Over the past two-and-a-half years, creative platform
VidMob has analyzed 2,882 ads on Snapchat across 513 campaigns from 23 different financial ad accounts to help marketers advertise effectively on the social platform.
VidMob's new study breaks
down how Snap users respond to ads.
The study's first major takeaway surrounds the power of celebrity endorsements. According to VidMob's analysis, star power has a highly positive effect on
ad engagement with Snapchat users.
Ads that opened with a celebrity spokesperson showed view rates 39% higher than non-celebrity-endorsed ads, and had a positive effect at all points of the
marketing funnel.
Data from an additional section of the study showed that view times at the top of the funnel were 40% higher when videos featured celebrities, and 12% higher than the
industry standard. The swipe rate was also 18% higher when the celebrity directly faced the camera.
Further down the funnel, ads with celebrities showed a 20% higher swipe rate.
Snap's
recent partnership with celebrity video creation platform Cameo will likely
make this step in a brand's ad strategy more accessible and effective.
Another takeaway involves the use of contrast in brands' visual representations on Snapchat. VidMob found that brands
should use bold colors and lighting to highlight their lead image against the background.
Videos with a moderate degree of image contrast saw 6% higher swipe rate, and high-contrast videos had
a 15% higher swipe rate than low-contrast videos.
Brands should also be purposeful with text, the study indicates. VidMob's study shows that the view rate on a Snap Ad is 175% higher when text
takes up less than 5% of the screen versus when text takes up more than 5% of the screen. The ad's swipe rate is also 9% higher.
The study also shows that a quick change in perspective
–– or change of scene –– at the beginning of an ad can be jarring to people.
Therefore, opening an ad with one key scene and staying put is a successful strategy for
advertisers on Snapchat. Ads with zero changes in the first 3 seconds scored 17% higher view rates in VidMob's study.
“It's better to give users a sustained image that lets them orient
themselves and understand what they’re consuming,” the study says.