Brief:
- Reese's, K9 Advantix, Kellogg's Rice Krispies and Keebler are the top brands in YouTube's leaderboard of ads ranked by views, engagement and ratings. Many of the brands on the list of top six-second ads are from consumer packaged goods (CPG) and the food industry, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
- Most of the leading ads were created specifically for YouTube's six-second ad format, per the release, while the 2017 leaderboard was comprised of longer ads that were shortened into "bumper ads," as the video-sharing platform calls them. Gorilla Glue, Sargento Cheese, Duracell, Sonic Drive-in, Pringles US and Domino's Pizza rounded out the top 10.
- YouTube developed the leaderboard with an algorithm that measures total views and engagement, in addition to a user creative rating test conducted by researcher Ipsos for the 12-month period that ended in July.
Insight:
After introducing non-skippable, six-second ads in 2016 to improve mobile viewing, YouTube has touted the power of the shorter format to raise brand awareness and engagement among ad-fatigued viewers. The video-sharing platform last year debuted its leaderboard of six-second ads, most of which were shortened from a longer ad format. This year's list is notable for mostly consisting of ads created specifically for the six-second format, which other social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat and broadcast networks like Fox have begun to adopt as the format grows in popularity and has shown to resonate with consumers.
Context around these short ads are critical for brands to consider, Emily Minardi, associate marketing director of Rice Krispies Treats at Kellogg, said in a statement. The cereal brand released festive mini Rice Krispies Treats ahead of the holidays last year to raise awareness and highlight the product's suitability as a stocking stuffer. The brand dedicated 90% of its online video spend to creating and serving six-second ads to people who had already shown interest in topics like Christmas shopping, cooking, toys and travel. Another key element to consider when brands develop shorter ads is to ensure the story is simple enough to convey in just a few seconds, Lauren Connley, senior director of creative at Gorilla Glue, said in the statement. The bumper ad that made the No. 5 slot on YouTube's leaderboard shows how the brand's products can quickly fix a broken item, an idea that doesn't require a longer ad format to demonstrate.
YouTube last year highlighted the effectiveness of the shorter ads in a study of 122 bumper campaigns in the U.S. It found that 70% of the campaigns drove a significant lift in brand awareness, with an average gain of 9%. More than nine in 10 campaigns drove ad recall globally with an average lift of more than 30%, per a blog post by Google, YouTube's parent company.
