Do you think YouTube is an essential advertising channel?
JS: YouTube is the biggest video platform; it ranks higher than platforms in terms of number of active users both in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. So with such a huge reach, there is no doubt that YouTube is an essential advertising channel. Its diverse content library and advanced targeting options allow advertisers to reach specific audiences based on demographics, interests and viewing habits. Not to mention it targets younger demographics, which are becoming increasingly important for brands.
SN: Absolutely, YouTube is an essential advertising channel due to its very strong reach and engagement. It provides brands with a platform to connect with diverse audiences, with a strong capability to identify and target these audiences. The variety of ad formats allows for creative storytelling, and automated optimisation based on campaign objectives
What are the challenges you’re seeing right now when it comes to video advertising? How are you and your team finding solutions to solve these challenges?
JS: YouTube advertising is highly effective, but it comes with several challenges in today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, such as measuring ROI and effectiveness, and high cost. Addressing the challenges in video advertising requires a combination of advanced technology, data analysis, and adaptive workflows – solutions that a trusted partner can help develop.
One of the biggest challenges we’re solving when it comes to YouTube is around brand suitability. That’s why we partnered with Pixability, the only Google-certified company for brand suitability, contextual targeting, and content insights on YouTube. We use Pixability to ensure our ads are brand safe and measured.
SN: Video advertising faces more challenges today than ever before. Brand safety and suitability are paramount, especially in light of recent news events. Additionally, capturing and retaining audience attention has become increasingly difficult, a challenge we at Dentsu are deeply committed to addressing.
Today, advancements in media technology enable us to tackle many challenges in video media campaigns. AI-powered solutions from our tech partners help address brand suitability issues while ensuring that our ads are relevant to the content where they appear. By focusing on planning and optimising for audience attention, we can maximise the impact of our awareness initiatives. Additionally, leveraging audience solutions, analytics, and modelling allows us to create a comprehensive view of the fragmented ecosystem, guiding our campaign efforts.
How do you use YouTube as part of your video marketing mix?
JS: As a global programmatic managed service partner, we advise clients who want to include YouTube into their marketing mix to first analyse and connect to the data and insights available to them. Using our partner-agnostic approach, we combine content insights (via Pixability) with our own performance data and custom analytics to understand trends such as top indexing videos and channels and video category relevance. All of these unique insights will help form how we advise clients to leverage YouTube within their marketing mix.
SN: YouTube has a big role to play along with other social platforms, video networks and CTV in our campaign’s media mix. It all depends on the brand, the audience and campaign objectives. By leveraging YouTube’s distinctive features, such as targeting options, video ad formats, and analytics; we can significantly boost brand visibility and engagement with the viewers.
Are you looking at new video channels like Connected TV (CTV) to complement your YouTube strategy?
JS: CTV is growing immensely in popularity as more and more audiences are cutting the cord and watching TV only on streaming platforms. So exploring new video channels like CTV to complement YouTube strategies is becoming increasingly important for advertisers. CTV offers distinct advantages that can expand the reach and effectiveness of video advertising, especially when combined with YouTube. At MiQ, we partner with the best CTV partners that proved to be reliable and deliver results to our clients.
SN: Yes, we see CTV as a vital complement to our video strategies. CTV offers unique advantages, such as immersive viewing experiences. More and more popular platforms in the region are now introducing ad options. By integrating these channels, we can maximise reach and engagement.
What do you think is going to help propel the future of YouTube advertising?
JS: The future of YouTube advertising will be propelled by a combination of technology advancements, user behaviour changes, and innovative ad formats that align with audience preferences and the evolving digital landscape such as: Increased Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, Interactive and Shoppable Ads, Short-Form Video Growth and New Ad Formats, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Integration.
SN: AI holds tremendous potential to shape the future of YouTube advertising. It is revolutionising how we search for information, including video content, and how we engage with it. As AI-driven tools enable the production of more content tailored to niche interests, topics, and languages, we can gain deeper insights into audiences. This, coupled with automated targeting capabilities and streamlined video creation, will significantly enhance the possibilities for YouTube advertising.
