CREATIVE, MEDIA, AND MEASUREMENT

We’re at the start of a new era of streaming, one where viewers fluidly move between different content types and screens. As the 75%* increase in watch time of YouTube Shorts on CTV shows, viewers are seeking out the content and creativity they love, no matter how — or where — they’re watching.

This evolution in the ways viewers consume content means brands need to prioritize media unification to ensure they can seamlessly connect with their audiences no matter where, or how, they’re watching. At the same time, creativity and storytelling are more important than ever — with creative quality contributing to nearly 50% of media impact, far surpassing reach or frequency of touchpoints**.

For marketers, success is still about making deep, meaningful connections with audiences. That hasn’t changed — but the best ways to do it have, fueled by new ways of connecting, storytelling, and measuring performance.

Wondering where to start? We’re sharing creative guidance from industry leaders, what to expect around the future of streaming at the Google NewFront, as well as exciting updates from the world of marketing mix modeling (MMM). Here’s what you need to know:

Creativity matters more than ever

Creative leaders on brand storytelling

Gary Vaynerchuk — known to his fans as Gary Vee — has had a YouTube channel since 2007. Through documenting his daily life as a VaynerMedia CEO, he became a pioneer on the platform, earning 4.3 million subscribers and more than 500 million views.

Recently, Vaynerchuk partnered with YouTube to host an exclusive in-person panel discussion on what it takes to succeed with brand storytelling. He sat down with YouTube’s Anne Marie N. , WPP Global CCO Rob Reilly , and 奥美 CCO Samira Ansari to discuss brand creativity on Shorts, how brands should tap into creators, and the creative ways that brands are already using AI. Check out the full panel here .

Creative guidance for effective YouTube Shorts ads

Shorts augment the viewing experience on YouTube and get over 70 billion daily views** — making Shorts ads a valuable tool for marketers. We’ve identified a formula for successful short-form ads, which Google’s Abigail Posner took attendees through in a recent POSSIBLE masterclass. The key takeaways:

• Ads should feel native — like part of a viewer’s Shorts feed, rather than an interruption.
• They should feel authentic — think handmade, not highly polished — and casual, which might even mean addressing the camera directly.
• Short form means upbeat, and it’s social at its core — so make ads worth sharing.

For more inspiration, check out the full guide here .

Unify your media, scale your performance?

Streaming has transformed the way we watch — and YouTube is helping to define this new era, leading the way in streaming and mobile watch time, and giving viewers an always-on, always-fresh library of content every day.

At the #GoogleNewFront, creators and experts, including Lisa Nguyen and Google’s Kristen O’Hara, will join Google leaders to explain how advertisers can reach their most valuable audiences seamlessly, and use Display & Video 360 to manage YouTube alongside other CTV video ad campaigns — streamlining their streaming. Set a reminder to tune in on April 29!

Marketing Mix Modeling is here to stay

Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) is experiencing a renaissance, as fragmented media consumption and ongoing privacy changes make comprehensive measurement solutions more important than ever. To help marketers, we’ve created the MMM handbook based on best practices from our Google and YouTube measurement teams. It’s designed as a self-assessment to make sure you’re asking the right questions, measuring impact on the right KPIs, and using best practices to capture accurate data.

We’re also investing in the future with Meridian , an open-source MMM that is built to help users iterate and make informed decisions. Learn more here .

We hope you get a lot from this month’s newsletter — check back next month for more essential learnings.

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Sources:

*Google Internal Data.

**Kantar CrossMedia database

***Google Internal Data, U.S., Jan–Sept. 2023.