The 5-second Message
The media habits of Millennials and Gen Z will have a major impact on media. Most watch video to fill time or kill boredom (77%), but others are finding it is the best way to stay in touch with others (58%), stay up-to-date (61%), lift moods (57%) or learn how to do something (47%).
YouTube is the dominant force in young people’s lives, followed by Netflix and Facebook (video). You would think that advertising would be something to avoid, but most see the value to help support digital celebrities. But just like other generations, the length of advertising is an issue of acceptance.
A study by Defy Media found that the longer the preroll, the shorter the acceptance level. For most in this age group, a micro-ad is always or sometimes okay, especially if the content is relevant to the target audience (that has not changed from the beginning of time).
We all need to get very good at what we called in the broadcast TV business, “station IDs.” These are ads on TV that are only 4 seconds in length. So the length is not new, but it has not had widespread use like it will now and in the future. The key to the 5-second ad is not to tell the entire story, but to tease it enough to get you to watch the longer story. As you can see, the 5-second tease is much more acceptable than the 60-second tease.