In Video Ad Effectiveness, Targeting Trumps Length

When it comes to video ad campaigns, targeting has a far greater impact on ad performance than ad length, according to a new study from video ad tech firm TidalTV. According to a recent online study, TidalTV found that 30-second ads can far "outperform" 15-second ads, without negatively impacting consumers' experience.

Contradicting previous research, the study also found that advertisers can achieve what TidalTV calls "30-second creative performance" with 15-second video creative.

The study confirmed that 30-second video ads surpassed 15-second video ads in click-through rates by 11%, but this improvement comes at the cost of consumer satisfaction, as evidenced by a 10% drop in video completion rates.

While it is well documented that 15-second video ads have higher completion rates, the new study revealed that 15-second ads drastically improved in performance when they were targeted to the desired demographic audience.

The ads saw a 110% increase in click-through rates compared to 30-second untargeted ads, while also maintaining a 29% lift in video completion rates.

The study also found that with proper targeting, advertisers can use higher-performing :30 second ad units without compromising customer satisfaction.

Not only did the results show a 201% lift in Click-Through-Rate (CTR) for targeted 30-second ads, they also demonstrated a 7% increase in completion rate compared to 15-second untargeted ads.

According to TidalTV, the data proves that ad relevancy does impact consumer favorability and satisfaction, and illustrates that what matters is not only what video ad length you serve, but also that marketers using targeting to place the right ad in front of the right audience will see higher performance.

"This just helps to resolve the ongoing debate that marketers and agencies face -- 'Can we repurpose TV creative?,' or 'Is 15 seconds the online standard?,'" said Kevin Haley, chief scientist at TidalTV. "The bottom line is that combining both targeting and the right creative video length can really have a significant impact on campaign performance."

The research evaluated 28 ad campaigns across a range of demographics and marketing categories, and included a mix of both 15-second and 30-second video advertisements. In total, the 28 campaigns generated around 62 million impressions.