The video that I saw nearly has around 300,000 views, and it is being advertised with large banner ad by Google on YouTube. So I am presuming this is new and that not many have seen it already, pardon my ignorance if that isn’t the case. However, not much has been spoken about how brands and advertisers can leverage the YouTube the same way, so I think it is an interesting case study nevertheless to see.
Cut to the Chase
Today I was greeted on YouTube by a banner in a size that I have never seen before, and never imagined to see on a Google’ driven site. This is how it looked.
Baap of Banners
That’s a pretty big banner, and it is the first time I am seeing it on Youtube. It can probably mean a few things:
- This is just a test they’re trying to see how people react to such a banner
- Or this is more than a test and YouTube has launched this type of advertising that others can also try and use on YouTube
- Thirdly, it is just a bid to push Chrome and won’t be made available to anyone else
- Fourth, YouTube has been doing this all this while and this blogger never saw it till now
So first things first, maybe because of the fact that I was caught by surprise, and that it looked quite unlike any of Google’s ads till now, but this seems an effective advertisement. I was compelled to click, it got me curious enough to forget about the video that I actually wanted to watch. However, this isn’t the effective use of YouTube that I am talking about, what followed is what I think a lot of brands can perhaps try their hand at in the coming days.
Effective Use of YouTube for Advertising and Engagement:
Ads can be engaging when either you use some sort of a technology to drive engagement or when you are simply creative to hook the user (speaking on a very general level). What followed when I clicked on the ad for Chrome above mixed both these elements wonderfully.
I can’t explain it purely in writing or with a picture, and it has to be something you experience as well. Go to http://www.youtube.com/googlechromethemes and see watch the video there. Essentially an ad to promote Chrome and its capabilities, Google has also leveraged it to subtly hint at the scope that a YouTube channel can offer to video publishers in terms of branding and advertising possibilities. A small screenshot can below though to give you a whiff of what you might see.
Interesting Chrome/Youtube Video/ Ad
Why am I interested?
While on one hand the novelty factor is what’s driving the enthusiasm, I also feel that if these are new features in YouTube, that it provides a lot of scope for brands and agencies to be creative with their videos. It won’t no longer be just the element of virality – humor, emotions, etc., but also how the content is presented that will help the video gain glory and traffic. The scope of the video suddenly increases beyond the limits of 4:3 ratios and also seems a more results driven form of promotion.
I won’t pass any particular judgment other than the above, because I am not entirely sure how new this idea is, couldn’t find anyone talk about it though.
- Have you seen a similar effort on YouTube before?
- Did you see this ad, what was your initial reaction?
- Do you think this idea has scale?
Questions, answers – comments.
