YouTube’s new Shorts ads give kudos to creators

When we talk creator/brand collaborations, most of those collaborations consist of creators making content, then posting said content to their own social channels. But what happens when creators make content that doesn’t end up posted on their channels?

This is the problem YouTube is trying to solve for. Its latest ad product is Partnership Ads, a Shorts-only format that co-brands vertical video ads with both creator and brand links.

When sponsored content is posted somewhere other than a creator’s own channel (like, for example, as an ad on YouTube), their personal branding can get lost. Forget links to their channels–viewers might not even know their names. This is an especially prominent problem with short-form content, since UI is limited and what space is available for video descriptions and outlinking URLs usually goes to the sponsoring company, not the creator.

But Partnership Ads give equal billing to creators and brands. On the brand side, YouTube wants Partnership Ads to encourage app downloads, so it offers tappable cards that direct viewers to the Apple Store. On the creator side, their tappable card includes their name, their own short video tagline/description, and a subscribe button.

“The main excitement for creators is around the co-branded format,” a YouTube spokesperson tells Tubefilter. “Before, BrandConnect offered opportunities to connect creators with advertisers, but now this co-branded format will show up, and it’s representing both the creators and advertisers. Now, you can easily connect with the creator and the brand, making it easier for a viewer to find a creator from the ad.”

Partnership Ads were designed to give creators “better visibility,” and YouTube hopes they become “another vector for organic growth,” he adds.

We think this will benefit creators–especially smaller creators who may just be starting out with their first big brand partnerships, or more niche creators who may be well known in one sect of people, but not all. If MrBeast, for example, appeared in an ad that popped up on YouTube Shorts, most people would know who he is and where to find him if they want to watch more of his content. But creators who aren’t the biggest YouTuber on Earth will struggle to capture viewers without prominent and followable attribution.

Partnership Ads are available on iOS now. Android is slated for a future release.