Timely, Relevant – Very Short – Ads Are L’Oréal’s Social Media Holy Grail

Market research suggests that consumers using smartphones are swiping quickly past – i.e., ignoring – ads adapted from traditional 30-second TV spots. Enter a new ad standard, pushed by social media platforms like Facebook and Snapchat: the super short six-second spot. L’Oréal has partnered with Google on an initiative – dubbed “Media Bets” – that will analyze data on the fly on what content is currently engaging eyeballs on YouTube. L’Oréal will use the data to develop timely, relevant, responsive six-second ads to run just before videos. Company media chief Nadine McHugh says it’s all about “a value exchange with consumers” in a seriously “time-challenged environment.” [Image Credit: © L’Oréal / YouTube ]