Bumper Ads

What are YouTube Bumper Ads?

Bumper ads are a form of video ad on YouTube. Advertisers have the opportunity to place their advertising message in a maximum 6-second video. The video ad is displayed before, during or after playing YouTube videos and cannot be skipped by the user. Advertisers have the option of using links to refer to a landing page, product page, YouTube channel or similar.

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Who are Bumper Ads suitable for?

Bumper ads are suitable for advertisers who are looking for an advertising format with which they can increase brand awareness as efficiently as possible. Due to their short duration, bumper ads are easy to digest and are perceived as less annoying by users. Good bumper ads trigger emotions in the viewer, with which the brand is associated and remains in the memory for a long time. In addition to increasing brand awareness, the short commercials are also suitable for advertising specific products or services. Here too, the aim is to increase product or brand awareness.

The advantages of YouTube Bumper Ads

Reach

With almost 2.5 billion active users worldwide, the YouTube video platform is an attractive channel for increasing brand awareness.

Targeted targeting

The advertising format allows you to target those you want to reach with your message. You can use Google Ads to segment your target group according to demographic factors, interests and much more. The videos are then only played to the groups of people you have previously defined.

Cost-efficient

The costs for YouTube Bumper Ads are calculated according to CPM (cost per mille). This means that payment is made per 1,000 views. The CPM is 1-4 euros per impression. In contrast to other advertising options, bumper ads are particularly cost-efficient.

Unobtrusive advertising format

The average human attention span has been reduced to 8 seconds in recent years. Bumper ads interrupt YouTube videos for just 6 seconds. Although the ad cannot be skipped, users hardly notice it and it does not trigger any negative feelings.

Non-skippable commercials

The 6-second video ads on YouTube cannot be skipped by users. The advertising message is therefore always fully conveyed to potential customers.

Measurable

As with other social ads, companies can measure the performance of the 6-second video ads with available analysis tools. The data collected by YouTube can be used as a starting point for possible adjustments and optimization.

Create bumper ads that will be remembered

To create bumper ads, advertisers need a video editing program that can be used to create memorable advertising clips. The production of video ads can be very time-consuming - especially if you want to place an ad in different video formats and have little to no experience in video editing. For support, use an experienced social ads agency that can help you not only with the design, but also with strategy development and campaign execution and optimization.

Note: If you have a Google Ads account and have already published videos on YouTube, you can have YouTube Bumper Ads created automatically. Here, sequences from the uploaded video are cut together for the concise video ad. However, always make sure to view the bumper ads separately.

Switch bumper ad on YouTube

Upload the short advertising clip to YouTube. The video does not have to be listed.
A Google Ads account is a prerequisite for placing YouTube Bumper Ads. You need this to set up your advertising campaign. Create an account or log in to your account
Select "Brand awareness and reach" as the target project and select "Video" as the campaign type.

How to use Google Ads correctly.

This is what makes successful YouTube bumper ads

Clear message for brand recall

Formulate your advertising message concisely and unambiguously. This is the only way for potential customers to understand what you want to convey and feel picked up by the advertising video. As the commercial is very limited in time, you don't have time to explain your message in detail and the user doesn't have time to think about it in more detail. Your message must therefore be catchy in order to be understood and effective.

Tip: Concentrate on one message per bumper.

Text elements

Use text elements carefully. Too much text at once cannot be absorbed, let alone processed, by the viewer within six seconds. Focus on your advertising message and bring it to life with semantics as well as images and videos.

Focus on emotions

Instead of focusing on your USPs, convey emotions that can be associated with your brand or product. You can do this by formulating your message - i.e. through the text content - or by using appropriate video and audio material. If you still want to bring a specific USP to the mind of your customers, you can also present this creatively.

Unique for recognition

As with many other marketing activities, one thing is required first and foremost when creating short promotional videos: your creativity. Avoid the same old stuff that potential customers are all too familiar with from your competitors and focus on original content and formats that stand out from the crowd. That way you will be remembered.

Consider advertising format & attention span

Even if YouTube and Google Ads offer you the option of generating an excerpt from an existing YouTube video for your short ad, you need to consider the 6-second advertising videos separately. This is because you only have a limited amount of time to get your message across and you need to make sure that you really say what you want to say in the short time available.

Complementary key element in advertising campaigns

Short video ads are particularly effective when you combine individual ads with each other. These can either be several 6-second clips in which you convey a more comprehensive message together. Or you can combine your published YouTube videos, Instream Ads or TrueView ads with the bumper ads.

Use sound for brand recall

Just like "catchy, memorable", you should definitely use effective music or convincing, memorable soundtracks for the short video format to convey the emotions and your brand message. However, make sure that your advertising clip can still be played without sound. It should therefore also work without sound.

Add links

Even if your primary goal is to increase brand awareness, you would still like to encourage prospective customers to convert. Therefore, take the opportunity to link to a landing page or product page that matches the message and where interested parties can find out more.

Test different design options

One advantage of bumper ads is that you can make changes to clips that have already been played at any time. Make small changes such as rearranging the elements and test which versions work better and constantly optimize your ads.

Conclusion: Bumper Ads at a glance

With several billion active users, YouTube is a popular channel for getting your brand message across to your target group. Bumper ads in particular are a promising advertising format on the video portal. In addition to a high reach and the possibility of addressing specific target groups, the short, non-skippable video ads offer the advantage of being shorter than the average attention span of people with a maximum length of six seconds. In contrast to skippable ads, the probability that your target group will actively notice your advertising message is significantly higher.

In order to get the most out of the ads, you need to focus on a clear advertising message and an appealing design that is as emotionalized as possible. With appropriate links on landing pages, you can attract interested parties to your website and not only increase your brand awareness, but also promote traffic and possibly conversions on your website. The combination of different ad formats on YouTube is particularly lucrative. Bumper ads are an important key element here. The bottom line: supplement your marketing activities and try YouTube bumper ads too.