Four tips for running successful video ads on Yahoo! JAPAN

As well as in many other countries, video ads are crucial for marketing in Japan. As you can imagine, our clients often ask us what kind of videos are more effective on Yahoo! JAPAN. Japan’s no.1 web platform has been offering a variety of video ad placements to advertisers, and we found some trends in effective video creative.

In this article, we will show you the four principles of video advertising.

1. Make the video understandable without audio

Over 95% of PC users (*1), and many smartphone users, view Yahoo! JAPAN on mute.

To ensure that most users can understand your video, add subtitles to the narration and dialogue in your video. Also, smartphone users in particular are looking at small screens, so display text that is large and easy to read.

*1: Researched by Yahoo! JAPAN (2019)

2. Display the service or brand name at the beginning of the video

Not all users will watch your video ad for a long time. To ensure that users who exit the video early on will still remember your ad, place your service or brand name at the beginning of the video. 

In addition to this, if you display your brand name on the screen throughout the video, for example in the top right corner, you can further increase the user’s contact with the brand.

3. Capture the users’ interest in the first three to five seconds

Outstream ads allow users to leave the video midway through by scrolling or closing the window. This means that no matter how long and engaging your video is, if the content isn’t engaging within the first three to five seconds, users will not watch your video. Try to bring an attractive offer or use a video cut that catches the user’s eye at the beginning of the video as much as possible.

4. Keep in mind that the video will start playing once the top half of the ad space is displayed

In-feed ads, which display within news articles on the Yahoo! JAPAN homepage, start playing when 50% of the video area is displayed on the screen. Users usually scroll down the screen, so when the top half of the video is displayed, the video begins to play.

In other words, if there is important information in the bottom half of the opening cut, and it disappears shortly after playback, many users may not be able to see that information. Therefore, important information should be displayed at the top of the screen, especially in the first second of the video.

You can find the original Yahoo! JAPAN article in Japanese here.

Yahoo! JAPAN continues to research effective video ad tactics from a variety of perspectives across all advertising products and industries. If you need advice on effective video creation in the Japanese market, please contact DMFA and our team of bilingual digital marketing experts will be happy to help you.