The average American adult is expected to spend nearly 3.5 hours per day using a mobile device in 2019. This sheer volume of this mobile use presents limitless opportunities for brands to engage with users and build trust. However, recent surveys indicate that many brands are making key mistakes that limit the effectiveness of their content and discourage brand-user relationships.
For brands to maximize the return on investment for their collateral, they must bear in mind the specific challenges of mobile devices. By following a few simple guidelines, advertisers can dramatically improve the mobile experience as well as their odds of building a long-term relationship with the end user.
- Think vertical
To establish trust between brands and end users, advertisers must make the experience as user-friendly as possible. A key part of this process is to ensure that content is designed for the device on which it will be viewed. Video content designed for a mobile screen must be optimized for a smaller, vertical screen. Too often, brands take the shortcut of converting a television commercial (originally designed for a large, horizontal screen) for mobile use. In fact, a recent Sublime review of more than 80 global mobile ad unit campaigns indicates that 83% of assets are designed for a horizontal environment.
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Instead, by dedicating the resources necessary to create collateral for a vertical viewing environment, brands can make tremendous strides towards increasing engagement and building a positive relationship with end users.
- Embrace interactivity
Mobile devices offer inherent advantages in functionality that cannot be matched by other forms of advertising, and brands would be crazy not to make use of these tools. From videos to augmented reality to store locators to slideshows, brands have the potential to design a truly immersive brand experience for the end user. Indeed, the expanded toolbox even enables brands to allow end users to tailor their own interaction with the brand.
One particularly promising asset for increased engagement is 360° product viewers. These interactive visualizations provide a new avenue for users to learn about a brand and its products; compelling 360° content could be the key to increasing the amount of time users spend interacting with your brand. Interactivity means high impact and higher impact means improved ROI.
- Short and sweet
While overall mobile use is on the rise, that doesn’t mean that the mobile user’s attention span is also increasing. According to Sublime’s review of global mobile advertising campaigns, KPIs improve by 10% when a mobile video is 10 seconds or less. However, 27% of video assets are more than three times that amount, 30 seconds or longer.
To ensure an impactful message and a happy end user, brands must create video content optimized for the viewing experience. That means distilling a message to be as short and compelling as possible – anything longer than 10 seconds risks turning off viewers. How can brands ensure that they make an impact given the extreme constraints of a 10-second video? One key strategy is to ensure that every video begins with the brand’s logo or name, guaranteeing a connection between the brand and the end user.
Mobile devices are ubiquitous in our everyday lives: the first thing we reach for when we wake up, and the last thing we see before we fall asleep. While this unprecedented level of engagement has served as a call to arms for brands and advertisers, the battle for user attention and loyalty will be won by those who work smarter and keep these tips in mind.
Jerem Febvre is co-founder and president, Americas at Sublime.
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