The online ad experience cops a lot of flak given its interruptive nature and the rising use of ad blocking software. However, in her annual internet trends presentation, digital guru Mary Meeker praised Snapchat’s ads.
The onslaught of ad blockers which are costing publishers billions of dollars has caused debates in the industry on how we need better online ads.
Meeker agreed with this, saying many online ads aren’t effective, including video ads.
Some 81 per cent of users mute their ads, she said, 62 per cent are annoyed by brands that force pre-rolling ads and 93 per cent of people are considering using an ad blocking software.
“If there’s ever been a call to arms to create better ads, this is it,” she said.
“There are ads that work out there. Some of the best come from Snapchat. The ads tend to be authentic, entertaining, in context and they’re often brief.”
Furthering this, Meeker said that despite not having the reach of some of the other larger social media platforms, Snapchat has a heap of users. Which isn’t surprising, said R/GA’s Mickey Goldstein in his 22 things marketers need to know from Meeker’s presentation, given Facebook recognised early on the power of photos and visual mediums, of which Snapchat is purely that.
Examining the strength of video and images, Meeker said brands are wading into platforms that support this.
For example, many brands are using Snapchat lenses – such as this Taco Bell one that turns your face into a taco – which Meeker highlighted was a growing trend.
And it makes sense, given the stats Meeker displayed on the huge growth of people sharing images online. Snapchat had the highest growth,
Meeker also had a lot of say about Millennials, given the number of brands that are scrambling to nab some eyeballs of this generation.
“Millennials tend to me more global, more optimistic and more tolerant,” said Meeker. And they’re not going away anytime soon.
In R/GA’s Goldstein’s 22 things marketers need to know from Meeker’s presentation, he said while Millennials are on every marketer’s hit list, it’s crucial to not forget the other generations.
If you’ve got a spare half hour, check out her full presentation below.
