Passion takes precedence: reaching engaged audiences with YouTube Select

YouTube viewers are a passionate bunch. In Australia, they love to be inspired, empowered, and to achieve things - and in recent months, Aussies have certainly been getting stuck in. 

We’ve seen their passion reflected in significant watchtime increases across a range of content categories. Watchtime for home improvement videos has doubled. (1) Tourist destination videos have jumped by 70% (2), and there’s been a swell of 45% in watchtime for surfing videos (3). Engaged audiences are using YouTube to learn, discover ideas, and shape their real world experiences in new and interesting ways. 

Australian advertisers have been searching for ways to better connect with audiences for years, but with the launch of YouTube Select, the game has changed. Advertisers and agencies now have direct access to the best content and most passionate audiences YouTube has to offer. 

Driving the best Return of Investment (ROI) 

YouTube Select is about personalisation, not programming. Brands can deliver precise messaging to audiences who are watching videos on topics they are passionate about, in the time and place that works for them. Through powerful, unique tools and signals, YouTube Select helps advertisers access more of the most relevant and contextual content with:

• Lineups: YouTube generated packages that engage viewers through content and topic. 
• Programmes & Packages: Key moments and sponsorships across Sports, Music and YouTube Kids that spark interest and deepen brand association. 

The power and the passion 

We know the days of the family sitting down around the TV after dinner to watch a show together are gone. These days, primetime is personal. Primetime is anytime. And primetime is about passion. In fact, Aussies’ number one criteria for valuable content is whether it aligns to their personal passions and interests (6). 

YouTube Select’s content packaging approach empowers brands to connect with those passions and show up in primetime, whenever it may be. With precise audience curation tools across a diverse range of high-quality, brand safe content, advertisers can be sure their products will be seen when and where it matters. So instead of your hair spray product showing up with just any beauty video, you can speak to the eager at-home stylists that are watching hair tutorials specifically, at the time that is best for them. 

As the beating heart of YouTube content, our creators continue to deliver the goods. In Australia there are now 100 channels with over one million subscribers, and a further 1,000 with 100,000+ (7), and Aussies pull their weight amongst the one billion people around the world who watch a music video on YouTube each month (8). Artists like Tones and I, who was busking in Byron in 2019, and now has over a billion views of Dance Monkey on YouTube, can now connect with fans through unique digital experiences like her intimate live performance in April. 

For the sports nuts (and I most definitely include myself in this category), YouTube is the place for sport and fitness content that can’t be found anywhere else - a fact that 79% of YouTube sports viewers have noted (9). It just goes to show that YouTube is able to provide niche, personal content experiences for sports fans that they truly value and will come back to time and time again. 

An interested audience that can’t be found anywhere else 

YouTube is the most loved video content platform in Australia, and it shows. With 16 million monthly visitors and 7.5 million in the 18-39 demographic (10), YouTube has an expansive, connected viewer base that can’t be found anywhere else. And that base continues to grow. 

Content consumption, as well as the use of SVOD services, jumped sharply in April and May, with 72% of Aussies now able to access at least one SVOD (11) service (2.6 million more than before COVID-19) and seven million people are streaming YouTube through connected TV - with a 65% jump in watchtime on TV screens since last year (12). 

YouTube Select now offers you more capabilities on the TV screen, and gives you more choice in how you buy. In Australia, YouTube Select lineups are available via Google Ads, Display & Video 360 and reservation. 

83% of the total Aussie adult population turns to YouTube (13) when they want to get deeper into their interests, to grow as people, to solve problems or achieve their goals. And with that in mind, we’re incredibly excited to offer YouTube Select to Australian advertisers and agencies. By partnering with some of the best content on YouTube through lineups and programmes, brands can deliver exceptional ROI by building deeper connections in more powerful moments than ever before. We remain committed to delivering engaging videos to everyone, everyday, and we look forward to seeing how these exciting new tools can help our advertisers grow! 

Sources:

(1) Google Data, AU, Apr 20 - Jun 20 vs. Apr 19 - Jun 19

(2) Google Data, AU, Apr 20 - Jun 20 vs. Apr 19 - Jun 19

(3) Google Data, AU, Apr 20 - Jun 20 vs. Apr 19 - Jun 19

(4) Google Preferred Lineups (now part of YouTube Select) Brand Lift, 2019, Google Preferred launched countries (across all studies measured).

(5) Commissioned Nielsen MMM Meta-Analysis, 2016-2018. Base: a list of studies selected and compiled by Nielsen, consisting of all available CPG studies completed in 2016-2018 that contain Google Preferred, Other Digital, and TV results. This list includes 45 studies for US Brands across all CPG categories. ROI is “Retail ROI,” defined as total incremental sales divided by total media spend. Incremental offline retail sales measured for TV represents average across all TV broadcasters.

(6) [Google/Nature, Primetime is Personal study, AU, Aug 2019. n=1500 people age 18-65.] 

(7) Google data, AU, Jan 2019.

(8) Source: YouTube Internal Data June 2020

(9) Source: Google/Ipsos Connect, Sports Viewers Study, U.S. among adults aged 18-54 who watch sports/fitness content on YouTube at least monthly, n=1,501, Feb. 2016.

(10) Source: Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, Monthly Total, Platform C/M, Video 0 seconds,  Brand: YouTube, Unique Audience, Apr '20.

(11) The Lab/Nature COVID Brand Navigator, Media Deep Dive, April – May 2020 (n=1600 Australians) 

(12) YouTube Internal Data, March 2020.

(13) Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, Monthly Total, Platform C/M, Video 0 seconds, Ppl 18+, Brand: YouTube, Unique Audience, Apr '20.