• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, April 9, 2018

The bigger the better may be a draw for a younger crowd when it comes to video screen advertising. But make it personal as well.

In a recent Kantar Millward Brown study, the most positive advertising form for young consumers — Gen Z (born in 1993 onward) and Gen Y (born in 1980 onward) — is cinema advertising.

Each of those groups gave cinema a positive 62% experience. When looking at all demo groups overall, the numbers were pretty good for cinema in general — with a 49% approval number. 

The study also notes that Gen Z numbers are up for mobile video ads in terms of approval versus 2016 — one of only two areas showing gains for any groups. Only billboard/outdoor advertising also showed an uptick versus 2016 — now at 56% for Gen Y.

Mobile video seems to have a big future. Still, overall approval is just 25% — but headed in right direction for younger demos. 

What about other advertising platforms? Many continue to register poor results — including magazine ads, online search ads, online display ads, online video ads, and mobile display ads.

One area that may be somewhat positive is traditional media. TV, outdoor, newspaper and radio ads witnessed no change versus two years ago, with good but not great approval numbers — at 44%, 46%, 43%, and 39%, respectively.

With many disruptive issues around the video advertising format — including the ability to skip digital video advertising after only a few seconds — consumers, especially young consumers, seem to have little patience.

When asked which of the following types of online/mobile advertising they remembered seeing in the last two weeks, 44% of Gen Zs said they remembered seeing some ads “too many times.” When it came to repetitive ads, Gen Y numbers were at 30%.

The study came from over 14,500 interviews among 16- to-65-year-olds between August and November 2017 in 45 countries.

While young consumers seems to understand the consumer-model dynamic — advertising will remain a key piece of their digital media world — they continue to have a relatively short fuse when it comes to overbearing ad campaigns.

Stuff that just sucks — or is seen too many times — won’t get much of a second chance. But very big and some very small personal video ads might do better.