A recent study from Statista states that 65.9% will ALWAYS skip an ad when given an opportunity to do so. This statistic is alarming when advertisers pay high costs to develop video ads. Having 2 out of 3 people skip your ad no matter what can crush your ROAS (return on ad spend).
But therein lies the underlying truth about video advertising: even at its best, many video campaigns are already compromised. Few people will watch an ad if there are more exciting things on the page. While advertisers would love to have their 30-second creatives be viewed unfettered, concessions like skip buttons and in-stream ads exist because publishers opt for formats that keep users scrolling through content.
But you should be paying attention to effective solutions that are already out there. Advertisers have started to shift their campaign valuations from viewability to attention. New attention studies show some environments where consumers are willing to stay with an ad long enough for it to make an impact. These studies also show that the more attentive seconds spent with an ad, the better the return is for brand recall, user growth, and sales. That environment is mobile games.
Believe it or Not: Natural Breaks on Mobile Do Exist.
Advertisers and publishers should strive for moments when ads occur at natural breaks in the action. The publisher can set consumer expectations for an ad break by finding the user at a natural pause. Consider watching your favorite CTV drama: a scene plays, the music rises, and the screen fades to black – followed by minutes of uninterrupted commercials.
And the one place where natural breaks do exist in mobile is in games. Players pause after completing levels or making a move. This pause creates an opportunity for a moment of cooperation between advertisers and publishers. While the consumer takes a breath, the advertiser can tell its story, and the publisher can make revenue without interrupting the player.
Beyond that, many games also offer rewarded video ads, which aren’t interruptive AND provide tangible benefits for the user they can use in the game.
Studies conducted in collaboration with attention measurement experts Lumen and Amplified Intelligence reveal that interactive ads within mobile games significantly outshine social and web videos, capturing 10X more. On average, Lumen found that rewarded video ads command 22 seconds of focused attention per ad compared to 2-3 seconds for ads in standard social formats.
Maximizing attention in a cluttered landscape involves understanding where and when attention is given. By seeking environments where publishers give consumers cooperative moments to watch ads during natural pauses, savvy advertisers can put quality views at the forefront and find attentive outcomes, which is the key to achieving your brand goals in 2024.
