Best Pharma Ad Length: Keep it Short and Sweet According to Innovid Report

In its recent report, advertising technology company Innovid has found the best pharma TV ad length.

The company’s Annual CTV Insights report found that 30 seconds is the sweet spot for pharma ads.

According to Innovid, the finding marks a shift in ad lengths with a growing trend towards shorter, more impactful ads in the pharma sector on connected TV (CTV) platforms. These shorter formats are not just a response to viewer preferences but also adapt to the dynamic nature of digital streams where engagement can significantly drop off with longer content.

Innovid found that 30-second ads performed best with respect to watch time and click-through rate. A greater proportion of people watched 30-second ads to the end, with a completion rate of 83.7 percent. This was comparable to the watch time for shorter videos, but a few percentage points higher. In contrast, completion rates for longer videos were lower, with only 63.5 percent of viewers watching the entirety of 45-second ads.

The click-through rate of 30-second ads was also more favorable compared to longer ones. For 30-second commercials, 0.38 percent of viewers clicked a link to visit an external webpage. For all other video lengths, the click-through rates varied from 0.07 percent to 0.15 percent.

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The report also revealed findings about the burgeoning role of CTV in digital advertising, particularly noting its influence in the pharmaceutical sector. Based on a comprehensive analysis of nearly 380 billion video ad impressions delivered in 2023, the report highlighted the rapid shift of advertising dollars to CTV, given its perceived effectiveness and efficiency in reaching target audiences.

The report points out that 53 percent of Innovid’s total video ad impressions in 2023 were via CTV, marking a 12 percent increase from the previous year. This growth is indicative of advertisers capitalizing on the shift from traditional linear TV to digital streaming platforms.

The engagement rates for interactive CTV campaigns are particularly noteworthy, being 10.3 times higher than desktop and 4.6 times higher than mobile, showcasing the effectiveness of CTV in capturing audience attention.

The analysis highlights the “Goldilocks” effect in CTV advertising, finding the “just-right” balance of ad frequency and reach. For pharmaceutical companies, this is crucial in ensuring compliance with stringent regulations while maximizing campaign efficacy.

A spokesperson from Innovid said the company believes the findings are related to “brand stories traditionally fitting into 30-second slots and, as viewers, we’ve become accustomed to that duration.”

The duration is long enough to tell an intriguing story and encourage clicks but not so long that viewers drop out before the call to action. Thirty seconds performs well in other verticals, although Innovid has seen shorter ads achieve higher click-through rates in industries such as retail that have more direct calls to action.

Innovations in ad formats have also been significant, with interactive and dynamic ads on CTV offering better engagement metrics than traditional pre-rolls. These formats allow for a more personalized viewer experience, which reflects trends in pharma toward more personalized and customized treatments.

Innovid also said CTV’s share of impressions among pharma advertisers has increased 36 percent since 2019, marking a shift away from linear TV. Based on Innovid’s tracking of impressions, CTV accounted for 45 percent of pharma video impressions, followed by mobile at 37 percent and desktop at 18 percent.

Despite this, the pharmaceutical industry has been more conservative in adopting alternate media platforms for advertising. For now, it appears the industry is sticking to traditional TV commercials even though traditional TV viewership has been falling due to online streaming and social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok. According to 2023 reports from Nielsen and Leichtman Research, cable usage dropped 12.5 percent and an estimated 1.73 million subscribers left cable companies in the second quarter of 2023.

And even if people are watching TV, they are taking breaks at commercials. According to a 2022 survey, two-thirds of respondents said they don’t actively watch TV ads.

Despite the digital trends, it appears the pharma industry is still sticking to TV advertising, likely to tap into older audiences who still seemingly watch cable TV. However, advertisers appear to at least be following the trend of shorter pieces of content, with most ads in recent years being around the 30-second duration mark.

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