Newsworks, the marketing body for national British newspapers, has announced the results of a major study into tablet advertising. The organisation’s Tablet Project tracked 20 campaigns across five key sectors – motors, retail & travel, finance, tech and entertainment – between October and December 2013. Participants included Virgin Holidays, Cancer Research UK, Sony, Nationwide, Audi and YouView, among others.
The study found that the average tap rate (interaction) with a tablet ad is 0.79%, up to 40 times greater than the average online display click-through rate*. Consumers also spend an average of seven seconds with tablet ads.
Tablet ownership in the UK is almost 18 million. Tablet owners are most likely to be 35-44 years old (47%), a core media audience. News brands now have a weekly reach of more than 1.5 million via tablets.
“Tablets have a growing and engaged audience, particularly across news brands. However, there has been a lack of data and understanding around tablet advertising – what makes an ad successful, what metrics should brands expect, what kind of ad types and language should we be using?
“These results will offer the advertising community first-stage industry norms, with some standard metrics, creative learnings and a common language for the first time,” said Vanessa Clifford, deputy CEO at Newsworks.
Clifford ran the project in conjunction with agencies and Newsworks’ stakeholders.
The results showed that each sector had distinct variations in key metrics, which will enable planners to shape expectations and judge campaign delivery for clients. Individual sector averages are:
• Motors – average tap rate of 0.61%; average dwell time of 6.9 seconds
• Finance – average tap rate of 0.87%; average dwell time of 5.9 seconds
• Retail & travel – average tap rate of 1.04%; average dwell time of 6.1 seconds
• Tech – average tap rate of 0.84%; average dwell time of 6.8 seconds
• Entertainment – average tap rate of 0.57%; average dwell time of 10.1 seconds
The ads were grouped into three core creative types – text link, video and interactive. The results show that each type has a different role to play: text links drive above average tap rates; video provides a powerful combination of tap rate and dwell time; and interactive ads hold attention with considerably higher dwell time.
“As pioneers in the tablet space, the Tablet Project findings will help us prove the value that tablets add to media plans using industry agreed insights, norms and benchmarks that will help shape our client conversations moving forward,” said Tara Mendelsohn, investment associate director at OMD. “Newsworks have propelled the tablet agenda to the forefront, a move that has been welcomed as a huge step forward for the publishing industry and one that will define and shape the future.”
Creative observations
• Text links drive strong tap rates when the link is clearly signposted and copy is action-orientated
• Video delivers a powerful combination of both tap rate and dwell time but it is key that video content is clearly signposted with a play button and the content is relevant and fresh
• Interactive ads engage readers, with considerably longer than average dwell times, but keep content informative, engaging and easy to navigate
Top tips:
• Keep it simple – from a redefined language for tablets that acknowledges their unique characteristics to simple, fun and engaging copy, don’t over-complicate tablet comms
• Be directional – tell the reader what you want them to do with your ad
• Give the user control – allow them to choose how much or how little they want to interact
• Remember the campaign objectives – keep the aim of the campaign at the heart of your thinking; don’t let what is possible control what you do with your ad – let what needs to be achieved dictate the type and level of interaction
Useful terms:
• Ad views – the total number of views an individual ad receives
• Taps – various interactions within the ad
• Tap rate (%TR) – interactions as a percentage of view
• Dwell time – time spent with an ad
