Publicis Groupe Africa appoints Jarred Trembath to lead Influential
He brings extensive professional experience spanning media strategy, activation and content management to new role.
ADVERTISING STRATEGY
Apple confounds conventional wisdom around ever-shorter video ads
By our News Team | 2022
Tech giant releases a new video ad that is almost nine minutes long. And it’s attracting close to a million views a day on YouTube.
How long should a video-based advertisement be? One minute seems too long in these days of consumers’ short attention spans.
Thirty seconds then? Perhaps. Fifteen seconds? Seems right, but can it get the marketing message across.
Apple, a brand that is known for doing things a little differently, has gone in the opposite direction and recently debuted a video ad that comes in at just under nine minutes in length.
And, bucking all the conventional wisdom that suggests today’s consumers have an attention span of seconds rather than minutes, it has attracted 11-million views in only 12 days on YouTube. In other words, not far short of a million new views a day.
A scene from the new nine-minute Apple video advertisement. Photo credit: Apple via YouTube
Latest in a trilogy of not-so-short videos
The latest Apple video ad is part of a trilogy called The Underdogs, with the first two versions released in 2019 and 2020. These, however, were shorter at three minutes and almost seven minutes respectively.
All are mini stories in their own right, but use their fun storylines to showcase a range of Apple products that can be used in everyday business or home life. Each story follows four downtrodden and nurdy workers at a packaging design company who are constantly at odds with their bullying and demanding boss.
The latest ad shows our four anti-heroes deciding that they’ve had enough and opting to join the post-Covid Great Resignation that is permeating much of the developed world.
For marketers and their agencies, the ad’s success seems to indicate that remarkably long video can, indeed, captivate consumers, who will actively seek out and spend time watching something with an entertaining storyline – as opposed to allowing 15-second or 30-second ads to run in the background while they’re grabbing a cup of coffee or dashing to the loo.
You can watch the latest Apple ad here.
IAB discusses the problem with AI visibility measurement tools
New standardised set of measurement guidelines released for tracking brand and publisher visibility in AI-powered search platforms.
Ethiopia’s marketers discuss the changing world of digital advertising
Ethiopian Marketing Professionals Association hosts Addis Ababa event discussing artificial intelligence and its impact.
Egyptian confectionary company rolls out its African export strategy
MO Group identifies South Africa, Somalia, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Madagascar as target markets under its African expansion plan.
AMC Conference: Exploring the Influence of AI and Afcfta on African Marketing
Discover announced speakers and essential news for the upcoming AMC Conference. Delegate payments are now live – read the latest articles and register.
PRCA Africa NextGen announces Lerato Motloung as its new Chair
Body for emerging public relations and communications professionals across Africa also has a new Vice Chair and committee member.
More improvements for vital Port of Maputo regional trade gateway
Aim is to create a smarter, more connected and efficient port ecosystem that will make Maputo a strategic gateway for trade.
Research gives a new perspective on evoking nostalgia in marketing
Framework aims to help marketers and brand managers know they’re making the right decisions when banking on nostalgia.
LinkedIn moves to reduce the ‘AI slop’ filling the platform
Digital marketers relying on content generated by artificial intelligence are seeing prominent online platforms fighting back.
Kenyan regulator warns businesses about shrinkflation strategies
Shrinkflation and skimpflation is legal but must be clearly communicated to consumers, Competition Authority says.
Angola’s ambitious 1,300km West-East highway project makes a start
Project forms part of a broader strategy to position Angola as an important logistics hub in Southern and Central Africa.
