client’s challenge

For many brands, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, play a major role in the advertising strategy. However, from previous research we know that social ads are viewed for less than 2 seconds. So, it is important for brands to immediately stand out on social media in order to break through the clutter.

Our client, an international fashion brand, wants to test various hypotheses around the effects of social media, so these overarching learnings can be used for future campaigns.

the approach

DVJ’s digital pre-test model consists of a unique combination of behavioural registration with implicit and explicit questioning techniques and leads to a complete insight into how every campaign creative works. We focus on the willingness to watch or listen, and place the new campaign creative in a realistic context of other creatives within the same umfeld. We place the messages in a social feed, using a mobile only principle. We also give respondents the opportunity to determine how long they are willing to pay attention to each creative. They control how they scroll through the feed. We use various diagnostic tools such as online eye-tracking, free associations, likes and dislikes and moment-to-moment evaluation to understand how the creative is viewed and can be optimised.

4 different social advertisements have been tested, a visual, a 20 second video, a 5 second video and GIFs. The ads have been tested in 2 markets, the Netherlands and the US, and tested in a Facebook environment. Five hypotheses concerning social advertising were tested, which focus on the use of a pay-off and logo in the advertisements, the use of GIFs and the use of voice-overs.

the results

The results show that most of the client’s hypotheses could be confirmed with the study. For example, it turns out that the GIFs work best, they provide the strongest brand recall in both markets. Another important insight for the client was the low score on brand linkage. This was because the brand was only shown after the 2 second mark.

Figure 1 Advertisement scores

The lower brand recall is due to the engagement and average viewing time of ads on social media. A social video ad is viewed on average for only two seconds (1.8 seconds in the Netherlands and 2.6 seconds in the US). Because the branding only appears after these two seconds, many people have not seen the brand. It is recommended that the client implements a larger logo with a smaller tagline for better brand engagement and show the branding at the beginning of the video. When there is opted for a voice-over, it should be used at the beginning of the video, rather than at the end, as many consumers don’t fully watch social videos. The fact that brand recall and clarity of the message is stronger with the GIFs has to do with the length of the ads. Because GIFs are shorter, they better fit the short attention span that consumers have on social media. The client is advised to continue using GIFs on social media.

client’s benefit

The study has given the client insight into which hypotheses about social media have been confirmed. With the results, the client can optimally organise future campaigns for social advertising, and can ensure that the ads stand out so that they break through the clutter.