Brand recall of skippable vs non-skippable ads in YouTube

Abstract

Purpose By integrating the evidence of various audience theories, a comparison is made of viewers’ information processing of new interactive video advertising formats (skippable video ads) with traditional, non-skippable formats. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how exposure to a brand name at different moments during online video advertisements influences viewers’ recall. Design/methodology/approach A neuroscientific pre-test supported the selection of an arousing video, and a subsequent pre-test confirmed the scenario validity. Using a broader sample, the main study applied a 3×2 experimental design of different ad designs and formats. Findings Distinctions should be made between formats and audiences that lead to different information processing methods. Users exposed to skippable ads (active audiences) exert a higher control over advertising and tend to process the information presented in the initial part of an ad. In turn, users viewing non-skippable ads (passive audiences) should be exposed to the high arousal stimulus before presentation of the key information that the advertiser wants them to remember. Practical implications Advertising managers and content creators can use these results to improve the design of their online videos, and to achieve greater effectiveness in terms of information recall. Originality/value Skippable online videos have become a commonly used advertising format, but research into their effects is scarce. This study offers the first comparison of viewers’ reactions towards skippable vs non-skippable formats, in terms of brand recall and economic performance. Further research might extend this underdeveloped field of study and enhance the knowledge of video format processing in social media.

Skipping Skippable Ads on YouTube: How, When, Why and Why Not?

“…This research makes at least four contributions. First, it extends previous works [2,13,14,16] by developing a richer understanding of users' perceptions of skippable ads on YouTube. While skippable ads have become a commonly used advertising format, an in-depth understanding of their effects was missing in the literature.…”

“…Second, they must be familiar with other video-ondemand services (e.g., Netflix). These two eligibility criteria ensured a suitable demographic for the purpose of this research, and have also been used as a way to filter participants in previous works related to online ads [13,16].…”

Brands as personal narratives: learning from user–YouTube–brand interactions

“…The state of the art strongly implicates initiating exploration (see Belanche et al 2020a , b ; Smith et al 2012 ). The literature is: (a) clear that user–brand interactions on YouTube are unique, and (b) silent when it comes to identifying the cognition, affect, and behavior-related constructs native to the user–brand-YouTube interactive context to justify a purely literature-derived hypotheses testing effort.…”

“…Independent content producers on YouTube are known to shape brand perceptions differently than those active on other media (e.g., Benito et al 2020 ; Lee and Watkins 2016 ). Similarly brand identities are communicated differently via YouTube (Huertas et al 2017 ), and the ability of users to skip ads makes a difference in the way they respond to brand messages on YouTube (Belanche et al 2020a , b ). Like other media, YouTube advertising is known to aid brand recall (Belanche et al 2020a , b ), but it produces unique outcomes for luxury brands (Lee and Watkins 2016 ), and helps celebrity endorsers (Benito et al 2020 ).…”

“…Similarly brand identities are communicated differently via YouTube (Huertas et al 2017 ), and the ability of users to skip ads makes a difference in the way they respond to brand messages on YouTube (Belanche et al 2020a , b ). Like other media, YouTube advertising is known to aid brand recall (Belanche et al 2020a , b ), but it produces unique outcomes for luxury brands (Lee and Watkins 2016 ), and helps celebrity endorsers (Benito et al 2020 ). While scholars have examined user generated content (e.g., Roma and Aloini 2019 ), and brand stories on the medium (e.g., Dessart and Pitardi, 2019 ), current literature does not speak to the research questions driving our study; i.e., to YouTube users’ brand-related attributions and the processes that produce them.…”