On mobile devices, consumers are active scrollers, moving down a page quickly and skipping over content that does not capture their interest. Our study shows that consumers often scroll right past ads (video 25% and banner 42%), never paying any attention to them.
And even those ads that consumers do happen to look at are often quickly dismissed on smartphones, with only two-thirds still watching an ad after 10 seconds. In comparison, 77% of consumers are still engaged at that point on TVs and PCs. Moreover, social media ads are increasingly being viewed on mobile devices, which creates additional hurdles in engaging consumers. Not only must the ad meet the challenge of screen size, ad length and scrolling – but, on social media, typically all sound is muted unless specifically activated by the viewer. This makes video ad visuals particularly critical for social platforms. Display ads also play a key role in mobile media budgets. While they are not impacted by screen size as much as video ads, display creatives face their own fundamental challenges in connecting with consumers on small screens (hook is less than 40%), making it critical to focus efforts on how to attract consumer attention.
We also have found that bright and vibrant colors and engaging close-in visuals (rather than long-distance shots) help draw viewers into ads on smartphones. Moreover, initial scenes in video ads that intrigue consumers and/or pull them in emotionally are most effective. In contrast, ads that are more mysterious – not revealing their key messages till the end – and have darker visuals and fast-changing scenes often are less able to engage consumers.
Attention to ads on smartphones is even more fleeting than on larger screens – but trading in moody and mysterious for upbeat and inviting can do a lot to make up the difference.
Next Section
