Brands take caution when it comes to online video marketing. Everyone has heard horror stories of high-cost videos not producing any return or low-cost videos tarnishing with the brand’s image. With that said, there is a lot to consider before pulling the trigger on incorporating online videos into a marketing strategy.
Before strategizing the video’s creative, businesses first determine what is being sold and to whom. Once the video’s direction is clearly laid out and aligns with the company’s business goals, then the creative comes in. Building out the creative will help to answer the following questions: Is a short yet memorable video less likely to be skipped? Or will a longer, more engaging video, create a lasting impression for the viewer? Google and Mondelez International shared these same questions.
Google took on Mondelez International’s Honey Maid Gharam Cracker brand and tested three different versions of its commercial. They cut one 15-second version of the video, another 30-second version, and a 2:17 extended version. Using TrueView, YouTube’s preroll ad format tool, Google was able to measure how long each video was viewed on average and how each version affected ad recall and brand favorability.
15-second video focus: Short and Sweet
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Results:
- Most skipped video
- Least effective for eliciting brand favorability
- Most effective in driving ad recall
30-second video focus: Happy Medium
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Results:
- Most viewed all the way through
- Most effective for eliciting brand favorability
- Most effective in driving ad recall
2:17 video focus: Long and Captivating
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Results:
- Skipped more than the 30-second video and less than the 15-second video
- Most effective for eliciting brand favorability
- Only 15% of viewers watched the entire video and the brand was not mentioned until the 1:17 mark
Take Aways
Even though the 15-second video came in the strongest for driving ad recall and the 30-second video eliciting the strongest brand favorability, Google chose the 2:17 video as the most effective version. They believe that if the brand were mentioned earlier in the 2:17 version of the commercial, it would have performed a lot better than the shorter videos. With that said, Google found that their blend of story and brand in the 2:17 commercial was off. Instead, putting together a video that has a perfect blend of story to brand ratio will gain better results. Google stated, “This media pressure can lead brands to feel like everything needs to be faster, faster, faster. But, as this experiment showed, making ads shorter doesn’t get them more attention – it may get them even less. With a great story, brands can take the time to create a connection, and change a mind.”
