2019 FROM A --BLINK ----TO A HEART ---BEAT

A creative playbook for effective mobile videos based on MMA's Cognition study and 's understanding of successful Thumbstopper videos. PAGE 1 CONTENTS---

MMA’s First Second Strategy Cognition Research 03

MMA’s First Second Strategy Checklist 09

Facebook Thumbstopper Creative Best Practices 13

Industry Speak: Advice from Ogilvy and Facebook’s Creative Directors 28

One Last Word 34 PAGE 2

Key insight from research: Consumers process and react to Consumers take just ads in quarter of a second The most important insight from this study is that the cognitive process is quarter of a second to faster than we thought and that the human brain needs less than 1/2 second to engage with mobile advertising & trigger a reaction, positive or negative. Importantly, the study also highlights that ads that perform poorly tend to process an ad on mobile. overwhelmingly create negative emotional response in that short window of the first second, potentially alienating consumers early on.

Marketers need new The right creative is critical and thumbstopping videos are the key to win creative strategies and The main implication of these findings is that brands have less time than they thought to win consumers in today´s fast-paced advertising environment. tactics to catch up with Importantly, this effect is faster and persuasive for video ads compared to static, suggesting that brands should place more emphasis on developing the new consumer behavior. right short video creative in these areas. MMA's First Second Strategy Checklist and Facebook's Thumbstopper Creative Best Practices are what you need to A ground-breaking neuroscience study of mobile ads win with short video ads. MMA’s groundbreaking research about Cognitive Processing of To help marketers and agencies develop the right short video creative for Advertising in a Mobile Environment is one of the world’s first and most mobile, MMA has partnered with Facebook to create a unique playbook for comprehensive Neuroscience based studies on understanding how creativity on mobile. The recommendations are based on MMA’s Cognition consumers respond to advertising on mobile. The research builds on study and Facebook’s understanding of successful Thumbstopper videos. the MMA´s commitment to science and truth in marketing for brands. Facebook’s understanding is built on the back of meta studies of thousands of Additionally, this is the first project the Advertising Research campaigns and fine tuned by Creative Directors who have used them. Foundation (ARF) has reviewed as part of their drive for ‘radical The playbook is useful for both marketers and creative agencies and is transparency’ and truth in advertising research. designed to help you create a Thumbstopper or evaluate one.

Happy creating Thumbstoppers. PAGE 3

The 1st Sec. Strategy Cognition Research studied two key metrics of how consumers process advertising on mobile:

1. ATTENTION 2. COGNITIVE PROCESSING Percentage of Ads seen Cognitive Load (CL) Motivation/Emotional What percentage of ads are Are consumers processing the Response (FAI) consumers seeing? information given? Are they Do consumers display interest experience information and desire? Are they motivated overload and stress? to approach or avoid? COGNITION ------IS FAST----

The human brain needs less than ½ second to engage with mobile advertising & trigger a reaction, positive or negative. PAGE 5

Attention and cognition is delivered in a quarter of a second

More than 67% are already Two third of ads are cognitively recognized in seen at 0.4 seconds 0.4 seconds. 100% ads are cognitively processed in 3 seconds.

Attention Cognitive Load

96% 100% 92% 93% 89% 85% 96% 100% 88% 71% 84%

67% 67% 42% 67% MOBILE

25% 29% 5% 0 0 200 400 600 800 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000

TOTAL EXPOSURE TIME * = significant at p<0.05

Chart shows percentage of participants who have a minimum of 60ms (3 gaze points) Chart shows the persentage of Ads who have shown a significant lift in cognitive load at the ad that they were exposed to. All ads were shown to the same number of compared to the control group at the given speed. participants at each speed. The Research Insight on Creative CREATIVE ---IS KEY A thumbstopping video can grab attention and persuade better.

Whereas a wrong creative can be detrimental; it generates strong negative reactions from consumers. PAGE 7

Wrong creatives fail harder

Low performance ads* create strong But these emotional responses are emotional response almost always negative.

% if ads that have a motivational change Low Performance 18 18 9 9 82% 82%

64% 64% -45 -45 -45 -45 -55 -55 54% 69% -64 -64 62% 45% 45% 45% 54% High Performance 54% 31 31 31 31 46% 45% 38% 38%

Scroll speed -23 -23 -23 -23 -23 -23

0 -31

200 400 600 800 -38 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000 100 200 400 700 1000 1250 1500 2000 3000

High Performace Ad Low Performace Ad Negative Positive

Degrees of freedom (DF) = 17 * Ineffective/ow performance ads: lower quartile in terms of brand on brand lift study NEURO-- --SCIENCE RESEARCH

MMA’s Neuroscience research has identified multiple ingredients of a thumb-stopping video. We compiled it as the First Second Strategy Checklist and the Beyond First Second Strategy Checklist. PAGE 9

IMPORTANT--INGREDIENTS -----OF THE FIRST SECOND OF A VIDEO------

First Second Strategy Checklist  Color and contrast matter. Make conscious decisions  “Pretest” attention, salience and complexity  Where possible, use people and faces  If relevant trigger primary needs  Add motion, even if perceived  Make the first frames of a video count  Adjust for platform complexity  Adjust for brand familiarity/likeability PAGE 10

IMPORTANT------INGREDIENTS OF A THUMBSTOPPER VIDEO

Beyond First Second Checklist  Speak without sound  Fast pacing pays off  Convey your key message immediately  Show your products in action  Use entertainment, up to a point  Use early or always on branding  Work with the MMA on Phase 2  Research on effectiveness PAGE 11 RECIPE FOR A ----THUMBSTOPPER VIDEO:--CREATIVE BEST PRACTICES TO ----HELP YOU WIN The following creative recommendations are based on MMA’s Cognition study and Facebook's understanding of successful short videos. BACKED --BY DATA TESTED-- --IN THE FIELD--- Facebook’s Thumbstopper recommendations are backed up by data studied by Facebook’s Marketing Science team and fine tuned by Facebook Creative Shop, an internal Creative team that creates social ideas clients invest in to transform their business, and scores of leading creative agencies across the world. PAGE 13 Five creative best practices for Thumbstopper videos MMA in partnership with Facebook recommends the following considerations for effective short video creatives on mobile. They are based on MMA’s Cognition research and Facebook’s understanding of Thumbstopper videos.

Design for sound off, Showcase your brand but delight with early and often sound on BRANDING SOUND

DURATION VISUALS OPENING Short video ads Use striking visuals, Make the first frames under 10 seconds color and contrast to of a video count work better catch attention and move hearts 1. DURATION THUMBSTOPPERS ARE BRIEF PAGE 14

Creative Best Practices Consumers respond better to videos that have a clear focal point and they recall more of the message. These videos had the highest aided recall, message recall, and purchase intent results.

Put the product or brand at the center of the AS SHORT AS story. POSSIBLE, Front load your story arc - put brand and key messages up front

AS LONG AS Chose your scripts wisely. Do not try and tell a longer script in ten seconds. Try and IT NEEDS TO BE showcase a moment, a reaction, a visual Make your video as short as it can be and representation of the product’s benefit etc. as long as it needs to be. But remember, ads in or under ten seconds work best. For more complex stories, quick, multiple 52% of the total brand lift driven by video “chapters” lead to more effective came from impressions that were short campaigns. view, or under two seconds1.

Source: 1 "Video Viewability and Sales Lift Research" by Facebook and Oracle, Sept 2017 THE BRIEF----

What is the human behaviour we want to change with this Thumbstopper? In India, sons receive preferential treatment v/s daughters in the same household by parents because the former is seen as a future breadwinner & the latter a liability.

In early 2019, Facebook gave film maker Kiran Rao a brief to change a big cultural behavior using a thumbstopper video. KIRAN--RAO “The mobile medium has a set of realities which as content makers one must embrace and play with. Once you understand the medium, the storytelling comes naturally.” Filmmaker Kiran Rao tells a charming yet deep story in just ten seconds. She manages to do this by chosing to focus on the right moment. The close-up of the milk being shared acts as a visual concept, a sticky image, that quickly and memorably conveys a huge cultural tension.

Watch this Thumbstopper video on fb.me/fbthumbstoppers 2. BRANDING THUMBSTOPPERS ARE QUICK TO COMMUNICATE BRAND AND MESSAGE PAGE 18

Creative Best Practices Show a logo, recognizable spokespeople, colors, products and/or visuals.

Consider using cutaways to showcase multiple product colors or variants.

Front load your story arc - put brand and SHOWCASE key messages up front. YOUR BRAND EARLY ON The first few seconds of your ad matter, a lot. The most effective Thumbstopper ads include branding in the first three seconds and convey a brand's key message in a quick, easy-to-understand and attention-grabbing way. Thumbstopper videos also had a 2x lift in ad recall if branding occurs within the first three seconds1.

Source: 1 "Stand Out in Feed: Optimizing Video Creative on Mobile" by Facebook IQ, Dec 2017 3. VISUALS THUMBSTOPPERS USE STRIKING VISUALS TO GRAB ATTENTION PAGE 19

Creative Best Practices Embrace your brand colors. Use them consistently enough for your audience to create memory structures around it.

Colors have meaning. For example, if you are selling health, try and occupy a unique USE STRIKING VISUALS version of green. Lead with shots of your products against TO GRAB ATTENTION vivid backgrounds. AND LOCK PEOPLE IN Make use of contrasting colors.

Color has the power to stop thumbs, set mood and drive recognition. Smart use of colors can help brands stand out from a sea of sameness. MMA’s research has shown that when ads first appear on screen (one tenth of a second), they are seen mostly as a blur but it is enough to create an emotional response.

Source: 1 "Stand Out in Feed: Optimizing Video Creative on Mobile" by Facebook IQ, Dec 2017 4. SOUND THUMBSTOPPERS USE VISUAL CONCEPTS TO COMMUNICATE PAGE 20

Creative Best Practices Sight and motion are the foundation of feed - try to tell you story visually in your videos.

Text and graphics make your message easier to understand in a sound off environment. DESIGN FOR Add captions/subtitles to help tell your story. SOUND-OFF, DELIGHT FOR SOUND-ON

Successful videos designed for sound off are visually delightful, with a clear focal point and a super-clear message. Yet majority of global Stories ads are viewed with sound on, so add an auditory experience to your ad as well. THE BRIEF---- What is the human behaviour we want to change? Every third woman In India suffers sexual, physical violence at home.

Facebook India’s second brief to Kiran Rao was to throw spotlight on the issue of domestic violence. In this film, Kiran turns on its head, the myth that domestic violence is restricted to lower income households, by switching the characters of the victim and ally. No words are exchanged but the story and emotions are conveyed visually.

Watch this Thumbstopper video on fb.me/fbthumbstoppers 5. OPENING THUMBSTOPPERS OPEN WITH A BANG PAGE 23

Creative Best Practices Put your hero front and center.

Capture attention with branding or text, quickly.

Try using text captions/overlays to emphasize key messages at the outset.

MAKE THE Add interesting, provocative, or surprising FIRST FRAMES post copy to complement the ad. OF A VIDEO COUNT

With audiences swiping quickly through their feeds, your brand must make a real impact in just a few seconds. Bring your most exciting frame to the front. People consume content 41% faster on mobile than on desktop News Feed and recall content at a significantly higher rate. MMA’s cognition study showed that humans responded strongly to human faces, body parts or even icon that are shaped like bodies. THE BRIEF----

What is the human behaviour we want to change with this Thumbstopper? In life, resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. It is our duty to support the ailing.

Facebook’s challenge to Wunderman Thompson was to tell a moving story and show a big life moment in under 10 seconds. In this 10 second film conceptualised by Wunderman Thompson, an arresting face in a dramatic opening moment makes it Thumbstopping

Watch this Thumbstopper video on fb.me/fbthumbstoppers THE BRIEF----

What is the human behaviour we want to change with this Thumbstopper? We want Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk’s female consumers to see the brand as the modern, premium and international offering in its cateogory, even more than it’s higher priced, international competitors.

Mondelez India’s brief to Ogilvy was to create personalized-at-scale Thumbstoppers that were targeted to women and designed to appeal to them with beauty and fashion cues. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk made a Thumbstopper film with Ogilvy that was created and served only to female audiences. The film opened with beauty and fashion cues that helped grab instant attention.

Watch this Thumbstopper video on fb.me/fbthumbstoppers PAGE 28 INDUSTRY-- --SPEAK

------ADVERTISING CREATIVE DIRECTORS ON CREATING THUMBSTOPPER VIDEOS------SUKESH--NAYAK “It has to be surprising. That’s the most important aspect of any communication. The script has to make me think, smile or cry in just 10 seconds.” SUKESH NAYAK Chief Creative Officer – West, Ogilvy

Q: How important is creativity Q: How do you evaluate a when creating mobile ads? Thumbstopper script? What S: We live in a world where attention are some qualities you look for is in short supply wo you must be when you hear a 10 second innovative in your approach to get the script for the first time? attention. Creativity helps us be S: It has to be surprising. That’s the innovative. most important aspect of any Q: What are some challenges communication. The script has to you face when creating Q: Is it possible to tell make me think, smile or cry in just 10 interesting stories in 10 seconds. Thumbstopper (10 second) seconds? What are some tips films? And how do you and tricks you would like to Q:What is your any advise to overcome those? give young creatives marketers looking to build S: Let go of the classic writing style of attempting to create creative on Facebook? multi plots. Stop workirn with an idea Thumbstopper films? of twist at the end. There is no time S: Good is never enough. To stand out for that. You just have to make your S: Be sharp. Stay to the point. Be able on Facebook and Instagram, one has point in one shot but still be to crack a great ad that can make you to have an innovative mindset. surprising. Still be engaging. cry or smile or think in just one look. Challenge and partner your creative partners to find creative solutions that surprise your customers. NIRMAL--PULICKAL “Use non-linear story arcs which may start with the big idea and then unravel the payoff. Get to the climax immediately. That first scene, where the copywriter starts writing "Film opens on..." is where 80% of its thumb-stopping power is decided.” NIRMAL PULICKAL Head Of Creative Shop, Facebook India

Q: What are some considerations to keep in my mind when writing Thumbstopper films? N: Start with the writing. We are familiar with certain tropes - the twist in the end, the epic ad shot abroad, the tearjerker, the jingle-montage. These are all classic formats. The one thing they all have in common? Their story structure. Classic linear 3-act storytelling. Set-up/ Climax/ Payoff. For Thumbstopper videos, what we've seen work is a more non-linear story arcs which may start with the big idea and then unravel the payoff. Get to the climax immediately. Boom. That first scene, where the copywriter starts writing "Film opens on..." is where 80% of its thumb-stopping power is decided. On the technical side, some notes to scribble on the first page of the PPM docket - frame vertical and clean, design for sound off, center the main message/ supers. PAGE 33

Q: What is your advice for Q: What are some recent marketers looking to increase Facebook - first campaigns that their Facebook spend? have been creatively exciting?

N: Top of mind, when it comes to Thumbstopping ads. N: Creative Shop recently worked with Cheil to co-create Samsung India's 'India Ready Action' 1. Tap into people insights and new behaviours to leveraging Instagram as a place for inspiration and build relevant expression by debunking stereotypes. 2. Target creatively. Being creative in also how to find Uber's 'Book Life' explored the business people on Facebook and Instagram. For instance, opportunity in promoting spontaneous short rides you can chose to speak to only one gender or using targeting creatively. people in one geography. This impacts storytelling. There's also the Comicstaan work with Amazon Prime Video which has broken new ground this 3. Find and develop new narratives to tell year by making a standup comic bot. And the still those stories, and ask for a call to action evolving Purple Hearts campaign with Ogilvy for (mobile fits here). Mondelez, which takes on cyber bullying online in a very clever way. PAGE 34

Creative Best Practices Use the different creation tools already available on Facebook and Instagram. Can your ad be a Boomerang or Hyperlapse? Have you used an IG sticker or Poll in your ad?

Write an inventive scene. Can you use time ONE LAST WORD: as a creative device? How about a fresh copy approach?

THUMBSTOPPERS Try a new filmmaking technique. Have you made an ad using stop-motion or ARE SURPRISING Claymation yet? Consider using special effects. Top-performing mobile ads have an element of surprise. Introducing strong design elements may More importantly, get out of your comfort seem intimidating, but it can make ads more zone and experiment. effective. Be creative, and test, learn and adapt.