Australian consumers are twice as likely to cry when watching a video ad compared to the rest of the world, according to data from a new analytics engine.

Launched today by video tech company Unruly, Unruly Pulse™ is designed to provide marketers with a unique insight into the emotional trends of video advertising.

The analytics engine revealed that while Aussies are in general less emotional than the global average while watching a video ad online, they are 33 per cent less likely to feel intense feelings of happiness, 28 per cent less likely to feel intense feelings of inspiration and 12 per cent less likely to feel intense feelings of warmth.

Unruly Pulse also found that UK and Australian audiences have almost identical emotional footprints when it comes to watching ads. Both countries have the same top five most common emotions, while four out of the five top emotional reactions – happiness (7%), warmth (5%), amazement (4%) and pride (3%) – have exactly the same prevalence in both countries.

The data is derived from 850,000 consumer responses, showing marketers which emotions drive engagement across different demographic segments, cultural events, times of the year and industry sectors. Advertisers can also access analysis of individual ads and compare performance against benchmarks in their sector and market.

Lance Traore, Unruly’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand, said the company is committed to bringing emotional intelligence to digital advertising because it delivers better campaign metrics, better brand performance and ultimately better business results.

“Unruly Pulse helps advertisers to power up their video strategy at the outset,” he said.

“By being able to identify and quantify the key drivers of consumer engagement, marketers will have a better understanding of what works for their audience and why.”