you only have 6 seconds to get your point across. You need to be concise and succinct with your messaging. You need to fit your entire marketing vision into a short time period. You have to get viewers engaged in your brand and product in less than half the time of an elevator pitch.

You have to tell an entire story in six seconds. Not only does the story have to be good, but the viewer also has to feel something so strongly enough that they want to take some sort of action—and the video also has to convey what action it is they should take.

There are a lot of little details that need to work together to make such a short video ad successful.

So how do you do it?

It just takes a little bit of creativity and imagination… along with a whole lot of brainstorming and an awesome team of visual storytellers.  True Film Production prides itself on being great storytellers.  For more information about how our video production company can help you, reach out for a free quote today.