YouTube’s upfront—how AI, creators and non-skippable ads are all coming together

YouTube is giving ads more room to roam on the platform with a new creator “takeover” format and AI that will place more non-skippable ads into connected TVs. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs On Wednesday, YouTube announced a string of advertising tweaks at the annual Brandcast show, held at Lincoln Center in New York. Brandcast is YouTube’s upfront event to deliver its yearly state-of-the-platform message to brands and showcase its creators. This year, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan hammered on the theme that the Google-owned video site is just as prestigious as TV and Netflix series. YouTube has been imploring the industry to take YouTube stars as seriously as Hollywood, which is also a call to brands to treat its ad inventory as prime real estate. Also read: Inside Netflix’s upfront “Young people come to YouTube more than any other platform,” Mohan said, “because they know the difference between scripted and unscripted, between highly produced, long-form and quick, casual behind the scenes doesn’t really matter anymore. What matters is being able to go deep on everything you love all in one place.” With that YouTube presented a cadre of creators, including Zach King, Kinigra Deon, Ryan Trahan and Haley Kalil. Meanwhile, K-pop group Stray Kids performed, and Billie Eilish closed the show. Here are the takeaways for advertisers. Upfronts and NewFronts blog Tracking the latest TV and digital ad pitches Read more here Ads takeover creator channels One of YouTube’s core new ad products is called “creator takeovers,” which is part of the YouTube Select program that is designed to avoid unsuitable content and give brands the ability to choose what creators they support. The ad placement ensures that a brand becomes the sole advertiser on a channel, capturing 100% share of voice. “We’re adding more of our incredibly talented creators, including many of the ones that you've seen here tonight,” said Mary Ellen Coe, YouTube’s chief business officer, “so you have more choice when deciding which creators you'd like to work with.” Late last year, DoorDash was an early adopter of creator takeovers, working with football brothers Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast “New Heights.” YouTube also tweaked the YouTube Select program so that it only taps into the top 1% of content. The program had reached a pool of 5% when it first launched. The change makes it likely even more exclusive. YouTube was not immediately available to comment on the change. AI ad placements YouTube also wants to get more unskippable ads on TV sets. YouTube’s connected TV app grew viewership by 130% in the past three years, Mohan said. YouTube, and Google, apply algorithms that search for the appropriate places to insert ads, and Google wants to apply that to more non-skippable formats, as opposed to TrueView ads that consumers can pass in 5 seconds. “Google AI-powered video campaigns are being optimized for the living room,” said Sean Downey, Google’s president, Americas and global partners. “Our new video reach campaign, non-skips, powered by Google AI, will deliver on your reach, your awareness, all more efficiently, using your existing non-skippable assets.” AI marketing blog How brands are using ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and other tools Read more here Brands get the mention Pepsi Chief Marketing Officer Todd Kaplan was the top advertising guest at Brandcast, talking about how the brand used YouTube for years, since its work 10-plus years ago with NBA player Kyrie Irving doing videos as “Uncle Drew.” “If you have a story to tell, tell it on YouTube,” Kaplan said. Pepsi more recently used YouTube as part of its rebranding campaign with its new logo last year. For every dollar Pepsi put into YouTube it saw a $4.30 return on ad spend, Kaplan said. Coach also came up as a brand that used YouTube for its Tabby bag sales. Coach paired with actress Camila Mendes and virtual influencer Imma. Coach credited YouTube with a 2% lift in purchase intent for the popular handbag. Meanwhile, Walmart also made a pitch, discussing its “Mean Girls” reunion campaign from last holiday season. YouTube drove a 37% increase in Walmart searches from that campaign and 4% lift in purchase intent, according to Walmart.

YouTube’s upfront—how AI, creators and non-skippable ads are all coming together

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