BUMPER ADS: THE MODERN DAY ELEVATOR PITCH

YouTube’s Bumper ads are six-seconds of video that can’t be skipped.

6-second ads were first launched by YouTube in 2016 but have become increasingly popular over last year, and they are only going to continue to make waves with the launch of Googles Bumper Machine, a software tool that generates six-second videos from longer video assets with the help from machine learning models. It pulls and organizes moments together by recognizing faces, products, brands, motion and contrast to creates several 6-second bumpers for you to choose from, which can then be used as an ad on YouTube.

Trying to fit a message into 6 seconds can be tricky, so Googles Bumper Machine will definitely help those smaller businesses with tiny budgets and zero time, but some of the most innovative and interesting ads are created by those willing to brainstorm a concept and develop a one of a kind idea because creativity loves constraints.

We’re going to take a look at how a small ad can make a big impact but first, what are they and how do they work?

What is a Bumper Ad?

As consumers viewing habits change, YouTube and Google are working to introduce new services, products and features that adapt to these habits. A little over 2 years ago we saw an introduction to the 6-second Bumper ad, a YouTube ad that can’t be skipped by the viewer.

This 6-second ad runs after certain videos and is sold through the AdWords auction on a CPM basis (cost-per-thousand impressions). They are a hybrid of ‘snackable content’ and ‘teasers’ and are perfect for the new-age viewer that has a shorter attention span than ever before.

It is very difficult to generate click-throughs with Bumper ads, but it can be a great way to build familiarity with your brand or to reinforce a message from your marketing campaign. To best way to do this is to use them in conjunction with ‘TrueView‘ ads or Google Preferred campaigns.

Key points

• Videos must be 6 seconds or shorter and viewers can’t skip your ad. Which means you have the ability to force-feed viewers your brand.
• Bumper ads use target CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions) bidding. You pay each time your ad is shown 1,000 times.
• This short style ad can be especially effective on mobile devices.
• They help to reinforce a key message and can strengthen your overall brand awareness.

Creativity in Constraint

There are lots of incredible Bumper ads out there. Check out this one from YouTube Advertisers called “The High Diver”.

YouTube Advertisers are able to tell a story in only 6 seconds and it makes a big impact. The reason this works so well is;

• They have a clear message that they are trying to convey
• The visuals are striking and well thought out
• The concept is creative and thought-provoking

Get Inspired

It can be tricky to know where to start when creating creative content. Your first task will be to empathize with your audience, make sure you really understand who they are and want they want. Then you need to construct an approach that ties in with your existing marketing campaign.

Get inspired with 20 of the best Bumper ads on YouTube right now;

Bumper Ads: Step by Step

Once you have created your 6-second video and uploaded it to YouTube, you will then need to set up the Adwords campaign. This is really easy to do, you can find a full list of instructions here.

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. Click Campaigns in the page menu, and then click the blue plus button and select New campaign.
3. Select the brand awareness and reach goal.
4. Then select the video campaign type.
5. Select Bumper.
6. Enter a campaign name.
7. Set your budget. Choose networks, locations you want to target, the language of your customers, and any advanced settings.
8. Enter an ad group name.
9. Enter your Target CPM bid.
10. Under “Create your video ad,” enter the URL of your YouTube video (the video must be 6 seconds or shorter) and follow the steps to create your video ad.
11. Under “Video ad format,” select Bumper ad.
12. Enter the video’s final URL, display URL, and URL options.
13. Choose whether you want to auto-generate the video’s companion banner (recommended) or upload an image.
14. Enter your ad name, then click Save and continue.

This information is taken from Google Ads Help

You are ready to rock!

When you launch your Bumper ad campaign, your content will be seen by thousands of potential and existing customers (depending on your budget). In theory, you won’t get a huge boost in click-throughs with Bumper ads alone, but you should notice more engagement with your brand. Track this as best as you can and collect feedback so you can modify your next campaign to make an even bigger impact.

YouTube statistics

• Monthly active users: 1.9 million
• Daily active users: 30+ million
• YouTube videos shared to date: 5+ billion
• Average viewing session: 40 minutes
• Number of videos watched per day: 5 billion
• YouTube services 88 countries in 76 languages(or 95% of all internet users)
• 37% of the coveted 18 – 34 demographic are binge-watching
• 20% of users will leave a video if it hasn’t hooked them in the first 10 seconds

Youtube statistics are taken from Omnicore

Do you want to create your own Bumper ad? Get in touch with Shauna today to figure out an approach that works for you and your brand: [email protected]