YouTube might be a favorite for teens, but ad campaigns on YouTube may get a better response from Baby Boomers, according to a report from Strike Social. The analysis – based on YouTube campaigns managed by Strike Social during 2016 – found that view rates were higher among Baby Boomers than among younger generations, regardless of the device in question.
View rates measure the total number of views of a video ad divided by the number of people the ad was served to. As such, it broadly measures audience engagement with an ad.
The Strike Social report argues that while YouTube advertisers are most likely to target Millennials, they might be ignoring the most lucrative audience: Baby Boomers. (They, after all, are the ones with the money to spend…)
Overall, Baby Boomers registered a view rate of 31.2% for the campaigns analyzed by Strike Social, roughly 10% higher than the rates recorded for Millennials (28.3%) and Gen Xers (28.5%).
Across generations, view rates were highest on desktops, with Baby Boomers again registering the highest figure, of 33%. View rates for Baby Boomers hovered around the 30% mark on phones (29.4%) and tablets (30.2%), while for younger generations they were slightly higher than 27%.
Which Industries Perform Best?
Baby Boomers’ above-average view rates held true across virtually all industries examined for Strike Social’s report.
Retail and CPG saw some of the biggest disparities between Baby Boomers and others:
- Retail: 26% view rate for Baby Boomers, compared to the 15.7% average;
- Household appliances (CPG): 43% for Baby Boomers; 30.7% average;
- Food (CPG): 31% for Baby Boomers; 27.5% average.
Phones Produce Highest Click-Through Rates
Although view rates and video completion rates for Baby Boomers were higher on desktops than on phones and tablets, smartphones did top those other devices in one area.
In fact, Boomers’ click-through rate per view was considerably higher on phones (1.19%) than on tablets (0.32%) and desktops (0.08%).
All told, cost-per-view was consistent across devices.
About the Data: The data is based on US YouTube campaigns managed by Strike Social during 2016. Analysis of view rate and cost-per-view was performed using Strike Social’s proprietary data science tools, including its Similarity Score designed for audience targeting.
