Advertising Overlord, how to create a splash screen ad?

Through observations of various APP splash screen ads, this article analyzes the shortcomings of current splash screen ads and provides key points for making excellent splash screen ads, which is of reference significance for brands.

People who work in advertising like to watch ads. Recently, I like watching the splash screen ads of various apps. I find that most splash screen ads are very arrogant. They don’t want me to finish watching the ad content.

The opening screen ads are usually 3-5 seconds long, which is probably the limit of what users can tolerate. However, many advertisers do not take this time limit seriously at all. Normal people cannot finish viewing the content presented in 3-5 seconds, let alone inspire users to take action. It seems that they are using the idea of ​​​​e-commerce detail pages to make opening screen ads.

Some of them disappeared in a flash without me even seeing who the advertiser was.

Some of the content is arranged horizontally and vertically with various selling points listed. It is really hard to understand without a pair of discerning eyes. I had to take screenshots and save them for a closer look before I could finish reading its content.

Some splash screen ads even have a poem in the corner, which is truly amazingly confusing.

Some of them have super shocking 3D explosion effects as soon as they come in, with a crackling sound. After the advertisement ends, I am confused. What did I just see?

For some ads, I just read the title and was very interested. I wanted to click on it, but it disappeared in a flash. When I closed the app and re-entered it, there was another ad.

In order to see that ad again, I kept closing and opening the APP. Sometimes I was lucky enough to watch it a second time. I guess the big data in the background has a crazy portrait of me.

I have been reading books for many years and my reading speed is pretty good. I can also concentrate on watching advertisements. Even such "super audiences" don't have time to finish reading. For an ordinary user who already hates advertisements, the reach rate of advertising information can be imagined.

Of course, there are also many excellent splash screen ads, with a simple title, a simple jump button, and no redundant content. Some even have no words, relying solely on the product image to attract you to click on the details page. Some splash screen ads are seamlessly connected to the APP content and are very natural, such as Douyin's TopView, which directly transitions to the brand's information flow content after the splash screen.

So how should splash screen ads be made?

1. If you can’t clearly express your demands in one sentence, don’t vote for the opening screen

Although the APP splash screen ad is 3-5 seconds long, in fact the audience only gives an ad 2 seconds, which is roughly the time it takes to scan a title. Therefore, the title has a high probability of determining the life or death of the ad. Especially now that there is a button to skip the ad on the splash screen, there is even no chance of 2 seconds.

To grab people's attention immediately, you must at least make them understand. This is a very simple truth, but many people don't understand it. So if you can't make your appeal clear in one sentence, don't invest in the opening screen, it will be in vain. Of course, if you can make it clear with one word, one character, or even without a single word, that would be even better.

How to judge whether the appeal is clearly expressed in one sentence, and treat the amount of information in the APP opening screen advertising space as an outdoor artillery on the highway.

Everyone who drives knows that they cannot take their eyes off the road ahead for more than 2 seconds and that they must be highly focused when driving. A high-speed gun that can be remembered at a glance at least conveys good information. I find it hard to understand the behavior of leaving a string of phone numbers on a high-speed gun.

Your brand needs to be upgraded, new products need to be launched, and the time has come for a big promotion. State it clearly in one sentence. Before launching it, find a few ordinary people outside the circle to take a look and test it.

2. Splash screen ads have huge traffic, but how much do you receive?

Splash screen ads are the only way for users to enter the APP, especially those national-level APPs. Even if the CTR (click-through rate) is low, it can still have huge traffic. When the traffic comes, how do you catch it?

There are currently three main ways to open the screen to receive traffic.

One is to jump to a third-party application, such as jumping to a shopping app when the music app opens, and directly guiding the purchase. This is more common because the conversion process of shopping apps is the most mature, and if users are interested in products or services, they are also the easiest to convert.

The second is to jump to the brand's own official website or detail page. This is fine if the experience is smooth, and users can immerse themselves in the brand content without being disturbed by other information. However, some backends do not support this kind of large traffic conversion capability at all, the operation is cumbersome, and there are occasional freezes, which is a pure waste of budget.

The third is to complete the closed loop from exposure to conversion within the same APP. If it is a shopping APP itself, this path is very natural. Now more and more content APPs are also beginning to develop e-commerce. Some design the opening screen, information flow, and product special as a whole. After the brand is exposed, product advertisements disguised as native information flow content are displayed to guide users to have a deeper understanding and complete the conversion. The whole process is as smooth as taking a walk in the park and buying something at a stall. This may be a trend in the future.

3. Use the screen as a gym, mainly to show off your muscles

The splash screen is the face of the APP. Splash screen ads are very expensive, with a budget of millions or even tens of millions. Its status is very special. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the advertising overlord in the mobile Internet era. It is equivalent to the cover ads in the traditional paper media era, or the city landmark ads in outdoor advertising.

Generally, the brands that can invest in the opening screen are mature first-tier brands. It is rare to see small brands or new brands invest in the opening screen. This action, regardless of the effect, is a symbol of the brand's strength. However, the landlords do not have surplus food, and strength does not mean that they can do it blindly.

Professor McLuhan believes that the medium is the message. The medium is not only the carrier of the message, but also a part of the message. The type of media you use reveals the position of your brand. Big brands never invest in "telephone pole ads" on the Internet, which are those flashy, flashing electronic ads.

For a while, domestic brands particularly liked to appear in outdoor advertisements in New York's Times Square. It is conceivable how many audiences there are in that place, but the placement action itself is a super brand advertisement, and there will even be domestic soft articles following up, such as "XX brand lands in the American Times Square".

Therefore, many brands use the splash screen as a gym. When launching new products, signing celebrity endorsements, or launching new marketing campaigns, splash screens are often a standard feature. The main purpose is not to exercise, but to show off muscles. But the premise is that you are really a muscular man.

Author: Chen Wuyong

Source: WeChat public account "Chen Wuyong (ID: wuyongzhiyong2022)"