Ahead of Brandcast, YouTube brings more targeting to Shorts ads

YouTube is adding new controls to Shorts ads. With four weeks to go until the annual YouTube Brandcast in New York City, the Alphabet-owned platform revealed new ad buying options for brands that want to target specific categories on Shorts.

Since launching Shorts ads in February 2023, YouTube has brought a steady stream of updates to its short-form revenue stream. The latest addition to the program is a new layer of customization that lets brands focus their campaigns on categories like sports, entertainment, beauty, and food. “Advertisers can now key into different types of categories, lineups, and programs,” YouTube Ads Director of Product Management Melissa Hsieh Nikolic told Ad Age.

Ad Age describes the Shorts targeting as a “tweaked” version of YouTube Select, the premium ad program that replaced Google Preferred in 2020. With the long-form version of Select, ad space on high-performing channels is roped off and put into bundles for advertisers. The Shorts version of select is based around categories rather than individual channels; Hsieh Nikolic explained that the change reflects the constantly “moving” nature of trending Shorts. “We’re looking at what content is resonating on the platform, what’s popular with the viewers,” the YouTube exec told Ad Age.

In a recent blog post celebrating the first birthday of the Shorts ad program, YouTube revealed that a quarter of its Partner Program participants have already monetized their short-form videos. The new controls could get stragglers on board by bringing more sponsored content to Shorts. Some agencies have already seen promising results by running standalone campaigns on YouTube’s TikTok-esque format.

Over the next month, brands and agencies will get more details above the updated targeting categories. YouTube shared details about Shorts ads during its presentation at last year’s NewFronts, and it will hold court once again at the 2024 edition of the digital ad buying pitchfest.

Google’s NewFronts event is scheduled for April 29. That presentation will serve as an appetizer for YouTube’s main course: Its yearly Brandcast event, which will return to Lincoln Center on May 15. Brandcast typically covers all of YouTube’s ad products, including its growing paid media operation on TV screens, but the 2024 edition of the pitch will likely give Shorts ads a much-deserved close-up.