30 Seconds To Sales

How long should it take a brand to get its message across in a video advertisement?

As it applies to spots that are designed to be viewed on mobile devices, the answer actually depends on the consumer demographic intended to view the ad. That fact in and of itself might lend retail advertisers to, prior to tackling the above question, venture a guess regarding another one:

What is the average attention span of a millennial consumer watching a mobile video, and how does it compare to that of a consumer between the ages of 35 and 54 (who’s doing the same)?

If one were to presume that there’s kind of a big difference between the two, one would be correct.

Of course, in the digital world, the concept of “a lot of time” is relative. It’s an arena where 20 seconds — obviously not a significant period in the “real world” — can make or break a brand’s chances of connecting with its target audience.

Twenty seconds, as it happens, is the difference between the respective average mobile video attention spans of the two aforementioned demographics, according to a new study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in partnership with Millward Brown Digital and Tremor Video.

Titled “Multiscreen Video Best Practices,” the study examined the behaviors and preferences that various U.S. consumer age groups demonstrate in their interaction with mobile video advertising. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 54 were presented with video ads of two lengths — 10-second and 30-second — for retail brands in the areas of automotive, consumer packaged goods (CPG) and quick casual restaurants on either a desktop computer, smartphone or tablet, then they answered questions related to the spots’ effectiveness.

A predominant finding of the IAB study is that when it comes to mobile advertising (on both smartphones and tablets) for millennials, shorter is better.

Among respondents in the 18-to-34 demographic, there was a differential of nearly 10 percentage points between the “brand appeal” of mobile ads that were 10 seconds long and those that were 30 seconds long, with millennials favoring the former at a rate of 63 percent to 54 percent.

That differential was flipped, however, in the 35-to-54 consumer group, with older consumers finding brands more appealing when they were presented in 30-second mobile ads as opposed to 10-second mobile ads, at a variance of 72 percent to 63 percent.

“The conventional wisdom is that all video ads on mobile screens must be short in order to resonate with audiences,” Joe Laszlo, IAB’s VP of industry initiatives, told Adweek. “Our research shows that, for some demographics and some advertising goals, this doesn’t hold up. These findings are critical in creating the next generation of multiscreen video advertising.”

This is not to say, it’s worth noting, that millennials across the board are willing to give brands exactly 10 seconds to connect with them or they’re out. If an advertisement attempts to cram too much information into that time frame, the study found, it can have an adverse affect on young consumers (or any demographic, for that matter), who are likely to regard the ad — and, therefore, the brand — with confusion.

In the case of mobile advertisements that need to convey a degree of complex information, therefore, millennials can be as patient as their older counterparts, according to IAB, in staring at their phones for a whole 30 seconds.

But, boy oh boy, brands better make it worth it.

We kid, of course — but, at the same time, we don’t.

Based on the study’s findings, IAB recommends that if retail advertisers seek to reach a younger audience with mobile video ads, those ads ought to be well-targeted, relevant and enjoyable.

After all, if a video advertisement on a mobile device isn’t enjoyable, that’s 10 seconds of their lives that consumers aren’t getting back.