YouTube viewers “have ADD” (30 seconds and a third are gone)

Oct 1, 2010 by Dirk Singer

Last year TubeMogul came out with research claiming that 53% of online video viewers move onto something else after the first sixty seconds – now Visible Measures has a similar study out claiming YouTube viewers “have ADD” (via AdAge – research report here)

As the graph above shows, 20% of viewers have found something better to do online after the 1st ten seconds, by the 30 second spot a third are gone, and by 60 seconds 44% have left (so slightly better than TubeMogul’s earlier research but still significant).

Visible Measures took this “controversial” Bud Light video ad as a case-study to look into the phenomenon of what they are calling viewer abandonment. The drop off rate was higher than normal in the 1st ten seconds – I guess because it starts slowly with a guy buying some beer. But once the punchline (i.e the point where he asks for porn) hits, more viewers than average were engaged.

Wonder if the lesson here is lose any hint of being subtle and hit them right between the eyes from the start…or alternatively obviously get it talked about so that people know what they are going to be seeing when they arrive.