Unskippable ad: Can Insta find the balance between user experience & advertising efficacy?

Meta-owned Instagram has begun testing unskippable ads on the platform, that is making users stop scrolling and looking at an ad for a period of time before they can continue. Users on platforms like X and Reddit shared screenshots of a countdown/timer popping on their screens, while they were being shown the ads. Instagram is displaying an ‘ad break’ icon with the countdown timer that shows how long until one can start scrolling again.

Holy moly! Meta seemingly is now forcing us to watch ads in our feeds on Instagram!

The app legit stopped me from scrolling past this ad which is just a bonkers move to me. pic.twitter.com/740EXjGyl2

— Dan Levy ✡ דניאל לוי (@TheDanLevy) June 1, 2024

 
Responding to exchange4media’s query about the need for this new advertising feature, a Meta spokesperson said that the tech giant’s experiments with new products and ad solutions is in line with the evolving consumer trends and business needs. “We’ll share more if there are new updates available to our products,” the person added.

Unskippable ads is not a new concept for people hooked to YouTube or ones who have explored shows on Amazon Mini TV. As much as a regular user would complain about ads, digital experts suggest that advertisers have been happy with the returns they have seen from such formats. These types of ads ensure that viewers are exposed to the entire message, which can significantly enhance brand recall and engagement compared to skippable ads.

Digital advertising specialists argue that while unskippable ads may temporarily frustrate users, they ultimately contribute to a more effective advertising ecosystem where brands can maximize their reach and impact. This trade-off between user experience and advertising efficacy is a delicate balance, but one that platforms like Instagram are willing to experiment with in order to cater to the demands of advertisers and generate revenue.

 
The Unskippable Efficiency

Rahul Vengalil, CEO & Co-founder, TGTHR, feels that Instagram’s parent Meta will be benchmarking the cost against YouTube’s costs and make it at par, if not better. He added, “One key difference could be that Youtube non-skippable are primarily videos, whereas Instagram can make it both static & video. While these will be intrusive in the Instagram ecosystem, for an advertiser, this would be both effective & efficient.”

Sajal Gupta, Chief Executive, Kiaos Marketing, adds that the platform’s move from photos to videos with ‘Reels’ grabbed user attention, perfectly aligning with advertisers' preference for video ad formats. “This synergy makes Instagram, backed by Meta's data-driven audience targeting, a powerful advertising platform. It even positions Instagram to potentially challenge YouTube's dominance in video ads,” Gupta believes.

Furthermore, Mukesh Agrawal, Co-founder, The Media Ant also pointed out that at times when brands have a launch or an offer for which they need to build awareness, unskippable becomes a preferred option. “For example, Fevicol has recently launched a new ad and if one does not watch the complete ad, the essence of it will get lost,” he explained.

UX at stake?

However, one cannot forget the aspect of ‘user experience’ when discussing unskippable ads. Until now, Instagram users have habituated themselves to scroll through if they are not interested in the ad. And with the miniscule attention span of Gen Z and alpha, it is fair for one to wonder what this new feature would mean experience wise.

Tejas Maha, Group Head- Paid Media, White Rivers Media, too noted that there exists a risk of interrupting the user experience. ”Unskippable ads could be seen as a slight disruption, potentially leading to less engagement and a potential dent in brand image,” he said.

Vengalil also comes with a similar opinion and says that the caveat is whether consumers start disliking this feature en-mass leading to any sort of boycott. “Also, with this feature, consumers will definitely know that they are seeing an ad, not skipping it or not registering it as another post,” he further highlighted.

Experts agree that there indeed was some discrepancy when it came to identifying an ad, as an ad. Some users registered it as a regular post or reel and just scrolled through. Thus, they speculate that this can be one of the reasons why Meta decided to venture into this format with Instagram. “⁠The infinite scroll could have led to lower click through rates. Taking over the whole screen is a better bet. In fact, a lot of high performing ad assets are the once that stand out,” Vengalil explained.

Apart from this, there is also the aspect of generating incremental value. “Unskippable ads generate incremental business to platforms and Meta needs to increase the revenue and hence this becomes a low hanging fruit for them,” Agrawal said. According to Vengalil too, this could be an additional ad unit or inventory and if it works, then it could give meta incremental revenue.

To Maha as well, Meta’s potential motivation seems clear – boosting ad revenue. “Unskippable ads ensure viewers see the ad, potentially making them more valuable to advertisers. This is especially important considering the recent ad price plunge on Instagram. But remember, happy users are key. A platform flooded with frustrated scrollers heading for the exits wouldn't be ideal,” he said.

Furthermore, Gupta highlighted that with EU privacy regulations on the horizon, Meta might be preparing for a two-tiered app system, similar to OTT services. “This could include a paid ad-free version and a free version with targeted advertising based on user consent,” he added.

The Key Metrics

While the industry agrees on points like efficiency of unskippable ads and why Meta is probably taking this step, it does stand divided on the aspect of metrics. Essentially for such ads, a metric called ‘View Through Rate’ is what one would normally consider. This metric measures the number of times an ad is viewed to completion compared to the number of impressions, offering a clear indicator of an ad's effectiveness.

According to digital experts, if the View Through Rate is significantly high, it demonstrates that users are engaging with the ad content, which can justify the potential disruption to the user experience. However, if the rate is low, it could indicate that users are disengaging and the unskippable format is counterproductive.

“Typically, the metrics used here are View Through Rate and then action. If there is good VTR, which means the communication is engaging and if there is action it means the communication has the right features of the product/service which is relevant for a consumer,” said Agrawal.

Maha also believes that metrics like VTRs will be crucial in measuring the effectiveness of unskippable ads. “VTR shows how many people watch the entire ad, not just scroll past. But that isn't the whole story. Advertisers will also track clicks to see if the ad not only captured attention but also led to the intended outcome.”

However, Vengalil pointed out that when it comes to an unskippable ad unit, then View Through Rate won’t even come into consideration. Explaining further he said, “This is because the advertiser’s expectation is that 100% of the users are seeing the ad without skipping. When you buy an unskippable ad unit, the expectation is to ensure that we are able to reach maximum people, we are able to deliver an uninterrupted complete message. The effectiveness & efficiency also depends on the length of the message.”

Beyond traditional metrics like ad views, completion rates, and click-through rates (CTR), advertisers are increasingly focusing on advanced attention metrics. As per Gupta, these metrics analyze user behavior like screen movement and scrolling patterns to gauge engagement and ad effectiveness.

The testing is just in its infancy and it will probably take a couple of months to understand how this format is actually playing out for Meta. But the key, according to Maha, lies in finding the sweet spot between ‘attention-grabbing’ and ‘user-friendly’.