The Growing Influence of Short Form Ads

In a world of declining attention spans, short-form content is necessary. As far as video ads are concerned, less can be more when hoping to captivate the consumer in the most valuable way possible.

Short form ads help encourage recall through bite-size messages and incentives. With punchy words, striking visuals, a brand’s story can be told in no more than a few seconds.

It is argued that advertisers will be unable to successfully tell a brand’s story through a condensed ad. However, they still represent the opportunity to execute valuable storytelling principles throughout.    

Even after skipping, users still appear to recall the first few seconds of an ad. According to a report by research firm Kantar Millward Brown, short form ad lengths work best in achieving higher brand affinity with the ideal length positioned at 6 seconds.

Interestingly, the gaming app ecosystem is expected to be the biggest beneficiary to the short form ad. It is not just gaming which short form ads work for, we are seeing a growing increase within FMCG, entertainment and lifestyle industries.  

Short form ads can be fit for purpose. Combating ad avoidance with condensed, memorable video ads offers a cost-effective way to extend reach and frequency, driving greater ad recall when sending the right message and using the right creative.

Fundamentally, whether long or short, authentic stories connect with people and advertisers should carefully consider what type of ad would be most valuable for their brand.