How to make an ad nobody skips

You cannot stop people skipping ads. You can make yours the one they do not want to skip.

Across this series we have seen that audiences hold the veto, creative quality can multiply returns and advertiser-first messages often lose attention immediately.

Now for the practical part. These five disciplines separate creative that gets skipped from creative that earns another second.

1. Know exactly who you are talking to

Not "adults 25 to 54". A real person with a real problem your product can solve.

What frustrates them? What are they trying to get done this week? What would make the choice easier? What language do they use when they describe the problem?

The sharper your picture of the audience, the sharper the creative. Targeting data is wasted on a message written for everyone.

2. Lead with their problem, not your name

You have only a moment to give someone a reason to stay. Spend it on them.

Tired of tradies who do not show up? earns the next few seconds.

Established 1987. Family owned and operated. does not.

Your brand still gets its moment. It appears as the answer to the problem rather than the opening credits.

3. Give something before you ask for something

People voluntarily keep watching when advertising offers entertainment, relevance, emotion or useful information. Research on skippable video found that strong storytelling, human connection and an earlier emotional peak can improve engagement.

Nielsen also found that 63% of surveyed consumers were at least somewhat likely to buy when brands offered relevant, valuable content beyond the product pitch.

An ad that helps, entertains or makes someone feel understood has earned the right to ask for attention.

4. Respect the platform and the moment

A television commercial recut for social media is not social creative. It is a television ad in the wrong room.

A skippable pre-roll needs its hook immediately. A digital billboard needs to land in a glance. A feed ad needs to work without sound. An email subject line needs to create curiosity without hiding the value.

Audience-first also means context-first: use the format, pace and amount of information that suit the place where the message appears.

5. Let the audience be the judge

Digital media lets the audience vote on your creative every day through attention, clicks, enquiries and sales.

Run more than one version. Test different hooks. Watch where people leave. Keep what works. Retire what does not, even when it was the boardroom favourite.

The audience's response is more useful than internal certainty.

Creative and media belong in one system

None of this makes media less important. It makes the partnership more important.

Programmatic platforms such as Google's Display & Video 360 can place a message in front of a defined audience at a relevant moment. Creative determines what happens when it arrives.

The brands winning attention connect the two: audience insight shapes the message, media data shapes where it appears and performance data improves the next round of creative.

When creative contributes almost half of incremental sales in major campaign analyses, businesses cannot afford to be excellent at media and average at the message.

The bottom line

The media landscape will keep getting noisier and easier to avoid. That is bad news for brands making ads about themselves.

Start with the audience. Understand the problem, use their language, respect the platform and earn the next second.

Because nobody skips an ad that feels worth watching.

AdaptAd combines programmatic precision through Google Display & Video 360 with creative built around the audience, so the right message reaches the right person and earns attention. Talk to us at adaptad.com.au or email hello@adaptad.com.au.

References

CNBC, Sixty-five Percent of People Skip Online Video Ads: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/16/sixty-five-percent-of-people-skip-online-video-ads-heres-what-to-do.html

Nielsen, Study Reveals Majority of Consumers Actively Avoid Ads: https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2023/nielsen-study-reveals-majority-of-consumers-actively-avoid-ads-across-podcasts-streaming-and-live-tv-platforms/

MarketingCharts, Creative's Still the Biggest Driver of Sales: https://www.marketingcharts.com/advertising-trends-230468