Fame in just 15 seconds
by Heather Leggett
Andy
Warhol famously said that in the future we will all have our 15
minutes of fame, but researchers at UniSA have found that brands, at
least, need only 15 seconds.
Advertisers have commonly chosen 30 second television advertising spots over their 15 second counterparts, believing that the longer spots yield higher recall and recognition rates among consumers.
But Kate Newstead and Jenni Romaniuk from the Ehrenberg Bass Institute for Marketing Science have discovered that 15 second spots have very similar, and in some cases equal, recall and recognition results as 30 second spots.
The researchers used natural conditions to test recall, likeability and correct brand identification of ads featuring a wide range of products and services in both 15 second and 30 second formats.
When comparing recall and likeability of 15 second ads to 30 second ads, the study found the shorter spots were 80-90 per cent as effective as the longer spots and that correct brand identification was equal between the two lengths of advertisement.
Romaniuk said that 15 second advertisements are the most common alternative to 30 second advertisements, but that they have always been considered inferior.
"There is a common perception that a 30 second spot provides more time to build a story, convey a message and create branding links," she said.
"Advertisers will often start with a 30 second spot, and then cut down that ad to a 15 second spot only because they want to extend their budget, but our research shows this might not be necessary."
Newstead said the results mean that advertisers might be able to get more for their dollar.
"Fifteen second spots are relatively cheaper than 30 second spots and commonly cheaper to produce," she says. "It means that advertisers can stretch out their media budget and extend the life of their campaign," she said.