Google Adwords Introduces Bumper Ads

It’s well-known that currently, most people look to their mobile devices in order to watch videos, even when a larger viewing device is close by! Watching on mobile gives the viewer more control, freedom and the ability to flip back and forth between other social applications easily to share and respond to what they just watched. With the evolution of habits like this, pre-video advertisements have had to adjust slightly to keep up.

Google Adwords had taken this all into consideration by introducing Bumper Ads, a new 6-second video format that plays before selected videos. While the 30-second as well as longer and skippable ads are still options, this is a great way to reach a large audience quick enough to maintain interest of the viewer but long enough to still have an impact. These ads are perfect for driving up the reason and frequency with which the ads are watched the whole way through, especially on mobile devices where shorter video ads tend to perform better than longer ones. Generally, if someone is searching for and watching videos on their device, it’s likely they want to get to them quickly. With the format in mind, these ads are most effective with TrueView and Google Preferred campaigns.

With their brief length, it’s easier for them to appear more frequently before videos without disrupting much of the viewers’ experience watching multiple videos. In that way, they stick in the minds of viewers and bring more aware to brands and products by getting to the “point” or call to action very quickly. Seeing them more often helps viewers recall them and put the advertised product of service much more into consideration.

Good examples of the format in use British band Rudimental spreading aware about their second album, We The Generation. Senior Marketing Manager of Atlantic Records/Warner Music GroupFiona Byers talked about using the format for their campaign, saying, “TrueView and Bumpers were a really important part of the recent Rudimental campaign to tell the story of the band’s second album. Through cost-efficient bumpers we could really showcase the plethora of legendary guests featured on the record.”

So what will this new shorter format option mean for brands? For starters, it will force them to get creative. Sometimes, getting a message across in more concise ways can prove difficult for brands who are more accustomed to more long-winded messaging. It will be important to hone in on the “core” of your ad and make that the focus alongside a strong call to action.  Find ways to ensure that those few seconds are visually engaging without being jumbled or overwhelming, as you want to keep people’s attention for as long as it’s on-screen. A viewer may not action on it right away, but a memorable visual will stick in their minds and, with continual views they;ll be much more likely to do further research into the brand, product or service.