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    Slow vs. Fast Ads: New Research Studies the Pace of Commercials

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    Everything You Need to Know In Less Than 50 Words

    New research has surfaced showing the impact of advertisement speeds on consumers. The study focuses on correlating the pace of commercials and the perception and understanding of the consumer to see if it affects their decision-making.

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    With this study, marketers have unique optimization insights for advertisements, at least in terms of the pace at which the commercial plays. 

    This study will prove vital to digital and traditional markers because it will affect the consumer’s decision-making process. 

    According to the research, slow-moving commercials are favorable for products that require a higher degree of understanding, while rapidly moving commercials are advantageous for price-centric products that don’t need much interpretation.

    While this research doesn’t answer all questions about what the optimal advertisements would look like, it does give some insight into how consumers respond to the pace of ads. 

    In the article published by Sukki Yoon, Hyejin Bang, Dongwon Choi, and Kacy Kim, researchers have found correlations between benefits, attributes, quality, and prices with slow and fast advertisements. Below we’ll cover the research in-depth. 

    With this study, marketers have unique optimization insights for advertisements, at least in terms of the pace at which the commercial plays.

    The Research

    TV commercials featuring slow-moving objectives and visuals prompted a high degree of understanding from consumers. Not only that, but consumers found the product being advertised more desirable due in large to the advertisement’s ability to emphasize product benefits. 

    This correlation may relate to the consumer having more time to process the advertisement. At the same time, slower advertisements may not have more information, but the quality of that information is what seems to benefit the commercial. 

    Fast-moving TV commercials found that consumers had a lower understanding of the product, leaving the consumer to wonder about the product’s or service’s feasibility. Fast-moving commercials left consumers focusing more on product attributes than benefits. 

    Explanation of Findings

    Since there isn’t as much time to process the entire aspect, viewers of faster advertisements seem to latch on to the product attributes rather than the benefits. Benefits are typically only seen when a person can actively process how that product will enhance their experience. 

    If the advertisement doesn’t give the consumer enough time to think about those benefits, they’ll process the product’s attributes more than the actual in-ate benefits this will have on their life. 

    Additional Studies

    Two additional studies show how advertising speed affected how consumers thought of the product in terms of quality and price.

    The third study, with slower advertisements, found that consumers responded to desirability advertising appeals. Additionally, consumers emphasized the product’s quality over its price. 

    The fourth study kept fast advertising speed. The research found that consumers preferred feasibility advertising appeals. Additionally, consumers focused on the product’s price.

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      Explanation of Additional Studies

      With this research in mind, marketing teams will have better ideas of what advertisements need to emphasize depending on their speed. For example, if an ad wants to emphasize the product’s price, faster-moving advertisements may be the route. 

      For products that need more understanding of the appeal, it doesn’t come from the price but rather from the benefits the product can offer the consumer. It may be best for marketers to go towards a slower advertising speed. 

      Products that need little explanation to understand heavily benefit from a faster advertising speed, according to this study.

      Source: International Journal of Advertising

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