With all the talk about Super Bowl commercials it’s pretty safe to say most people enjoy watching the Super Bowl commercials as much as the game.  Why can’t people be that excited for ads all the time?

I was reading an article about a research study on viewer video ad engagement by Harvard Business School. In this article there was an interesting but very true concept that “a viewer’s attention cannot be purchased by an advertiser but must be gained by the ad”.  The idea that even without skip functionally users can and do avoid online video ads.

At our parent company, Intergi Entertainment, we are strong believers in the concept of delivering true engaging ads that users actually want to see.  I’ll discuss in a later post of what we’ve done to achieve this.  First, let’s get down to the basics of what makes a user want to actually watch a video ad.

It Comes Down to Emotions
What makes a user interested in watching a pre-roll ad instead of opening another tab while it plays?  Human behavior and psychology are the basis of why we do anything.  The article discussed how a viewer is more likely to willingly watch an ad when they experience a set of emotions.  According to Harvard Marketing Professor, Thales S. Teixeira, it all comes down to surprise and joy.  A study he conducted found that viewers who experienced these emotions actually wanted to watch the video ad and watched longer as opposed to ads that did not evoke these emotions.

Specifically the study found that joy retained attention while surprise captured attention.  So, as an advertiser you want to include an eliminate of surprise at the beginning of your video ad to capture viewer attention  and then retain attention with elements of joy.

Chevy’s 2012 Super Bowl commercial “Happy Grad” is a perfect example.  The obvious surprise that catches our attention is the overjoyed reaction the grad has when he sees his graduation gift.  The elements of joy that keep us watching are the comedic effects over his excitement and misunderstanding of what is his gift actually is.

Ultimately, it is up to the advertiser and agency to incorporate these two emotions effectively.  At Intergi our real job is to create an interactive engagement between  ways to deliver the ads. We pride ourselves in delivering online campaigns that keep viewers enjoy and have fun with.  Here’s our secret sauce.

1.  MAYHEM.  Intergi has developed a highly interactive custom ad unit – the Intergi Mayhem Unit.  This can be customized into endless possibilities but essentially it allows users to interact with your brand anywhere they want on the web through interactive overlays.

2. ANIMATION. Animation is eye catching and also an element of surprise.  We utilize interactive animations in skins, the mayhem unit and all our displays.

3. GAMIFY.  Custom game creation for brands.

4. EXCLUSIVITY: Exclusivity is a type of incentive where there is an exclusive offer available to users who interact with your brand.  This is common with Facebook Page “Likes”, watching trailers, and many other exclusive opportunities.

Have you seen an ad you actually enjoyed? Let us know about it!

Resources:

Creating Online Ads We Want to Watch