Meta introduces new brand advertising formats across Facebook and Instagram

Meta announced new advertising tools introducing Ads Super Burst, First Impression Ads, expanded Reels Trending Ads and a new way to measure video attention.

The updates aim to help advertisers reach larger audiences during cultural moments, secure premium placements and measure brand impact more effectively.

What’s new. Meta introduced four major updates designed for brand advertisers:

• Ads Super Burst: A new advertising format that lets brands reserve a concentrated 3- to 24-hour window to reach large audiences, with optional category exclusivity.
• First Impression Ads: A new placement being tested in the U.S. that allows one advertiser per day to secure the first ad position users see when opening their Facebook Feed.
• Reels Trending Ads: Expanded advertising opportunities alongside trending Reels, with additional content categories and targeting controls.
• Aggregated View Time: An early-stage measurement tool that tracks cumulative attention across multiple video exposures rather than evaluating each view separately.

A closer look at Ads Super Burst. Advertisers can use Meta’s Reach Planner to estimate costs and reach before reserving inventory for important moments, such as product launches, sporting events or seasonal campaigns.

Meta says early advertisers using the format achieved a median 2.9-point increase in ad recall and reached approximately 34 million people per campaign flight.

Ads Super Burst is moving toward general availability this month through a phased rollout.

First Impression Ads. Meta is also testing a premium Facebook Feed placement that gives advertisers the opportunity to be the first ad someone sees.

The U.S. test is currently limited to one brand per day, making it an exclusive option for advertisers looking to maximize visibility.

Reels Trending Ads expand. Meta is adding more ways for brands to advertise immediately after popular Reels on Facebook and Instagram.

Advertisers can now choose from 15 always-on content topics, including new Home & Garden and Spanish-language categories, alongside seasonal themes tied to holidays and sports.

Meta reports that campaigns including Reels Trending Ads generated more than a 5-percentage-point lift in action intent compared with unexposed control groups, alongside a 5-point incremental increase in unaided brand awareness.

Custom audience exclusions are also expected later this year.

A new approach to measuring attention. Meta is testing Aggregated View Time, which measures how much time someone spends viewing a brand’s content across a week.

Rather than focusing on individual video views, the tool combines shorter interactions to provide a broader picture of attention.

Meta’s research suggests that five seconds of attention accumulated across multiple exposures can be more valuable than a single five-second view, reporting 32% higher offline sales in its study.

The feature remains in an early alpha testing phase.

Why we care. These updates give brands more options to reach audiences during high-impact moments, connect with trending content and evaluate short-form video performance.

Advertisers running awareness campaigns could benefit from guaranteed reach through Ads Super Burst, premium visibility through First Impression Ads and expanded contextual opportunities through Reels Trending Ads.

Meanwhile, Aggregated View Time could eventually offer a more meaningful way to assess the cumulative impact of short-form video advertising.

The catch. Not all features are widely available. Ads Super Burst is rolling out in phases, First Impression Ads remains a limited U.S. test, and Aggregated View Time is still in alpha.

The performance figures shared by Meta also reflect specific studies and early advertiser results rather than guaranteed outcomes.

The bottom line. Meta’s latest advertising updates give brands new ways to secure attention, reach audiences during key moments and measure awareness. For advertisers, the changes signal a growing emphasis on premium placements, cultural relevance and cumulative video engagement.