Three Ways to Get Gen Z's Eyes - and Clicks - on your Advertisements!

Gen Z is unlike any generation that preceded it - they were the first generation to grow up in a world with technology and social media at their fingertips. Because of this, their digital preferences & habits are drastically different than previous generations, especially when it comes to watching advertisements. They’ve always known ads, and when done right, they enjoy them. But what exactly does “done right” mean? We took a deeper look into what encourages Gen Z to engage with ads. Here are our top three tips to get Gen Z’s attention! 

The evolution of the 'six-second ad'

Length is key when it comes to maintaining engagement. We’ve seen the ‘six-second ad’ grow in popularity over the past few years and it definitely fits the bill of keeping it short and sweet. But don’t let the 6-second benchmark be the end-all-be-all. We found that 60% of Gen Z are willing to watch a 5-10 second video ad, while 40% are willing to watch a 15-20 second video ad. Use this flexibility to get creative and build a story that engages your audience.

Give your audience a good laugh

Comedy is the golden ticket to creating an engaging ad experience. Although tricky, investing the time to develop a humorous storyline is a great way to encourage ad engagement. In fact, 43% of Gen Z said they would engage more with a video ad if it contained humorous content. And they’re not alone; 40% of readers across generations said the same. Not only can advertisers create funny ads within themselves, but publishers and advertisers can use this as an opportunity to bridge the gap between content and ads by creating a continuous theme throughout. Although humor was the top method to increase ad engagement, interactive features - our next tip - were close behind.

Swipe right for interactive features

Gen Z readers are always looking for ways to engage online and feel like part of the conversation. In response, publishers have begun to incorporate interactive features into their content - but it doesn’t stop there. 28% of Gen Z said they would engage more with a video ad if it had polls or quizzes and 25% want to see emoji reactions. 🤯  Bringing interactive features to ads not only engages readers but also offers advertisers a new way to connect with their consumers. So when brainstorming your next ad campaign, give a 👍  to interactive features!

As Gen Z’s content consumption continues to grow rapidly, optimizing ads to increase engagement is key. Ads that speak to this digital-first generation are guaranteed to make an impact. Experiment with these three tips to see which stick with your audience.