Now, anyone who wants to leverage short, non-skippable video ads on YouTube will have the ability to do so.
Unlocking Video
Brands and advertisers who have been hoping to make a bigger splash with their target audience on YouTube now have another format to add to their bag of tricks. Google recently announced that its 15-second non-skippable video ads are now being rolled out for general availability to all advertisers.
The format was previously only an option for those who purchased reserved media placements on YouTube, which bypassed Google Ads and involved a more direct relationship with YouTube to implement.
“Recognizing that advertisers should have access to the full range of creative options regardless of how they buy – whether in advance via reservation or in the Google Ads auction – we’re bringing non-skippable 15-second ads to Google Ads and Display & Video 360, across YouTube and Google video partners,”
stated Google’s Video Ad Product Manager, Ali Miller.
It's worth noting that, to avoid potential clutter in the video ad space, YouTube will limit its viewers in terms of how many ads they are served before watching their intended video.
Getting Started
Those who want to get started simply need to host the video they’d like to run as an ad on YouTube, and then use either their Google Ads dashboard or Digital & Video 360 to create a “Video” campaign type, which requires the implementation of a TrueView video campaign and ad group.
From there, you’ll have many of the same options you’d normally have if setting up a standard search or display campaign, including goal selection and bidding strategies.
Your ads will have full circulation across the YouTube network as well as Google’s other video partners.
More information on initial setup can be viewed on Google’s official site.
YouTube’s Growing Library
This is the latest in a series of initiatives Google has made in recent months in an attempt to onboard more advertisers to YouTube’s network.
Back in November, the search giant announced two new advertising additions: that it has started testing new video “ad pods,” two back-to-back skippable ads that are served before the intended content is displayed, as well as a new targeting option that focuses specifically on connected TV devices.
Video’s Vast Expansion
Audiences are increasingly opting to watch instead of read, and brands and advertisers seem to be adjusting accordingly. We saw a 33% increase in video advertising spend from 2016 to 2017, climbing from $8.9 billion to $11.9 billion respectively. While the verdict is still pending for 2017 to 2018, it’s quite probably that there has been continued growth.
We’ve also seen a massive increase in the amount of advertising formats that utilize video in some capacity, particularly the Stories format which is now available to leverage on the majority of the major social networks.
Additionally, mobile is starting to play a vital role in video’s success; 2018 set a new precedent when mobile exceeded desktop’s share of total video starts, with 62% of all digital video content being viewed on smartphones and tablets.
Start Recording
The rate in which video is growing should be a strong reminder that advertisers who are still only sticking to search and display formats are lagging behind the competition and increasingly running the risk of missing out on revenue.
There are ample ways and a variety of mediums to start getting video ads out to your target audience, but YouTube is an excellent place to start. It remains to be one of the most popular video platforms for users – particularly younger ones. Over 1.8 billion people are registered to the network, 5 billion videos are watched on a daily basis, and it’s officially the world’s second largest search engine.
We recommend allocating some of your time and budget in 2019 to deploy video ads. The 15-second unskippable format is a powerful way to get more eyes on your offerings, and whether you’re a B2C or B2B business – there’s a mutual benefit to showing off what you’re selling.
If you have any questions about this article, or how to get your video campaigns up and running, don’t hesitate to reach out to our affiliate management team. They’ll be happy to answer your questions and help get your campaign optimized and off the ground!
Recommend linking to “Mobile Video Consumption Continues to Grow” when it goes live.