Conversation Media: A Game Changer For Brands Tired Of Users Skipping Ads

Imagine you are watching your favourite TV show on OTT. There’s no interruption whatsoever at all. By interruptions, I mean ads that play in between the content. That’s what the users want these days. No video advertisements.

Over the last decade, the way we consume content has significantly changed. So it wouldn’t be wrong to say that OTT platforms have become a major source of entertainment for the millennial generation. A report by KPMG India & EROS titled ‘The Future: Now Streaming’ indicates that 80% of those who subscribe to OTT platforms have said that OTT platforms meet their entertainment needs, and 38% of these users are ready to give up on traditional mediums like TV.

One of the major reasons consumers subscribe to OTT platforms is that they do not get to see video ads in between and enjoy uninterrupted streaming. Data suggests that 65% of people skip online video advertising as soon as they get the chance.

How do brands get consumers to notice them?

Through pop-ups, page takeovers and online ads that play automatically.

One of the most popular forms of online ad format is the “pre-roll,” which plays before a video and can be skipped after a certain amount of time. What are the chances that the consumers are also skipping your video ads?

90%. 

Now, not all consumers skip ads because they want to. As many as 76% of consumers revealed that they tend to skip ads out of habit. It’s something they have ingrained over time.

What’s the solution?

As a brand, you can’t do anything about it. However, advertisements are crucial to tell your story and get more customers. I am sure you must have tried everything marketers suggest, such as telling your story well, targeting customers within the first few seconds of the ad because that’s what people see before they skip, or other branding strategies.

No matter what you try, skippable YouTube advertising doesn’t work. Don’t most people, like me and you, hover over the ‘skip’ button, waiting to click it when 5 seconds are up?

Conversation Media can prove to be a game-changer here. It allows brands to advertise via messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Messengers, etc., without any hassles of being ignored by customers.

Conversation Media uses elements like Stickers, GIFs, Emojis, Avatars, Animojis, and all other visual forms of online communications for marketing purposes.

How can Conversation Media be a game-changer?

1. Customers won’t ignore your ads

Have you ever seen people ignoring stickers or GIFs? Rather, they share it with friends and family. Conversation Media gives everyone an engaging form of content that’s almost impossible to ignore.

1. The ads do not disrupt consumers’ watching experience

Unlike pre-roll video ads, stickers, GIFs, emojis, etc., do not disrupt content streaming. These visual forms of communication are shared on messaging platforms and add to the engagement. Like, imagine chatting with your friends about a show you are binge-watching at the same time.

1. Media can be customized as per the occasion

It is possible to customize the sticker pack to appeal to users’ attention. For instance, if it’s Diwali, brands can cash in on the opportunity with customized stickers and other forms of visual media.

A classic example of this is WhatsApp. The messaging platform, just like every year, released a set of sharable stickers. The stickers weren’t dedicated to Diwali per se, but they were cool enough to be shared on the occasion of the festival of lights.

1. Easy to share

Unlike video ads that most users skip, Conversation Media is easy to share across platforms. Consumers can share stickers, GIFs, emojis, etc., with just a tap on their mobile phones. This means that brands can have wider visibility.

1. Improves your social media marketing

Conversation Media can be shared on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, too. It’s like targeting two things with one arrow. Brands can increase their visibility without putting extra effort into social media marketing.

There’s more to the benefits of Conversation Media marketing. The visuals are so versatile that they can be shared in everyday conversations and do not need to be deleted. For instance, consider this Cinderella sticker pack released by Disney Hotstar in collaboration with Bobble AI. The stickers are a visual treat. They induce nostalgia. They can be shared with friends and family no matter what the occasion is.

They just fit into every conversation.

Over the last year, Bobble AI has collaborated with several brands and helped them develop innovative branded campaigns. Most of these campaigns have been a huge success. For example, remember these Cadbury stickers that came around the time of Valentine’s Day this year.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, through its marketing campaign, ‘How far will you go for love’, aspired to reach consumers on messaging platforms like Whatsapp, Instagram, and Facebook. This is one of the best examples of marketing without intrusion.

The campaign turned out to be extremely beneficial for the brand as it delivered 58 million impressions in just 14 days. In addition, the brand was successful in reaching its target audience – millennials and Gen-Z.

Overall, the campaign delivered the following ROI for the brand:

• 12.1% increase in brand awareness
• 25% increase in content recall
• 20.4% uplift in purchase intent

Aren’t brands trying to achieve similar results with YouTube video ads?

Final Words

In the end, it’s up to the brands to decide what works best for them. But one thing is sure that Conversation Media can resolve most of the problems that brands face with video ads.

Achieve your brand objectives with Conversation Media and see the difference.