Facebook is giving a select number of advertisers access to new features and to help with flushing out the bugs for the Holiday Season that is still a ways away. The advertisers are testing Facebook’s new Augmented Reality (AR) ads in the Facebook News Feed and tools to create mobile video ads using existing images and video footage.
In case you missed it, Sherpa’s Mike Brown wrote a blog post in May about Facebook’s F8 update, which foreshadowed some of these new features that will be coming.
Already used as part of a Michael Kors ad campaign that allowed users to “try on” and then purchase sunglasses, the AR ads will be tested by a variety of brands in the fashion accessory, cosmetics, furniture, gaming, and entertainment markets. The AR element of the ads uses camera effects so that users can virtually try out different aspects of a product, and then take action via the ad.
“With the introduction of AR ads in Facebook News Feed, people can experiment with your brand’s AR camera effects in just one click from your ad. And by incorporating calls-to-action within the camera experience, people can seamlessly go from engaging with your product — such as trying on a lipstick shade or exploring a new game — to making a purchase or installing an app,” writes Facebook on its Business Blog.
Michael Kors Facebook AR
Based on brand AR experiences in Facebook Messenger (versus AR ads), Facebook touted the success brands have seen using AR on its messaging platform. The company says ASUS had, on average, 10 times the engagement with their AR experiences on Messenger compared to experiences that didn’t include AR. Kia also had success with AR on Messenger, using an AR experience coupled with a click-to Messenger ad campaign that drove a 46 percent increase in daily average dealer inventory searches and a 20 percent increase in daily calls to dealerships.
While Facebook is framing its new AR ad push to align with the upcoming holiday season, not all advertisers will have access to the AR ads. Initially tested by the fashion brand Michael Kors, Facebook named a short list of brands — Sephora, NYX Professional Makeup, Bobbi Brown, Pottery Barn, Wayfair, and King — that will be testing the AR ads during their summer campaigns. Facebook said it plans to roll out AR ads more broadly over the course of 2018 but did not offer any specific dates or indicate which industries will gain access to them.
Video Creation Kit
Facebook is also rolling out a Video Creation Kit that lets advertisers create video ads optimized for mobile viewing using existing images and video footage. Advertisers will be able to upload images or videos and add overlays or logos to build ads for Facebook News Feed, Instagram, Messenger and Facebook’s Audience Network.
One company, Noom, was given early access to the Video Creation Kit and says the ads it created using the tool resulted in a 77 percent increase in performance compared to their static image ads on Facebook.
“We’d seen a growing need for a solution that could help us quickly and efficiently scale our video efforts on Facebook,” says Noom’s director of growth marketing, Sam Wheatley. “Using the Video Creation Kit, we were able to upload existing static assets and turn them into mobile-optimized videos through the use of Facebook’s ready-to-use templates.”
Like the AR ads, the Video Creation Kit is in testing. Facebook says it will start rolling out to all advertisers in August.
Ty Ahmad-Taylor, VP of product marketing and global marketing solutions at Facebook, says the app is seeing video become the preferred medium for product discovery on mobile.
“People now expect a personalized and visually inspiring experience wherever they shop — whether they’re on their phone or in-store, which is why video will play an increasingly important role in the mobile shopping experience,” says Ahmad-Taylor.
Looking to dig deeper? Check out the full article over at Marketing Land!
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