How to create watch-worthy video ads

Did you know that one minute of video is worth an astounding 1.8 million words?¹ As consumption and demand for short-form online video continues to increase, brands have a huge opportunity to inspire, delight and educate customers with snackable storytelling. On Walmart.com, Sponsored Videos can help your products stand out in search results by capturing customer attention and driving deeper engagement with scroll-stopping sight, sound, and motion. When it comes to crafting your creative approach to video storytelling, there’s no one-size-fits-all formula – it’s important to consider the nuances of your product and category. To help you get it right and successfully connect with Walmart customers, we’ve analyzed the best performing videos across verticals and are breaking down the tips and tricks you need to know below:

Electronics: Power their upgrade

Within the electronics vertical, Walmart customers are open to switching brands. Close to half of TV and audio customers surveyed said they were likely to switch to a different brand when purchasing new or upgraded devices.² Sponsored videos are the perfect opportunity to promote your product when shoppers are looking to trade up. Keep these tips in mind:

• Make sure your product takes the spotlight. For example, this Chromebook video ad uses eye-catching visuals and clear, simple words, with important details front and center. 
• Show off your product in use to demonstrate its benefits and capabilities so customers can see how it works and why it’s great.

Home: Where the heart is

Tapping into emotive imagery and messaging with video is a great way to connect with Walmart customers. A recent study, conducted in partnership with NielsenIQ, that measured how ads triggered customers' neurological responses, revealed that showcasing relatable family moments can boost emotional engagement and can help motivate customers to act.³ Consider this strategy when creating a sponsored video around everyday products and moments. This is what you can do to make your video stand out:

• Use real-life, relatable scenarios to show how the product fits into everyday situations
• Use text overlays to highlight product benefits, like this Bissell ad does.
• Remember that videos launch on mute, so upbeat music rather than voice over is preferred.

Fashion: Fit for success

When our customers shop for fashion, online advertising plays an important role in their journey. In fact, 53% of customers surveyed said ads help them stay up to date about apparel products they need or would like to have, and 45% agree that online ads provide them with useful information about new fashion items.⁴ Sponsored Videos can help customers discover new fashion trends and inspire them to add to cart. Consider these tips to make your apparel videos pop:

• Focus on storytelling through eye-catching visuals rather than verbal messaging, allowing the product to speak for itself.
• Use close-ups to showcase intricate clothing details, prints, graphics, or labels, enhancing visual appeal.
• Consider inclusivity and show relatable, real people wearing your products, as shown in the below Maidenform video.

Food & beverage: Hungry for inspiration

Walmart customers are looking for advice with recipes and meal-time solutions. 72% of customers surveyed say recipe inspiration from brands provides new meal ideas for their families and 58% enjoy the convenience of having recipes/meal solution ideas in one place.⁵ Sponsored Videos can be a great way to bring recipe inspiration to life and depict crave-able food scenarios to bring awareness to the product. Here are some tips for your food & beverage videos:

• Show the product both in and out of its packaging.
• Just like the Contadina ad does, use bright colors, high contrast, and eye-catching animation.
• Tout product benefits with simple, easy-to-read text overlays.
• Keep it short and sweet – 6-15 seconds is recommended.

Baby: Care for quality

Walmart customers rank quality as one of the top reasons for clicking on an ad, especially when shopping for baby products.⁵ Customers looking for baby products are also more likely to try new products and seek recommendations from doctors and loved ones.⁶ Sponsored Videos are the perfect way to draw in new customers, underscore product quality and build credibility. Keep these tips in mind:

• Show both the product packaging and its use in real-life scenarios to demonstrate practicality.
• Emphasizes product benefits through simple text overlay, graphics, like in the Enfamil ad below.
• Emphasizes product benefits through simple text overlay, graphics, like in the Enfamil ad below.

No video? No problem.

Whether you have existing assets or are starting from scratch, Lightbox Creative offers creative solutions. Our video team is designed to support all your video needs for Sponsored Videos, from strategy through production.

This content is brought to you by Lightbox Creative, our in-house creative team that helps suppliers drive business results with Walmart Connect’s retail media solutions through best-in-class creative.   Learn more about Lightbox Creative and their mission.