You Tube ‘Bumper Ads’

Snackable Videos Are On the Menu

This year marks a milestone year for internet usage set to topple 1 Zettabyte (1 Trillion Gigabytes) by the end of 2016. It seems we have become extremely efficient at consuming huge volumes of data from an almost infinite number of services worldwide, but one of our favourite choices for data deliciousness is video streaming services. Now accounting for two thirds of the world’s internet traffic, video and audio streaming services have more than made their mark on our day to day lives. Whether it be the latest episode of Game Of Thrones or cute cat videos we just can’t seem to get enough and as our ability to find new and interesting content to amuse ourselves with increases, so too does our skill at avoiding unwanted interruptions. Ads and popups are no match for our swiping and clicking so the problem becomes, with our generation so engrossed in their content, how do you get your product or service in front of someone long enough to have an impact?

The answer, force them to watch! Okay, so it may not have been the revelation you were hoping for but the skill comes in creating a way of forcing people to watch without driving them away. Google has already rolled out video ads before which cannot be skipped but they don’t go cheap. Many companies are paying huge sums of money for the privilege of showing their ads uninterrupted and now it seems us common folk can have part of the pie as well.

In an effort to improve video ad engagement Google has released new YouTube ‘Bumper Ads’ which are essentially six second ads which cannot be skipped. Designed as an add-on to longer TV style YouTube ads, Bumpers should reinforce an existing message or allow it to reach more viewers. Half of 18-49 year olds pick up their mobile devices to stream video and prefer it for a personalised viewing experience, and according to Zach Lupie, Product Manager for YouTube video ads these new six second Bumper Ads “are ideal for driving incremental reach and frequency, especially on mobile, where ‘snackable videos’ perform well”.

If you are focusing on branding and awareness Bumper Ads are perfect for improving awareness and building familiarity with your products. If you can create an emotional connection to your service offering before a user is in need of it, you are far more likely to have a user follow through with a purchase or desired interaction with your business.

Bumper Ads can also be coupled with Remarketing to help a past visitor or even an existing customer to connect with a new product or service. In the world of online advertising getting noticed and engaging with someone in order to create a new advocate or customer can be an extremely difficult battle. So keeping your existing customers engaged should be very high on your list of e-marketing priorities. Even from your favourite retailer, an email about a great new piece of tech or designer look at half price can go unnoticed, but interrupt someone’s hilarious fail video and suddenly you’ve made a sale or reaffirmed a wavering customer’s loyalty.

While we can never truly predict the impact our advertising will have on our target audiences, diversifying your online marketing strategy can give you a far better chance. As mentioned earlier coupling Bumper Ads with more traditional YouTube advertising can be a great combination, but combine it with the Google Display Network banner ads and Remarketing, or maybe Text Ads on the Google Search Network or even Google Shopping and you have a powerhouse of internet marketing resplendence.

Whatever combination you choose, get creative with your marketing strategies, make sure you’re engaging with your customers at every stage of the buying process, so that when it comes time to reach for the plastic it’s your business they are opening their wallets for.

Interested in using video advertising for your business? Contact SponsoredLinX on 1300 859 600 to discuss how your business can benefit.

---