About the ABCDs of effective video ads

The four principles of creating effective YouTube video ads are Attention, Branding, Connection and Direction. This article explains the core ABCDs and the principles by marketing objectives to help you build better performing video ads for YouTube.

For video specs and safe zones, learn more About video ad specs.

Benefits

Apply guidelines to campaigns of all sizes.
Refine your creative execution with data-backed guidelines.
Deliver as much as a 30% lift in short-term sales likelihood and a 17% lift in long-term brand contribution.*

*Source: Google/Kantar, The Short & the Long of ABCDs Effectiveness, Global, Apr 2021.

Core ABCDs

Principle	Guidelines
Attention Hook and sustain attention with an immersive story.	Jump in: Get to the heart of the story faster, and use engaging pacing and tight framing to draw viewers in. Support the story with audio and supers: Reinforce your message with audio and text. Avoid competing elements. Keep visuals bright and high-contrast: Ensure visuals are optimised for all devices.
Branding Brand early, often and richly.	Show up early and throughout: Introduce your brand or product from the start and maintain that presence. Reinforce with audio: Audio brand mentions enhance onscreen brand visuals’ performance. Draw on all your branding assets: Use a variety of branding elements to fit your message and objective.
Connection Help people think or feel something.	Humanise the story: Feature people to help you tell a better product story and relate to your consumer. Focus the message: Avoid doing too much in your ad. Keep messaging and language, focused and simple. Engage: Lean into emotional levers and storytelling techniques, such as humour, surprise and intrigue.
Direction Ask them to take action.	Include a call to action (CTA): Be intentional and add a CTA to drive a specific objective. Say what you’d like viewers to do. Supercharge CTAs with audio: Reinforce your onscreen CTA with voice-over to ensure that the next step is clear.

Learn more about the core ABCDs of effective video ads.

ABCDs by marketing objectives

Great video ads start when you apply the core ABCDs, but you can optimise your ads for specific marketing objectives. Customise your ads to achieve what matters most with tailored ABCD guidelines, whether you aim to raise awareness, drive consideration, prompt action or a combination of the three.

	Attention	Branding	Connection	Direction
Awareness: Get noticed	Pump up the volume by using audio to get viewers to pay attention	Put your brand front and centre	Make the people core to the story Be different, yet simple	Apply core principles
Consideration: Show users how your product fits into their lives	Apply core principles	Hero the product	Show how it works Be relatable	Plant the seed of urgency
Action: Present an enticing call to action with the right context	Apply core principles	Make the product the ad	Be exact and tangible	Present the ask after the context is set
Full funnel: Maximise effectiveness by incorporating all objectives	Hook attention with audio and focus on elements that deliver the message	Start with a mix of branding elements and finish with the product	Establish a connection with your audience to help support your product	Use CTAs throughout your ad, and be more direct as you go

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About the ABCDs of effective video ads

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Benefits

Core ABCDs

Attention

Branding

Connection

Direction

ABCDs by marketing objectives

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