YouTube‘s annual Brandcast presentation is scheduled for May 14, but NewFronts attendees got an early taste of the platform’s new and upcoming ad products. Google‘s NewFronts pitch included details about the matchmaking tools, technical upgrades, and measurement solutions that will supercharge forthcoming brand campaigns on YouTube.
Google separated YouTube-related updates into three buckets: Features that help brands find appropriate creators for their goals, tools that facilitate partnerships based on those finds, and analytics that allow for precise measurements within the resulting campaigns.
The biggest announcement within the first of those three buckets involves an expansion of the Insights Finder. The new version of that tool will help brands “easily find the most relevant YouTube creators,” according to Google VP of Global Product Solutions Kate Alessi. Brands can also uncover the content categories that are most closely linked to the territory covered by their campaigns.
Multiple NewFronts presenters have identified that locating like-minded creators is a common ask from brands and agencies. YouTube’s improvements to the Insights Finder sound similar to the changes Meta announced to its creator-sourcing tools.
To partner with those perfect brand fits, a creator matchmaking tool is required — and that’s where YouTube’s updated BrandConnect platform comes in handy. To continue its work as a middleman, YouTube is enhancing the Creator Partnerships tool within the Google Ads hub. “From emerging to large creators, you can find the perfect match right in Google Ads,” Alessi said.
On the measurement side of things, YouTube is bringing in “significantly better reporting,” per Alessi. Incoming solutions will let advertisers create audience segments based on creator content that has been linked to their ads. That data, in theory, allows for a much clearer understanding of the viewers who are engaging with sponsored content.
YouTube’s technical upgrades have serious potential, but at the end of the day, the platform’s X-factor is the same thing it’s always been: A massive community of popular, influential creators. A fact sheet shared during the NewFronts presentation noted that ROI on YouTube is 23% higher than on social channels. Short-form video ads from other platforms that are uploaded to YouTube see a 21% increase in long-term brand growth.
To continue harnessing the power of its community, YouTube is introducing Creator Lead-Ins: Short videos from creators that will run before related ads. The idea of the Lead-Ins is to use creator credibility as a tool for driving brand engagement.
The marketing power of the YouTuber will surely be a major topic of conversation once Brandcast returns to New York’s Lincoln Center on the 14th. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and several other execs are slated to talk at that event — and if you know YouTube, then you know there will be plenty of celebrity cameos worked into the presentation as well.
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