Photo sharing app Instagram is beginning to roll out video advertisements to complement the static ads that it announced last October.
Although the video ads were announced this week, it seems as though it won’t be fully integrated into the app for quite some time, given both the relaxed pace in which Instagram has implemented static advertisements and the intense vetting process that prospective advertisers undergo. Thus far, marketing partners include brands like Levi’s, Ben and Jerry’s, Burberry and Starwood. Multiple brands have been rejected for simply offering advertisements, rather than holistic depictions of a brand-influenced lifestyle.
This emphasis on holistic marketing is in keeping up with recent industry trends and should theoretically mesh well with Instagram’s general brand identity and aesthetic, which has always focused on artistic expression.
The video ads are expected to take the same form as current Instagram videos, which are 15-second autoplay clips.
Although these new Instagram video ads present an intriguing opportunity for all brands, it could provide those in the automotive sector with a prepackaged campaign method targeted at millennials, whose car-purchasing habits are markedly different from those of previous generations. In order for the American auto industry to sustain itself domestically at its current rate, millenials will need to buy more cars. As Instagram ads generate significantly higher engagement rates than comparative ads on Facebook and Twitter, this platform may be a great place to start, particularly given Instagram’s relatively low median user age of 27.
Although user reactions to the introduction of video ads have not been uniformly positive, this doesn’t necessarily spell doom for the concept. When Instagram initially introduced ads a year and a half after its initial acquisition by Facebook, user backlash was swift and severe. Despite this, the social network has remained vibrant and healthy, without evidence of any sort of massive user exodus. It’s reasonable to assume that there will be a similar result following the introduction of video ads, particularly given Instagram’s remarkably cautious approach to implementation.
[Sources: Market Watch, Ad Week]
