Using bumper ads to grow your brand

In recent years, video content production has exploded, with video accounting for a large proportion of many brand’s creative production strategies. At the same time, studies show that the human attention span is down to a mere 8 seconds. This means a lot when it comes to digital content production for brands wanting to keep their audiences attention, and make a memorable impression while they’re at it. These days, consumers are constantly bombarded with ads to which they often pay little attention. This is where 6-second bumper ads come in – these bite-sized ads provide a quick and concise way for brands to tell their story and increase brand awareness and reach.

”consumers are constantly bombarded with ads to which they often pay little attention.”

What are bumper ads?

Bumper ads are 6-second unskippable ads that appear prior to or during main video content watched on YouTube, and particularly cater to mobile use, where short-form video is growing in popularity. The main purpose of the snippets is to drive and extend brand recall and reach, and is best suited to complementing existing campaigns or broader messaging. The format provides an excellent way for brands to make an affordable impact on their target audience without being intrusive to their experience.

Creating and editing bumper ads

Creating and video editing the ad can be done using Google Ads Editor. Before starting your bumper ad campaign, it’s worth noting that it’s more effective to create video content specifically for the ad, rather than trimming down longer content. With respect to the design, video production and editing will need to take into account certain best practices to deliver a short yet powerful narrative.

1. Keep it simple but catchy
   Make sure that your visuals and text are easy to follow in a short time span, while making it captivating enough to immediately grab the audience’s attention.

2. Focus on a single objective
   Think about a single idea you want to convey and do it well. Bumper ads are a great way to highlight certain features of your campaign, so choose one and make it intriguing.

3. Use rich content
   Striking visuals, voiceovers, humor, music, and emotion are all drivers of storytelling and can be drawn upon to entice your audience and deliver a memorable message.

4. Make it a series
   A series of bumper ads highlighting unique elements of your brand can be used to build a more effective and well-rounded story and help keep your brand at the top of viewers’ minds.

5. Target the right audience
   Within Google Ads, you can find details on user demographics, browsing history, and interests that will help you target, or retarget your ads to the right audience.

Cost and effectiveness Much like other Google Ads and YouTube advertising platforms, bumper ads operate within a bidding pricing model. This format uses cost-per-impression pricing, meaning you will be charged once per 1000 impressions. You can set a daily budget and maximum CMP to ensure your spending is within your limits.

Compared to longer video spots, bumper ads can be very effective because the message is communicated before users might want to skip the ad. By leveraging YouTube’s immense reach and advanced targeting options, brands can display their ads to specific audiences in order to expand their base. In fact, Google has found that 70% of these ads drive brand awareness, with 90% increasing brand recall. Meaning, bumper ads are a proven way to deliver a memorable message and drive traffic. This benefits everyone involved – YouTube can improve its ad revenue by monetizing on the ads, brands can amplify their broader advertising campaigns in a cost-effective way, and consumers get a better user experience.

To make the most of your campaign, focus on creating an instantly captivating video short. Good video production and editing will start strong with something bold and eye-catching. Whether you go for a powerful visual, lively voiceover recording, relatable joke, cool motion graphics, or enticing music, make sure that it stands out to your target audience. Then end with a clearly expressed final thought or call to action.