YouTube Unveils New Research and Insights Before NewFronts 2015

Ahead of next week's Digital Content NewFronts, YouTube is sharing some key research about Google Preferred users and mobile video viewers.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) will kick off the fourth annual Digital Content NewFronts marketplace on Monday, with presentations scheduled for April 27 through May 7.

“Digital video is today’s go-to for consumers looking not only for innovative programming, but for all content, long-form or short,” says Anna Bager, senior vice president of mobile and video at the IAB. “It brought in $1.5 billion in ad revenue in the first half of 2014 alone, a double-digit increase over the same time the year before – confirming the fact that marketers see great value in tapping into its highly engaged audiences.”

With 33 companies now scheduled to make presentations, Google/YouTube, one of the original co-founders of the first event in 2012, isn’t waiting until next week to unveil new research and insights. Over the past few weeks, YouTube has released new research on Google Preferred and Brandcast News, new insights into Google Preferred viewers, and new mobile research.

Google Preferred and Brandcast News

Recently, the AdWords Agency Blog published the results of YouTube’s Google Preferred upfront offering, which debuted last year. YouTube also announced that it is bringing Google Preferred back for year two and will be showcasing it at this year’s Google Brandcast event, which will be held in New York on Wednesday, April 29.

Here are the highlights of this first announcement:

  • Google Preferred year two: Since the first year of Google Preferred was so successful, we are offering it again in the U.S. and are expanding to 10+ more markets this year. Last year, we saw a real appetite for both Google Preferred and YouTube more broadly, so you’ll also see more about the power of video ads across YouTube broadly at this year’s Brandcast – whether this is through TrueView, an NFL sponsorship, or U.S. Espanol.
  • Google Preferred has spurred interest in YouTube from traditional TV advertiserswho had not advertised with YouTube in the past. More than 30 brands that used Google Preferred had not previously advertised with YouTube, and continued to advertise with YouTube afterward. Here are two additional pieces of research:
  • Brands are seeing success with Google Preferred: On average we’ve seen an 80 percent increase in ad recall, and a 17 percent increase in brand awareness for Google Preferred campaigns (of about 50 studies).
  • Google Preferred reaches a valuable audience: Based on a 2014 U.S. panel study, Google Preferred content viewers in-market for certain products are 46 percent more likely to search a brand on YouTube (vs. YT viewers). Based on that same study, we found that Google Preferred content viewers are more likely to be in-market for a movie, streaming music, or for a PC or tablet vs. the online population.
  • Creators have grown revenue and viewership through Google Preferred: The top 100 YouTube creators in Google Preferred saw their partner revenue up 70 percent year over year (compared to 50 percent for creators on YouTube generally). Channels in Google Preferred saw 45 percent year over year growth in subscribers, 76 percent year over year growth in views on average.

New Insights Into Google Preferred Viewers

Then, on Tuesday, the AdWords Agency Blog shared new insights into Google Preferred Viewers.

YouTube conducted research with Compete to analyze viewership and found a few interesting stats:

  • Nearly one in 10 Google Preferred desktop viewers does not watch traditional TV at all.
  • 90 percent of them do not visit any of the top five full-episode players.
  • Google Preferred viewers are 2.7 times more likely to be in-market online shoppers than the online population.

New Mobile Research

Finally, on Wednesday, YouTube published new stats about how consumers watch video on their mobile devices. With 50 percent of YouTube’s global viewership coming from mobile, the company wanted to learn more about the differences between the ways people watch video across screens so it worked with Ipsos to conduct a study.

Here are the highlights:

  • Mobile drives greater sharing: If you want your next video campaign to go viral, a mobile strategy might be your best bet. People who watch video ads on their smartphones are 1.8 times as likely to share it as people who watch on their computer.
  • More likely to watch ads: Common wisdom predicts that people would be more likely to skip ads when watching on their phone, since they might have less time to spend. However, viewers watching on phones are actually 1.4 times as likely to watch ads as those who view videos on desktop computers or televisions.youtube-mobile-stats
  • Mobile video helps viewers shop: While you might not think of YouTube as “the” product review destination, it turns out a surprising amount of people are using YouTube on-the-go to help them shop. One in two people who watch mobile video surveyed said they used video to help them make product decisions in stores or on company websites. And, they listed YouTube as their number one destination for finding information about a brand or product.
  • Mobile drives stronger connections: Video viewers were nearly twice as likely to feel a sense of personal connection to brands that show video content or ads on their devices vs. TV viewers, and 1.3 times as likely as desktop viewers.youtube-mobile-personal-connection
  • Closer screens = greater tune-in: Along the same lines, people are also more likely to be focused on the video when watching on mobile. Millennials are two times more likely to be focused when they watch video on mobile vs. TV.

What Does This Mean for Digital Marketers?

Digital marketers shouldn’t be surprised if YouTube unveils more data and news next week. But with 32 other companies making announcements in the next two weeks, YouTube didn’t want the new research and insights mentioned above to get lost in all the noise.

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