The 5 seconds rule in Youtube

When we are talking about digital video advertising, Youtube ends up being the most talked name in any conversation. Youtube's capacity to attract content is amazing - every 2 months, the content uploaded to Youtube surpasses the one created by the 3 main US TV broadcasters in the latest 60 years. It is a fabulous and diverse content, that Youtube explores to the limit of its advertising capabilities. 

The main advertising format you have in Youtube is to insert a commercial during a Youtube video, at specific lengths of it. It is similar to a TV commercial, and it is an interruption of the user playtime - so Google went one step beyond TV and gave a bit more of power to the user. The viewer has the option to stop the commercial and go back to the content it was viewing anytime after 5 seconds of commercial play. That means that the consumer has the option to cut you out after 5 seconds.

When I am around in Youtube (and I have a small child, so "Peppa Pig" and "Little Baby Bum" are part of my friends) I am amazed at how many advertisers ignore this rule. Because it has considerable implications on the way people watch your commercials, and how you should develop them. 

We are typically taught that a good video (TV) commercial is based on a small story where you create tension that is solved by your brand, highlighting its main benefit - that is the base for engagement and message communication, and it should put your brand as the hero of your commercial, strengthening branding. Now, that means that your brand is only explicit to the consumer late in the communication (typically, only after 12 secs in a traditional 30 secs commercial). Will your commercial viewers on Youtube understand what brand is communicating to them on this case? Not 98% of them, because they will cut it out at 5 secs, while you are still building up (or just introducing) your story.

The solution is to adapt your commercial to the media (as it should always be the case, by the way). Make a specific Youtube version (cut) of your commercial. If viewers have the power to cut you out after 5 secs, the absolute rule is that the brand should be explicit in that time frame - show your brand in the first 5 seconds. If you can show its main selling point / attribute, even better. But never air an ad that is not clearly branded in the first 5 seconds in Youtube - that's just a waste of your budget.