YouTube CTV is on the rise, together with the popularity of digital streaming. YouTube has become the beneficiary of the ongoing shift in viewing behavior, and they are winning the big screen.
While consumers watch their favorite content, YouTube ads give viewers a unique and meaningful advertising experience. YouTube Connected TV ads are a marketers’ solution when threading the changing landscape in streaming media advertising.
YouTube CTV Ads: Drive Results
“YouTube’s spends don’t just deliver, they scale,” said Allan Thygesen, president, Americas, Google. During this digital media shift, YouTube offers products and solutions that can connect brands to their target audience with a better advertising experience than linear.
The recent Media Mix Model Meta-Analysis commissioned by Google with Nielsen shows that the average YouTube Effectiveness index for TV and Other digital was 224. YouTube CTV delivers 3.1x more efficiency than the average linear TV Effectiveness index with only 73. YouTube described Effectiveness as total incremental sales per 1000 impressions.
From what our data show so far, H1 2022 YouTube campaigns on Connected TV have been the most cost-efficient. For YouTube Trueview Campaigns optimized for more reach, Connected TV CPM is 6% more inexpensive than mobile while and produced a 3% higher Video Completion Rate.
At the same time, CTV devices have generated more views than the cost of a skippable TrueView in-stream YouTube campaign. Connected-TV CPV for YouTube ads is 3% and 7% lower than mobile and desktop, respectively.
Related: YouTube Makes Ads on Connected TV More Shoppable
Accessibility to CTV Co-Viewing Reports
Google describes co-viewing as multiple people watching YouTube on a Connected TV (CTV) device and seeing an ad simultaneously. This effort scales Impression and Reach for YouTube CTV ad campaigns. Even though co-viewing existed long before video streaming, digital advertisers have waited for CTV metrics to measure all the viewers who have seen an ad on a single TV Screen.
Nielsen’s recent announcement stated that media buyers would be able to achieve a precise, person-level viewership, including co-viewing across different Smart TV original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and connected tv devices. This feature has enhanced Nielsen Digital Ads Ratings (DAR) by deduplicating YouTube inventory across different device platforms.
Deduplication is one of the many solutions to address CTV fragmentation. With this, media buyers can better analyze YouTube CTV Ad performance, eliminating wastage of advertising funds by displaying the campaign to the wrong set of audiences.
Related: The Effect of Co-Viewing: Marketers’ Convincing Power on Kids and Parents
2022 Upfront and YouTube Creators
Now that the world of linear and digital TV is becoming one, YouTube is making an impact by becoming the top choice for content creators and advertisers for a great streaming experience.
YouTube is the Mainstream – first time joining the Upfront, YouTube took the stage by showcasing its top content creators: 2021 highest-earning YouTube content creator MrBeast, Former NASA and Apple engineer Mark Rober, Tech Geek Marquess Brownlee, and singer-rapper Lizzo.
The large TV screens are still in the spotlight of US households. According to a Nielsen report, 135 million US YouTube viewers are sitting in front of their Connected TVs. The demographic ranges from as young as 2+ years old watching kids-themed YouTube channels to 55+ years old listening to the latest news.
YouTube YTD’s growth in streaming share surpassed Amazon Prime and closed the gap against Netflix. As the power of streaming platforms increases, YouTube and the creators continue to evolve and adapt to the consumers viewing trends. Making YouTube the solution to the ever-growing digital viewership.
A great example is the YouTube sensation MrBeast. It has 96.6 million followers, with 40 to 255 million video views per upload. The top-rated YouTube channel surpassed Disney Plus subscribers in the US and Canada (44.4 million), HBO and HBO max subscribers in the US (48.6 million), and Paramount (40 million global subscribers.)
Related: Formula 1 Season: Advertisers Should Steer Their Attention on YouTube Connected TV Ads
YouTube expands possibilities for advertisers in Connected TV
Due to the rise of digital viewership, YouTube CTV tools keep up with the CTV cadence. It helps pave the way for advertisers to give viewers a more enjoyable advertising experience on a bigger screen.
With the average time spent on digital viewership on track to surpass time spent on Linear TV, advertisers remain ahead of the curve simply because ad money follows the consumers’ direction.
Statista reported 247 million YouTube viewers engaged with the popular video streaming platform in Q1 of 2022. Most YouTube viewers spend time on CTV learning new skills with how-to videos, keeping up with the latest pop culture trends, or simply having a good laugh with a roommate.
Now that viewers engage more with the on-demand video content, YouTube is becoming a solution for advertisers. With all the new CTV digital advertising capabilities that YouTube CTV offers, there are more reasons to move ad dollars to Connected TV ads as digital viewership is here to stay.
