Think impact not views: mobile-first advertising that
moves the needle
Source: Warc Exclusive, December 2016
Downloaded from WARC
This article offers advice on building effective mobile-first campaigns, based on new research.
People across Asia-Pacific now spend almost twice the time on their mobile screen than on TV,
but mobile receives only around 20% of total media spend in APAC.
Facebook's research with partners like Nielsen and Millward Brown has shown that mobile ads
with durations ranging from just 0.92 seconds onwards, are effective in driving brand awareness,
brand consideration, key message recall and purchase intent.
Human Computer Interaction research indicates that people use "System 1" thinking (fast,
automatic and instantaneous) while engaging with mobiles – this mode of thinking takes in a lot
more information within just a few seconds, especially when the content is emotional or visually
creative.
Brand and sales lift metrics are the best measure of campaign effectiveness on mobile.
Reynold D'Silva and Sachin Sharma
Facebook
It's time for all marketers in Asia Pacific to make the leap from being mobile-last to mobile-first. Consumers in the
region spend more time on mobile than on TV, but it's only very recently that we've begun to see leading-edge
marketers make the leap in the quality of their mobile creative. What can we learn from their experience?
Mobile advertising: an opportunity as well as a challenge
Millward Brown's most recent Ad Reaction study shows that people across Asia-Pacific now spend almost twice
the time on their mobile screen than on TV. We know that more than 90% of Facebook's users access it through
mobile. But mobile receives only around 20% of total media spend in APAC, although this is growing rapidly
(Source: eMarketer).
For marketers, this represents an opportunity as well as a challenge because people consume advertising on
mobile differently than on TV or Desktop screens. A study by TubeMogul has found that as video length
increases, completion rates (% of people who see the full ad) drop off very rapidly on mobile in comparison to
desktop.
In addition, a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) found that millennials prefer shorter video ads on
mobile, recommending 10 second durations. This is in contrast to the traditional storytelling methods on TV or
long-form video, which usually have a long setup and it takes more than 10 seconds for the brand to make its
first appearance.
We know that people spend around an hour at a time watching TV, and so it's possible that they don't mind
being interrupted for a few minutes to see a bunch of 30 second ads. But research has shown that time spent on
mobile is in small 'snackable' sessions, often just a few minutes at a time, so the same approach will not work.
Why? People think and behave differently on mobile than they do in the physical world.
Consumers think and behave differently on mobile
Users of the dating app Tinder assess dozens of strangers in less than one minute. In a recent study, people
decided whether they felt strangers were trustworthy by viewing faces for just 100 milliseconds. (Source: The
Smarter Screen, Benartzi and Lehrer). And Facebook's own research, with partners like Nielsen and Millward
Brown, has shown that mobile ads with durations ranging from just 0.92 seconds onwards, are effective in
driving brand awareness, brand consideration, key message recall and purchase intent.
This has something to do with how our brains process information while on mobile. Human Computer Interaction
research indicates that people use "System 1" thinking (fast, automatic & instantaneous) while engaging with
mobiles. This mode of thinking takes in a lot more information within just a few seconds, especially when the
content is emotional or visually creative.
When people consume content on mobile, they display three clear characteristics, which makes it distinct from
other screens like TV/ desktop:
Intense & Instantaneous: In a recent study, people were able to recall content from their mobile newsfeed
with as little as 0.25 seconds of exposure. This is because mobile engages their attention fully and this
means faster processing of information. (Source: Advertising Exposure Time and Memorability by Fors
Marsh Group, Oct 2015)
Immersive & Impactful: When people are immersed in their mobiles, they are often oblivious to everything
else and unresponsive to external stimulus, sometimes even from their spouse or partner! A neurological
study by SalesBrain has found that the same ad stimulus seen on a smartphone generates greater
attention and more positive emotion than on TV.
Impatient: According to Search Engine Watch, Mobile visits last 1/3 as long as on desktop, with twice the
bounce rate. This means that people won't pause to watch interruptive advertising that exceeds their
attention span (which is the basic premise of traditional advertising).
While the history of advertising is all about TV, the future resides in the mobile devices that we hold in the palms
of our hands. What this means is that as marketers and brand storytellers, we need to go beyond 30 second TV
ads and learn how to create effective ads for mobile. Below are some examples of brands that are getting it right
on mobile.
Lazada: This campaign increased brand awareness by 15%, improved brand perception by 19% and generated
59% more sales orders for the South-east Asian ecommerce brand. Learn more about Lazada's business
strategy in South East Asia.
Veet: This personal care brand derived a 22% increase in year-on-year sales as a result of this campaign.
Lifebuoy: This campaign for a new concentrate shower gel in Indonesia delivered a 33% lift in ad awareness
and a 25% increase in top box purchase intent (Very likely to buy) among those aware of the product already.
(Source: Millward Brown Advertising Research)
These campaigns have delivered effective results because they effectively leverage new ways smarter ways of
storytelling (sharper, crisper messages) and aimed at impact rather than being chained to traditional and
redundant metrics of views or view duration. The marketers behind them have understood the new realities of
how people consume content on mobile and followed the ABCD principles of mobile marketing.
The ABCDs of Effective Mobile Creative
We have decades of research on how to design effective video advertising on TV (the ABCDs of advertising), as
well as decades of research into how humans interact with computers, including mobile devices.
Combining these two approaches, we get the ABCD rules of Mobile-First Advertising:
Attention: Grab it through low interaction-cost tools like auto-play, which require no user action, or
hyperlapse, which leverages the human survival instinct of focusing on rapid movement.
Branding from the first second. This signals importance and relevance. Also, people may not watch long
enough to notice logos/branding that appear late in the video.
Communicate for the small screen, without sound. Zoom in on key frames and increase focus on brand
logos and pack shots. Use subtitles as most mobile ads are viewed with sound off.
Deliver the message instantly, within the first few seconds.
Read more about the A-B-C-Ds of mobile advertising
People are spending more and more time on mobile, and even though the time is divided into a number of short
individual sessions scrolling rapidly through content, people are fully immersed and are able to take in
information and make decisions much faster. It is important marketers leverage this knowledge and use the
ABCDs of advertising to create effective mobile ads in a consistent way.
Key Takeaways for Marketers
1. Mobile advertising is a massive opportunity to increase mental availability and brand advantage.
2. Short snackable sessions are the norm on mobile. Consumers look for information instantaneously, they
decipher key messages faster and they do not engage for very long.
3. So brands must use the ABCDs of mobile advertising to tell effective, sharper, more impactful stories.
4. Brand and sales lift metrics are the best measure of campaign effectiveness on mobile.
About the authors
Reynold D'Silva, Strategic Marketing for Brands & E-Commerce, APAC, Facebook
Sachin Sharma, Global Brand Partner, Facebook
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