Google Preferred Advertising Program To Return To YouTube, Expand Internationally

Last year, the primary focus of YouTube’s annual Brandcast was Google Preferred, a then-new program that connects advertisers to the most popular channels on YouTube. Brandcast will return on April 29th, and Google Preferred will once again take center stage. YouTube will bring back its premium advertising program for a second year, and it has plans to expand it internationally to more than ten new markets.

Through Google Preferred, advertising inventory on the top 5% of all YouTube channels is reserved for buyers who purchased in advance. This program has advantages for both creators and advertisers; the former group sees its ad revenue go up thanks to increased demand, while the latter ensures its ads will run against relevant content and gains access to a number of measurement tools.

YouTube had previously been quiet about specific results of Google Preferred (aside from letting us know that its inventory sold out), but it has now shared some key statistics that will carry the program into its second year:

• More than 30 brands that did not previous advertize on YouTube signed up for Google Preferred.
• Across 50 studies, brands that used Google Preferred saw an 80% increase in ad recall and a 17% increase in brand awareness.
• YouTube creators who were selected to participate in the program increased their revenue by 70% YOY, compared to a 50% YOY increase for those who were not.

These statistics are obviously assisted by the fact that the advertisers and creators who participated in Google Preferred are already well-established. At the same time, a blog post from Google provides plenty of additional evidence that shows how Google Preferred is meeting its initial goals.

YouTube will provide more details about Google Preferred at Brandcast. We’ll be there–and we will report back with more updates about the premium advertising program.