Facebook Canvas, a.k.a. Instant Articles for brands, officially launches
Facebook’s take on Instant Articles for advertisers is here.
The social network officially launched Canvas today, a full-screen, video mobile format that is intended to engage people more than a regular video ad. And, similar to Instant Articles, Canvas ads load 10 times faster than a standard mobile website.
Brands have been tinkering with Canvas ads on Facebook for the past few months, with Carnival Cruise Lines being one of the first. Carnival told Digiday that 50 percent of people who opened its Canvas ad watched the video to the end.
Gatorade, Michael Kors, Wendy’s and Target have also used Canvas. They and others have said that people actually engage with their ads, getting as much as 50 percent more clicks than a regular ad.
Notably, Facebook is charging companies the same price as a regular News Feed ad.
The Canvas team did an amazing job making this happen. Here's what a Canvas Ad looks like pic.twitter.com/gZBmAKA3D2
— Ben Cunningham (@codeblue87) February 25, 2016
Facebook has been rapidly expanding mobile ads, which accounted for a staggering 80 percent of its $5.6 billion revenue in the last quarter. So, this new unit is good news for brands because people remember them and better news for Facebook because it keeps people using the social network.
More in Media
Media Briefing: Publishers’ Q4 programmatic ad businesses are in limbo
This week’s Media Briefing looks at how publishers in the U.S. and Europe have seen programmatic ad sales on the open market slow in the fourth quarter while they’ve picked up in the private marketplace.
How the European and U.S. publishing landscapes compare and contrast
Publishing executives compared and contrasted the European and U.S. media landscapes and the challenges facing publishers in both regions.
Media Briefing: Publishers’ Q3 earnings show revenue upticks despite election ad pullback
Q3 was a mixed bag for publishers, with some blaming the U.S. presidential election for an ad-spend pullback.