Snapchat has published a new report which looks at the overall effectiveness of skippable versus non-skippable ads, and how Snap users respond to each, in order to help guide placement decisions.
Snapchat offers both options, with Snap’s “Standard Commercials” (3 to 6 seconds) being non-skippable, and “Extended Play Commercials (7 to 180 seconds) being skippable after the first six seconds.
So you have the option to choose differing approaches, with this new data helping to guide your thinking on what’s most effective for your brand.
The report is based on a study of 4,800 Snapchat users, conducted by Magna Media Trials. You can download the full report here, but in this post, we’ll take a look at some of the key notes.
First off, the response data shows that both skippable and non-Skippable ads can drive ad recall quickly.
As per Snap:
“The first 2 seconds of an ad are key, therefore the best practice that branding should be upfront from second zero to drive strong cut through still holds.”
As you can see in this chart, non-skippable ads drive slightly better recall overall, but both follow a similar attention curve.
The difference would be that when users have to sit through the whole thing, that would presumably lead to improved recall overall, though Snap’s data suggests that a mixed approach is best:
“Metrics such as brand preference and brand interest were more positively impacted when combining skippable and non-skippable formats, compared to a single ad format’, compared to a single ad format.”
I mean Snap would want you to spend more on a broader ad approach, so this better aligns with its business aims. But looking at the data, the info does suggest that if you had to choose, non-skippable leads to better recall.
Though that also depends on sentiment, which relates to ad frequency, content, etc.
And the data shows that Snap users prefer the option to skip:
So it’s balancing those findings, which, again, depends on the campaign itself in large part.
Snapchat has also provided an overview of an optimal ad approach, incorporating these findings:
There are some interesting notes here around retention and ad engagement, though I do think the key point is that it really depends on the ad, and how relevant/valuable/annoying it is, in relation to viewer response.
So while the data shows that non-skippable ads are seemingly slightly better for ad recall, that recall won’t necessarily be positive, and users would prefer the option to skip.
Make of that what you will.
You can read the full Snapchat/Magna “Format Functionality” report here.