With a lot of users tuning into audio content through YouTube and YouTube Music, the platform is introducing a new way to get to these users, with the help of the audio ads particularly created for non-video consumption.
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To help you tailor your media and creative approach to the different ways consumers are engaging with YouTube, we’re introducing audio ads, our first ad format designed to connect your brand with audiences in engaged and ambient listening on YouTube. Audio ads, currently in beta, help you efficiently expand reach and grow brand awareness with audio-based creative and the same measurement, audience and brand safety features as your video campaigns.
YouTube Music, therefore, went from 8 million active users in 2017 to more than 7.7 million active users by the fall of 2019, and the users increased even more during the pandemic. As people moving to tune into interviews, lectures, and more audio-only mode, giving out a podcast type ad option, making use of Youtube’s existing ad targeting, could help connect more users with the brands.
In a testing report, it found that more than 75% of its audio ad campaigns “drove a huge lift in brand awareness”.
One of our early testers, Shutterfly, used audio ads to influence purchase consideration among interested shoppers, driving above benchmark lifts of 14% lift in ad recall and 2% lift in favorability among their target audience.
YouTube is also looking out to add dynamic music lineups for the ad targeting, which will allow marketers to reach out to audiences on the basis of music genres. Brands will also be able to use music lineups to focus on moods or interests, like ‘fitness’.
Music lineups and audio ads make it possible to be there, at scale, whether YouTube is being watched front and center or playing as the backdrop to daily life.
There has been a huge rise in podcasts in recent years and also there is music, YouTube claims that music video streaming at an all-time high, with more than 50% of its logged-in viewers who consume music content, listening to more than 10 minutes of music daily. These options will give more ways to reach out to these listeners.
Conclusion
Audio ads are available in beta via auction on Google Ads and Display & Video 360 on a CPM basis with the same audience targeting options, bidding strategies, and Brand Lift measurement capabilities as regular YouTube video campaigns.
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