22nd May 2020
POV: YouTube Select
Background:
YouTube is relaunching its premium ad offering, renaming it YouTube Select and saying it will give advertisers the opportunity to reach TV audiences and target top quality content that is guaranteed to be brand-safe.
Details and Implications:
YouTube Select is a ‘reimagination and unification’ of existing products for premium advertisers, according to Vishal Sharma, VP of Product Management at YouTube Advertising.
The new offering incorporates both Google Preferred and also Prime pack ads. Google Preferred allows advertisers to target the top 5% of video content and is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, whilst ‘Prime packs’ are collections of channels curated around a popular theme, against which Google offers ads sold to premium advertisers who want to target a specific audience.
YouTube Select packages these two offerings together by putting content into ‘lineups’ which are tailored to both globally and locally for different topics like technology, sports and beauty and fashion. Lineups will only contain YouTube-approved, brand-safe creators and videos.
‘Emerging lineups’ will also be available featuring content from up-and-coming and niche creators. This will only be available in the US to begin with and there will also be options for custom sponsorships and programmes - to help brands target across different YouTube apps such as YouTube Kids.
A dedicated Streaming TV lineup will capitalize on YouTube’s 100 million per month US viewership on TV screens, helping advertisers in the US to reach this audience through a dedicated lineup, combining the best of YouTube TV and popular creators, YouTube Originals, live sports, feature length movies, timely news and more. It is designed to give advertisers the opportunity to reach TV audiences but also give them the flexibility to quickly end their campaigns.
The new service ties in with the recently announced Brand Lift measurement on TVT screens, which Google will make available globally for the YouTube app and soon for YouTube TV, to better help brands measure their results.
Whilst YouTube Select is a global offering, the ad buying options for YouTube Select will vary depending on region. Most countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific will be able to buy into some YouTube Select lineups via Google Ads, Display & Video 360 and reservation.
Summary:
YouTube Select is the new premium ad offering for brands and will allow advertisers to reach audience who view YouTube on the TV as well as targeting audiences through ‘lineups’ based on popular topics and high-quality content. The service both acknowledges the desire for more brand safe inventory from advertisers and also the continuing trend of TV budgets transitioning to other forms of video content.
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