15 Is the New 30: Online Ads Are Getting Shorter, Says Report

Brevity is the soul of wit. It's also the soul of a successful online video ad campaign.

Ad management platform Vindico just released its annual report for 2014 and one of the surprises is that advertisers see big value in going short. Overall, 62 percent of all video ads were 15-seconds long in 2014, while 38 percent were 30-seconds long. Internet brands were more invested in short spots, with 69 percent of their ads at 15-seconds. Major media brands were the least likely to go short, with 57 percent of their spots at 15-seconds.

This marks a major change in only a year, Vindico points out. In its 2013 report, less than half of online video ads from both internet and major media bramds were 15-seconds long.

The take-away is that advertisers understand that the net isn't TV, and that lesson is paying off. Those shorter spots get higher completion rates: 15-second ads enjoyed a 79 percent completion rate, while 30-second spots had a 75 percent completion rate. Shorter ads from major media brands had the highest rate of all: 89 percent.

"More so than ever, advertisers are creating tailored content specifically for the web and are seeing increased consumer engagement," Vindico notes.

The full report, which includes eye-opening data on click-through rates and player sizes, is available for free (registration required).

Stopwatch image via Shutterstock.

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net