YouTube announced new ad frequency controls to give brands a way to manage how often their commercials run, in an attempt to lure TV media buyers as part of its upfront presentation at Brandcast on Tuesday.
Brandcast is YouTube’s yearly showcase for advertisers, and this year YouTube returned to a live event after the pandemic forced it to go virtual. Brandcast also was moved to what is considered the “upfront” season, weeks after digital NewFronts, in order to more directly appeal to TV advertisers.
On Tuesday, YouTube led the program by showing off new advertising controls that could appeal to brands that are used to TV campaigns, with a new way to cap frequency. “This has not been available before,” said Allan Thygesen, Google’s president of Americas, who spoke ahead of Brandcast. “We’re allowing advertisers to set a weekly frequency goal.”
Anyone who has watched YouTube is aware there can be redundancy in commercials streaming on repeat. Thygesen said the new caps could limit the amount of times spots run on YouTube, YouTube TV, and third-party apps that use Google Display and Video 360 ad platform to fill ad slots. Publishers outside of YouTube use DV 360, which gives Google the ability to manage the ad load. Google tested frequency caps with Discovery+, the app that is now run by Warner Bros. Discovery. “Modeled exposure across all these surfaces, not just YouTube,” Thygesen said.