Putting a logo at the beginning of every ad – is it actually a good idea?
by Deacon Webster, Walrus CCO
Advertisers often debate whether to lead with a logo in video ads. The rationale is simple: at minimum, it guarantees brand exposure for people who don’t complete the ad. But is that actually valuable? And does it reduce the ad’s efficiency for everyone else?
Asking the Right Question
If a logo exposure indeed has value, let’s determine what it is and see if it’s worth the cost.
Let’s assume that three seconds of a logo is all somebody sees before they skip, then that would provide the same value to an advertiser as an ad that ONLY featured a logo for the full duration. Is that actually worth it? Let’s see.
Scenario 1: 15 Second Video – Logo Up the Whole Time
Let’s imagine that we decided to do a media buy with just a logo for 15 seconds. No narrative, no music no nothing. Does it have any value to the brand?
It lets people know the brand exists so it will raise awareness.
And it lets people know the brand is spending media money (thus is doing well), which does have some value.
BUT
There is no information about the brand or its proposition beyond the name.
As an ad, it’s not compelling, or enjoyable. Would become annoying if you had to watch multiple times.
It’s an expensive way to just expose a logo.
Studies show (see chart) that ads viewed for less than three seconds do not get committed to memory, so someone has to choose to keep staring at the logo for at least three seconds to remember having seen it at all.
Scenario 2: 15 Second Video – Logo for the First 3 Seconds
Now let’s assume that we lead with a logo for three seconds and then we follow it up with a normal ad.
If someone skips within the first thee seconds, they would only see a logo (so same as previous scenario in terms of brand info). And we know that people who skip an ad within the first three seconds don’t remember them. So, there’s actually zero value for fast skippers.
For non-skippers who watch the whole ad:
They enjoy the whole storytelling potential of the video BUT with 20% less storytelling time due to the repeat logos. This scenario is still good for awareness, good for consideration.
But for them the logo upfront has no value – they saw the whole ad.
And we know that leading with a logo increases the odds of a skip, so the logo up front lowers ad efficiency by reducing completion rate.
For people who skip halfway:
Logo will be remembered because they watched for more than 3 secs – so good for awareness.
But they leave before the story is finished, so they get half a message. There is little added value in doing a fully produced video – might as well just run a logo for :15 seconds.
Scenario 3: 15 Second Video – Logo at End
This is a normal ad with a narrative arc, ending with a logo. Does it have value?
For Skippers: This ad has the same value as all the other scenarios.
For People who view 1/2 of the ad: This version would provide less value than the logo upfront version as there is no logo exposure.
For people who see the whole ad:
They enjoy the whole storytelling potential of the video. Good for awareness, good for consideration.
They get the drama and suspense of wondering how the ad plays out, and entices viewing to the end.
We know that people who watch ads in their entirety spend more time on-site and are more likely to buy etc.
Pulling It Together
An ad with a logo in the first three seconds will generate more awareness than an ad without one for one group: people who watch more than three seconds of the ad but do not complete it.
However those are low quality views because they feature zero storytelling. There are cheaper ways to expose people to a logo than by doing it via video.
Adding the logo increases the odds of a skip, so the logo is not harmless, it hurts the ad’s efficiency.
We buy video because it’s the best vehicle for emotional storytelling, and for driving brand consideration. While ads ARE regularly skipped, we need to resist the urge to make those exposures “count” by sliding a logo in before viewers have time to skip.
Completed views are extremely valuable views, and leading with a logo reduces video completion – a high cost for little gain.
Conclusion
If we go to the trouble to make narrative video with a full story arc that delivers a strategic emotional brand message, and then we spend the money to place it in the most expensive of media channels, we should be optimizing towards completed views, not damage controlling for the people who skip.
