23/02/2016 The Introduction of Facebook Canvas
Beginning in September 2015, Facebook began rolling out a new mobile ad format for testing with select white-listed partners. It has quickly gained the attention of advertisers. “Canvas”, as it’s aptly named, offers advertisers unprecedented creative control of an in-app rich media experience. Essentially Canvas are in-feed Facebook mobile ads that when tapped, immediately unfold a rich media experience within Facebook’s app rather than sending users to an external mobile browser page.Inside, these full screen ads allow advertisers to use a combination of text, images, carousel, video, 360 video, etc. to create a strong experience for achieving any marketing goal.
So, what does this mean for film and entertainment brands?
First, as storytellers, this ad format allows for an ideal user experience. Utilizing a variety of content, advertisers can fully immerse prospects in the world of the film. Additionally, this ad’s ability to unfold a full-screen experience directly in Newsfeed is both seamless and visually impactful.
Second, this ad is designed exclusively for mobile. With more than 1.4 billion monthly active Facebook mobile users, more and more film and entertainment advertisers are seeing the value of mobile. On a platform where in-app experiences are second nature, it is likely that Canvas engagement will be strong.
Whether, for example, it’s including multiple videos to drive awareness, featuring a carousel of character stills to drive engagement, or including a strong CTA to drive purchase consideration, Canvas can be customized and tailored to achieve any campaign objective. Like all other Facebook ads, Canvas will leverage Facebook’s targeting and reporting capabilities.
Canvas is currently only available to select advertisers, but is bound to become an important tool for film and entertainment paid social campaigns.
Video previews of Canvas ads can be found below: