According to our data sample, advertisers from 14.8k companies spent more than $9.2b to promote nearly 24k brands or product lines on YouTube through May 2023. 

Still, some advertisers aren’t sold. Our recent “Picking Favorites” article looked at advertisers who opted for social media instead of YouTube, including many small-to-medium businesses (SMBs). 

Let’s look at where else non-YouTube advertisers are promoting their brands through May 2023.  

Advertisers Spend Billions Outside of YouTube’s Walls

Nearly 2k companies dedicated $779mm to promote 2.5k brands exclusively on TV through May. 

Most of these ad dollars came from advertisers operating in industries historically tied closely with traditional ads, including Law, Healthcare, Pharma, and Finance. 

For example, Personal Injury Law Services advertisers spent $37mm on TV ads, while those promoting Legal Services and Medical Devices dedicated $27mm and $15mm to TV, respectively. Meanwhile, advertisers promoting Dietary Supplements ($24mm), including GOLO Release, spent $24mm on their TV-only strategy. 

Overall, advertisers in these categories, as well as Sleep Aids OTC, Anti-Inflammatory OTC, Insurance, Hair Removal Electronic Devices, Life Insurance, and Satellite Television, accounted for around 25% of the investment from brands only investing in TV. 

A level deeper, five brands were exclusive to TV ads through May, combining to spend almost $60mm. Advertisers for Contour Swan Pillow, for example, dedicated 51% of their TV ad dollars to cable, with over 34 cable networks receiving most of it.

Meanwhile, advertisers for Granitestone Nutriblade Knives invested 17% of their TV ad dollars on reality entertainment programming, including…

Advertisers for Prime Hydration, the sports drink created by Internet personalities Logan Paul and KSI, went with a TV-exclusive strategy to promote their products during the Super Bowl in February. For these advertisers, the multi-million-dollar investment goes against the grain of their traditional marketing MO of organic social media. 

For example, Paul posted a video on Instagram of himself and base jumper Johnni DiJulius in a helicopter in which Paul poured a bottle of Prime on DiJulius before he jumped out. The following day, Paul posted a video on YouTube of himself and KSI going undercover at Walmart following Prime’s launch in 4.5k Walmart stores. 

Print ads get some love, too

At the same time, advertisers for 77k brands from industries such as Senior Living, Auto Dealerships, and General Retailers spent more than $2b on print ads via magazines and newspapers—and nothing else. (Overall, these ten categories spent almost $200mm on print ads through May.)

For example, advertisers for Garden Patch bought print ads in over 20 publications, with those of the Do-It-Yourself variety receiving the largest allocation (21%). Meanwhile, Almased leaned into ads in Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, and People.

Print-exclusive strategies come at an interesting time for new and used auto dealerships. While the industry is recovering from a tough few years—new vehicle sales fell by about 15% in 2020—traditional dealerships are losing their luster in favor of digital channels. In fact, Ford’s CEO expressed his desire to move away from dealerships, which begs the question: Will traditional ad formats fall out of favor entirely if auto sales go online?  

Other brands investing only in print ads include Magazine Shop (up by 1,000% YoY), Mutual of Omaha Direct, and The Bradford Exchange Jewelry & Watches—although the latter decreased print advertising by 45% YoY.

YouTube is the Sheriff, But Not the Only One 

YouTube may rule the video roost, but there’s plenty of video ad inventory to go around. Through May, advertisers for 12.6k brands spent more than $1b on online video ads (OLV) not on YouTube, including Allbirds Shoes, Minted, and Parents Empowered. 

The hundreds of advertisers who opted against YouTube undoubtedly veered toward other popular channels such as CTV, OTT, and social media. Spending on non-YouTube video ads comes amid the continued rise of streaming and the ongoing war among the platforms to woo advertisers—a war that includes every major streaming platform, including Netflix, which launched an ad-supported tier in late 2022. 

Outside of OTT and CTV, video inventory across social media continues to attract advertisers. In fact, Facebook amounts to around 7% of the video ad market. Twitter is also trying to gain ground, with the Elon-owned platform recently vowing to invest in video, creator and commerce partnerships to introduce revenue streams. 

There’s TikTok, too, which attracted more than $10b in ad revenue in 2022, up from just $4b the year before. 

According to Rob Jewell, Chief Growth Officer at marketing agency Power Digital, “Advertisers that have tested TikTok generally see success in driving incremental revenue and are continuing to double down on the platform. Many advertisers are testing TikTok in Q1 [2023], with plans to scale exponentially throughout 2023.”

The Video World Shows Promise for Scrappy Advertisers 

Almost 80% of respondents to a 2022 survey among marketing professionals said YouTube was an effective video marketing channel, followed by LinkedIn (69%) and Instagram (67%). 

So why are some advertisers still spending away from the world’s most influential and increasingly commerce video player? 

Because the video world is massive, and ads outside of YouTube are proven effective. While YouTube will undoubtedly draw the lion’s share of video ad budgets, inventory on other platforms, especially social media, will continue to fight for attention as younger generations embrace them. 

Sign up here for our upcoming YouTube advertising report in Q3, covering the top categories spending on the platform, content channels’ overview, and trends.

MJ and Lebron. Messi and Ronaldo. Tiger and Arnold.

But what about social media and YouTube advertising? 

Both are firmly entrenched at the top of the digital advertising world. Through April, 43k companies across industries such as Media & Entertainment, Retail, Technology, Apparel, and Finance, spent almost $14.3b on ads across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, representing 69% of the digital spend during that time ($20.5b). 

But which ecosystems do advertisers actually favor? 

SMBs Ride Solo with Social Media

A staggering 88% of companies (37k) that invested in social media or YouTube ads did so on one or the other, and we can attribute much of that to the love affair between small-to-medium businesses (SMB) and social media. 

Through April, 75% of advertisers (31k) spent exclusively on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, collectively spending $2.1b, with much of that spending coming from Retail ($1.2b) and Apparel ($693mm) advertisers. Retail advertisers collectively spent $1.2b on social media ($523mm on YouTube). At the same time, Apparel advertisers spent more than $693mm on social media ($172mm on YouTube).

The investment by SMBs and industry-specific advertisers is nothing new. Through August 2022, we found that 57k out of 64k (~89%) investing in Facebook and Instagram spent less than $1mm.

It also speaks to the investment by major social players, namely Meta, in helping smaller advertisers.  

For example, Meta introduced Meta Pro Team in June 2022 to provide more customized guidance to SMBs. A month later, the social media giant launched Small Business Studios, a virtual and in-person initiative to support small businesses. Mature advertising technology and a track record of ROI also go a long way in attracting advertisers with limited budgets.  

For Retail and Apparel advertisers, sizable investments in Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter come as consumers continue to embrace these channels as a critical part of their buying journey. 

While social commerce hasn’t gained the momentum most expected, largely because most consumers don’t want to make purchases directly on the platform, the social giants aren’t abandoning the projected $53b in social commerce sales this year. 

Nicole Silberstein of Retail TouchPoints said it best: “That’s a lot of money [$53b in social commerce sales] to walk away from, and Meta isn’t…So while Meta has indeed removed some shopping features from its sites—most recently live shopping and the Shop tab on Instagram— these changes are more about shifting strategies than a signal of defeat.

As Meta and the rest of the social community shift, Apparel and Retail advertisers will likely continue to embrace the power these channels have over consumers. 

The Elon effect 

Twitter’s unlikely to give up its status as a social mainstay, but it’s hard to ignore the seismic impact of Elon Musk’s acquisition, especially on ad revenue. Despite Musk declaring that “almost all advertisers have come back,” Twitter’s ad revenue fell by 59% to $88mm for the five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May. 

Twitter’s advertising ecosystem is also taking shape under the watchful eye of new CEO Linda Yaccarino, who previously overhauled NBCUniversal’s (NBCU) ad sales business and launched Peacock in 2020.

Despite a rocky stretch, Yaccarino’s appointment may be the saving grace for Twitter’s ad revenue and enough to convince advertisers its inventory is worthy. 

Dave Campanelli, the Chief Investment Officer of Horizon Media, said he hoped for change after Ms. Yaccarino started because “media agencies like his struggled to maintain contact with Twitter last fall after Mr. Musk arrived.”

He said, “For a period, we weren’t even sure who to get on the phone with to talk to. With Linda coming in, that could change that in a big way.”

YouTube Carves Out a Niche 

Through April, 7k companies, including mobile and online gaming company Come2us Studios (Summoners Wars and MLB 9 Innings 23), collectively spent $426mm on YouTube-exclusive strategies.

The love for YouTube from Come2us Corporation comes in the wake of online gaming’s boom on YouTube during the pandemic. In Q3 2022, people watched more than 1.2b hours of content on YouTube Gaming Live. Despite that being a sizable drop from the all-time high in Q4 2020 (1.9b), there’s no denying the gaming community’s collective embrace of the video goliath. In Q2 2018, people watched just 428mm hours of content on YouTube Gaming Live. 

Advertisers at VidAngel and Pancake Pillow also went exclusive with YouTube ads, the latter of which invested more than $9mm on online video (OLV), primarily between 46-60 seconds. More than 80% of those dollars went to ads on channels related to Kid’s Education & Entertainment, Music, and Society & Culture. 

Advertisers in the Technology, and Media & Entertainment industries also fancied YouTube through April 2023. (Technology advertisers, including Wix.com and T-Mobile, invested 57% of their budget in YouTube, while Media & Entertainment advertisers invested more than 55% in the video platform.)

For example, advertisers for Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, and the Walt Disney Company invested 88%, 81%, and 56% of their budgets in YouTube. For advertisers at Disney, that strategy shaped up primarily with ads running in tandem on YouTube’s music channels. 

Is There Really a GOAT Debate?  

It depends on who you ask. 

While just 12% of advertisers invested in social media and YouTube through April, the overwhelming fondness for social media, especially Meta, among SMBs skews the data. 

Remember: More than 30k advertisers invested only in Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
While that’s a rational move given social media’s track record and growing sway over consumers, there’s still inventory—and performance gains—on the table for many advertisers across industry lines. 

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

In Q1, CPG advertisers from names like Pepsi, Procter & Gamble (P&G), and Mondelēz International spent more than $1.5b on TV, up by 12% YoY.

The message is clear: TV ads are still a big part of CPG advertising strategies. Unsurprisingly, CPG advertisers’ love for motion pictures extends to YouTube. 

During Q1, advertisers for more than 470 CPG companies spent over $650mm on YouTube, up by nearly 2x from Q1 2022. Where did those ad dollars go in YouTube’s orbit, and will they continue to flow from CPG advertisers?  

We looked at our data to find out. 

Diverse Audiences Attract a Variety of CPG Advertisers 

It’s easy to see why CPG advertisers flock to YouTube—they can reach 40% of global Internet users with ads proven to drive purchases. According to Think with Google, 63% of people say they bought something they saw on YouTube.

Much of that effectiveness stems from advertisers’ ability to target niche audiences consuming content on unique programming categories, which no CPG advertiser can take for granted as third-party cookies fade.

In Q1, more than half of the YouTube investment from CPG advertisers ($366mm or 56%) went to ads on channels in five categories: Music, Society & Culture, Gaming, Beauty, and Entertainment & Movies. 

Much of that investment (almost $140mm) went to Music channels, increasing by 81% YoY. At the same time, spending on Society & Culture channels jumped by 100% YoY to more than $83mm thanks to big investments from Lindt Lindor, Old Spice, and Cascade Platinum, whose combined investment surpassed $13mm. 

The link between YouTube, music, society, and culture is well established, making these channels a no-brainer for CPG advertisers. But as YouTube spreads its wings to appeal to a more diverse audience and compete with the likes of Facebook and TikTok for consumer attention, it’s also opening its doors to a new community: Gaming.

YouTube’s presence among gamers skyrocketed during the pandemic. In fact, people watched more than 100b hours of video on YouTube’s active gaming channels in 2020 alone—and CPG advertisers are taking notice.  

In Q1, advertisers, including those from Lindt Lindor, Oreo, and Ritz, spent $56mm to promote their products on Gaming channels, representing a 90% YoY increase. (Advertisers at Lindt Lindor, Oreo, and Ritz accounted for 16% or $9.2mm of the investment in Gaming channels from CPG advertisers). 

As YouTube continues to roll out the red carpet for the gaming community, expect CPG ad dollars to follow. 

Although YouTube has seen engagement among the gaming community drop post-lockdown, the video giant isn’t turning its attention away from a market worth billions. Actually, it’s likely just getting started under the leadership of Leo Olebe, who formerly held the title of Managing Director of Google Play’s Games Partnerships team.

Advertisers capitalize on YouTube’s evolution

CPG advertisers also made their presence known on channels related to Beauty and Entertainment & Movies.  

In Q1, spending from CPG advertisers on Beauty channels surpassed $48mm, up by 78% YoY as advertisers from e.l.f. Cosmetics O Face Satin Lipstick, M.A.C. Cosmetics Powder Kiss Lipstick, and Sol de Janeiro Body Care Collection combined to spend $9mm (19% of ad spend on these channels).

We expect that investment to increase in the coming quarters as Beauty advertisers tap influencers to strengthen their connection with consumers and YouTube enhances its commerce capabilities. 

For example, in 2022, the video platform announced a partnership with Shopify to launch integrated livestream shopping, allowing eligible YouTube creators to connect their Shopify stores to their profiles “so that viewers can complete their purchases without leaving YouTube.”

The move from YouTube follows successful pushes into livestream shopping from TikTok’s sister app, Douyin, Instagram, and Amazon. 

The investment in commerce and embrace of the creator community, which we know consumers trust, will undoubtedly keep Beauty channels at the heart of CPG advertising strategies moving forward. 

Meanwhile, the investment in Entertainment & Movie channels increased by more than 115% YoY to $19mm as advertisers for Cascade Platinum, Lindt Lindor, and Old Spice, among others, rode the wave of YouTube’s continued investment in primetime.  

In November 2022, YouTube launched Primetime Channels to “bring shows and movies from more than 30 services directly into the YouTube interface,” including Paramount+, Epix, and more niche offerings like The Great Courses and Magnolia Selects.

The launch made all the sense in the world to YouTube. According to Erin Teague, the leader of the Primetime Channels project, “You’ll [users] watch trailers on YouTube and leave YouTube to go start from scratch on the streaming service. So we were like, ‘What would happen if we just collapsed that experience and made it convenient to watch all this content in one place?”

YouTube is fundamentally changing the entertainment model but also creating a stickier experience for consumers, which will continue to catch CPG advertisers’ attention in the entertainment world. 

Hopping on the Bandwagon: New Advertisers and Brands Flock to YouTube

The lion’s share of YouTube ad spending from CPG advertisers comes from those firmly entrenched in the ecosystem. 

According to our data, of the 470 companies that bought YouTube ads in Q1, 81% did so in 2022, and more than 380 were responsible for 99% of the investment. 

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t rookies. 

In Q1, 11 “newcomers,” including Rubi Rose (Dapple Baby), Age Sciences (PMB beauty product lines), and Vitapod, invested more than $100k in YouTube. Overall, these newcomers spent $3.6mm. 

While these are relatively low spenders on the YouTube-ad-spending spectrum, established advertisers promoting new brands are also leveling up their YouTube strategy. Overall, advertisers spent almost $60mm to promote 275 new logos in Q1.

By now, another message should be abundantly clear: YouTube is a central cog in CPG advertising strategies that’ll remain in place as the platform makes itself a one-stop shop for consumers and advertisers to embrace its targeting prowess in a world without third-party cookies.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

According to Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, the video giant’s ad revenue dropped by about 2% in Q3 2022. 

YouTube wasn’t the only giant facing an unusual dip—Facebook’s ad revenue dropped, too, as advertisers reigned in their budgets amid the economic uncertainty. 

But don’t feel too bad for YouTube—the platform still attracted almost $30b in ad revenue last year, and according to our data, that number will continue going up.

In Q1 2023, nearly 9.8k advertisers in industries such as Media & Entertainment, Technology, Medical & Pharmaceutical, Finance, and Food, spent $5.7b on YouTube, representing a 28% YoY increase from Q1 2022. Advertisers in those categories accounted for $3.5b or 62% of the ad investment in YouTube in Q1.

Let’s take a closer look at how some of those advertisers helped bring YouTube’s ad business back to life. 

A Media & Entertainment Playground

More than 60% of global consumers watch videos on YouTube, and almost all do so for entertainment. 

Case in point: In 2020, people consumed more than 6b hours of content on YouTube Gaming, up from 3.15b in 2019. (It’s worth noting the pandemic likely contributed to the 90.5% increase and subsequent change in people’s watching habits.)

 this was fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic

Unsurprisingly, this makes YouTube a playground for Media & Entertainment advertisers. 

According to our data, advertisers promoting movies, drama TV shows, subscription TV services, and game titles all increased their investment in YouTube by more than 60% YoY. Overall, Media & Entertainment advertisers increased YouTube spending by 88% YoY in the first quarter.

A level deeper, advertisers promoting movies, who accounted for 20% of the spending from this category’s advertisers, invested more than $328mm in YouTube. 

For The Walt Disney Company’s advertisers, some of those dollars went to ads leading up to the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in theaters in February, and the ongoing promotion for its forthcoming release on Disney+ (May 17, 2023). 

Meanwhile, advertisers promoting drama TV shows, including HBO’s The Last of Us, spent almost $236mm. 

Emily Giannusa, HBO’s VP of program marketing, said, “This was a massive-scale campaign [to promote The Last of Us]. Even though I can’t talk about budget here, we ignited all over the world.”

Giannusa and Co. used “breadcrumb” content to appeal to the series’ fans, including YouTube ads, a teaser that generated more than 57mm organic views in 72 hours, and ads on HBO Max. 

Streaming service advertisers fight for supremacy 

Advertisers for big names such as Apple, Paramount, and The Walt Disney Company, collectively increased their investment in YouTube by 168% YoY to $178mm. (Apple, Paramount, and The Walt Disney Company accounted for 70% of the investment in Q1.)

For these advertisers, the triple-digital increase comes amid the ongoing battle for streaming supremacy as new entrants gain footing and Netflix loses market share. 

Advertisers for HBO Max, Apple, Paramount, and The Walt Disney Company will likely see this as an opportunity to woo consumers, especially as some services raise their prices and push even the loyalist consumers away. 

That said, spending from streaming advertisers could change course quickly if the recession puts too much pressure on people’s budgets. According to data from early 2023, just over 15% of Americans say they don’t use any TV subscription services, up by almost 3% compared to October 2022. 

Pharma Advertisers Embrace YouTube 

Pharma advertisers have historically gravitated to traditional ad formats, so much so that those promoting over-the-counter (OTC) meds and medical devices spent more than $7.9b on TV ads in 2022. 

That spending continued into 2023, with advertisers investing heavily in lengthy TV ads. In fact, pharma and medical advertisers invested over half their TV budget on ads between 46-60 seconds in Q1, up from 44% in Q1 2022. 

For example, advertisers for AbbVie spent 86% of their budget on 46- to 60-second ads, with the remaining 14% going to commercials of less than 45 seconds. 

But as younger generations enter the healthcare world and turn to social media for health-related advice, including YouTube, pharma and medical advertisers are changing their tune. 

In Q1, medical and pharma advertisers increased their investment in YouTube by 26% YoY, despite the number of companies investing in them dropping by 29%.

If that doesn’t go enough against their historical grain, this will: Many medical and pharma advertisers are embracing the short-form content people love. 

In Q1, almost 40% of the companies in our sample (130 out of 325) bought ads that cut at the 15-second mark, including those promoting hemorrhoids OTC meds, diabetes prescriptions, and dietary supplements. 

Meanwhile, more than 40% and 20% of companies spent on ads of 16-30 and 31-45 seconds, respectively.

Not All Advertisers Are Bullish 

YouTube is back where it belongs—in the good graces of advertisers—but not everyone was ready to dive back in. 

Finance advertisers, for example, decreased their investment in YouTube by 29% YoY to more than $382mm, undoubtedly a reduction driven by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), rising inflation, and the uncertain economy.

At the same time, technology advertisers reduced spending on YouTube by 14% YoY to $647mm, thanks to sizable reductions by cell providers (down 46%), web design & development (down 54%), and financial software (down 47%).

Despite decreases from these advertisers, YouTube will remain a mainstay—it’s too big and reaches too many people to ignore. 

Plus, as the platform rolls out commerce-centric features, advertisers in other industries, including retail, will see the world’s biggest video platform in an even brighter light. 

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

And some medical and pharma advertisers are sold. In Q1 2023, advertisers from big names such as AbbVie and Novo Nordisk spent more than $494mm on YouTube, representing a 26% YoY increase (up from $391mm in Q1 2022). The number of pharma and medical companies buying YouTube ads dropped by 29%.

For the advertisers who did invest in YouTube, their strategies go against their traditional MO, which could signal a greater embrace of digital advertising.

YouTube Spending Slowed by a Handful of Advertisers 

In Q1 2023, half of YouTube spending from pharma and medical advertisers ($246mm) came from those promoting products in six categories: hepatitis prescriptions, hemorrhoids over-the-counter (OTC) meds, diabetes prescriptions, dietary supplements, pain management OTC meds, and multiple sclerosis prescriptions.

• Hepatitis prescriptions: ~$66mm 
• Hemorrhoids OTC medications: ~$50mm
• Diabetes prescriptions: ~47mm 
• Dietary supplement: ~$36mm 
• Pain management OTC medications: ~$24mm.
• Multiple Sclerosis prescriptions: ~$23mm.
  

Despite the increase in YouTube ad spend, advertisers for dietary supplements decreased YouTube spending by 90% YoY,  including Ka’Chava and Nucific.As surprising as that may seem, the strategy may have some merit. Despite dropping YouTube from its media mix, Nucific recently celebrated the milestone of selling more than 3mm units of its best-selling product, Bio-X4.

Pharma & Medical Advertisers do the Unexpected

Pharma and medical advertisers have a history of running campaigns built on a foundation of lengthy ads.

It’s a generally accepted practice that most consumers are okay with. According to a recent study, 64% of respondents thought the length of pharmaceutical ads was fair, good, or excellent.

Still, this goes against everything society craves: Nuggets of content.

The popularity of TikTok and Instagram Reels proves that.

So, when it comes to digital advertising, shorter is often better.

Pharma and medical advertisers have historically shunned that best practice, but they may be having a change of heart. 

In Q1, almost 130 companies out of the total 325 invested their YouTube dollars in ads less than 15 seconds, including those promoting hemorrhoids OTC meds, diabetes prescriptions, dietary supplements, pain management OTC meds, and depression prescriptions. 

Meanwhile, more than 130 and 65 companies invested in ads of 16-30 and 31-45 seconds, respectively. Advertisers for diabetes prescriptions, heart attack prevention prescriptions, and cold/cough OTCs who bought 31-45 second YouTube ads in Q1 2022 didn’t return in thus far in 2023.

Finally, just 95 companies, including Botox, invested in ads that eclipsed the one-minute mark.

The pharma and medical advertisers’ embrace of shorter ads could signal that they’re evolving to meet the preferences of today’s digital-first world. This could also open the door to more innovative and future-facing ad types, including OTT and CTV.

Where Besides YouTube? 

Where else are medical and pharma big budgets going?  

Unsurprisingly, traditional ad formats are still getting a lot of love. 

In 2022, pharma advertisers collectively invested over 65% of their budgets in broadcast and cable ads. For these advertisers, traditional formats, namely TV, still offer impressive reach, especially among older consumers. 

The continued investment in traditional ad formats also follows the recent trend of advertisers investing more in these OG formats as they prepare for the final downfall of third-party cookies, increasing digital ad loads, and dwindling trust in some digital formats.

While traditional ads will continue to get plenty of attention from pharma and medical advertisers, the industry’s accelerated shift to digital will push advertisers into the future—a push we already saw taking place in 2022.  

Last year, advertisers for 572 pharma brands spent nearly $1.5b on video ads, with a handful investing only in the format, including Entyvio (Millennium Pharmaceuticals), Gardasil 9 (Merck & Co), Prevnar 20 (Pfizer), Epclusa (Gilead Sciences), and Cibinqo (Pfizer). 

Social media advertising will also be more prominent as younger generations turn to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for healthcare information. In fact, a recent study found that 76% of people use social media after a doctor’s visit to ask others about their experiences.

Influencer marketing will likely play a role, too. According to WEGO Health, 51% of patients “mostly” or “completely” trust patient health influencers. At the same time, 85% of patients said they’d be “somewhat” or “very receptive” to an ad from a patient influencer.

YouTube Still Has a Place for Pharma and Medical Advertisers

YouTube’s reach and influence are simply too much for advertisers to ignore. 

As younger healthcare professionals (HCPs) enter the workforce and consumers turn to YouTube for all of their healthcare needs, the platform will remain a key nexus between brands and their target audience. 

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

No surprise here, but people like watching videos. 

So much so that the average person spends more than 2 hours a day watching them.

Some estimates predict that time spent watching videos will start to plateau or decline—not because video’s becoming less popular, but because there’s only so much time in the day. However, the popularity of OTT, mobile and YouTube will keep videos around forever.

Literally. 

Advertisers are capitalizing on the obsession with video by investing in ads across these platforms and channels. 

In Q1 2022, advertisers spent $5.5b on video ads, representing an increase of 64% from Q1 2021.

YouTube drove this increase, but that’s par for the course.

Our upcoming trend report takes a closer look at video spending and examines how advertisers view YouTube compared to other video inventory.

Hint: They love YouTube.

Advertisers Are Back and Lovin’ Video 

After a regression in the number of advertisers buying video ads at the height of the pandemic, they’re back in a big way.

In Q1 2022, 15.4k advertisers bought ads on YouTube and other channels. 

To put this into perspective, in Q1 2020 and Q1 2021, 9.1k and 5.4k advertisers, respectively, bought video ads.

While it’s great to see advertisers returning and a strong signal that the world’s returning to normal, the cheers are mainly coming from YouTube.

In Q1 of this year, 60% of advertisers only bought ads on YouTube, while 26% bought ads on YouTube and other video channels. 

Said another way, 86% of the advertisers who bought video ads in Q1 2022 allocated some of their dollars to YouTube.

Although you may not be surprised that YouTube attracted advertisers, what’s notable is how this shifted in just a year. 

In Q1 2021, 44% of advertisers only bought ads on YouTube, while 33% bought a combo. 

The shift illustrates the premium advertisers put on YouTube’s ad capabilities and how much they covet the inventory. 

While it’s impossible to predict the future of digital advertising, this YouTube-heavy approach will likely live on as advertisers continue to make sense of post-pandemic advertising.

Advertisers Only Like Post-roll Ads on YouTube

Conventional wisdom has it that pre- and mid-roll ads would be the most popular format among advertisers. 

After all, who’s going to stick around after a video to watch an ad?

But based on our data, people watching videos on YouTube are more than happy to stick around.

In Q1, 42% of YouTube buys were of post-roll ads. 

For comparison, post-roll ads accounted for 1% of ads outside of YouTube’s walls.

The popularity of post-roll ads on YouTube versus other platforms is more about the YouTube audience’s engagement levels than it is about the actual ads—a post-roll ad is a post-roll ad no matter where it shows up.

The reality is that people watching videos on YouTube are inherently more engaged and likely to watch more than one video at a time, which is one of the major draws attracting advertisers to the platform.

It’s YouTube or Nothing for the Top-spending Categories

The categories you’d expect to buy the most video ads—Media & Ent., Tech, Finance, Pharma and Retail—did just that in Q1 2022. 

In the first quarter of the year, these five categories accounted for 63% of the quarter’s video ad spend. 

What’s worth noting is that these categories combined to send 83% of their video dollars to YouTube. 

Comparatively, in Q1 of last year, YouTube captured 65% of the video investment from advertisers in these categories.

Again, the aggressive spending on YouTube speaks to just how much advertisers across industry lines love what it offers and how much they trust it to help them achieve their campaign goals.  

The Writing is on the Walls for Everyone Except YouTube

Seeing that YouTube continues to attract the most ad dollars from brands isn’t breaking news; it’s expected. 

That said, the dominance it showed in Q1 should serve as a warning to other video ads and channels. 
YouTube has a firm grip on advertisers’ wallets. To pry them away, other players will have to up their game. If they don’t, the group of advertisers who only invest in YouTube will continue to soar.

For more insights like this, sign up for our blog.

TV upfront season is here and the who’s-who of the media world, including ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal (NBCU), Paramount and Fox, will roll out the red carpet for advertisers.

Their goal? 

Get them to open their wallets. 

Oh, YouTube will be there, too.

Want to jump right into the details? Read our latest Guide to Upfronts 2022. 

What to Expect from TV Upfronts in 2022

After a COVID-induced hiatus, major media companies will once again descend upon the bright lights of the Big Apple and take over some of the city’s most iconic locations.

Here’s what to expect:

ViacomCBS

ViacomCBS will return to Carnegie Hall after it held its past two upfronts virtually. 

Unlike previous years, however, ViacomCBS will include its entire portfolio in its presentation, including Paramount, MTV and Nickelodeon. 

NBCUniversal

NBCU will host its upfront at Radio City Music Hall on May 16. 

Following this event, NBCU will hold its first content and community previews to “illuminate how our content creates communities and give you a new window into the audience insights and data science that inform our content development and creative strategy.”  

However, before either of these events happen, NBCU will kick things off at the end of March with a data-and-measurement-focused event, One22. 

Fox

Fox will hold an in-person upfront that includes entertainment programming on the Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports, Fox News as well as its streaming service, Tubi.

In line with the changing times, Fox will shift some attention away from its sports programming, which it’s focused on in the past, to its advertising technology, streaming and entire portfolio.

YouTube

YouTube has been a part of digital’s version of upfronts, IAB Newsfront, but this is the first time it’ll be front and center the same week as its rivals. 

This is a clear indication that YouTube is serious about its quest to get advertisers to move their ad dollars away from linear TV.

So, what can you expect from these presentations? 

While these media companies will go out of their way to deliver something unique, it’s hard to imagine them not all centering around a key talking point: advertising in the post-pandemic world. 

The reality is that no advertiser has access to a playbook that includes a page explaining how to advertise in these unprecedented and unpredictable times. Frankly, too much has changed.

As a result, these media companies will pull out all the stops to gain advertisers’ confidence and convince them that their advertising ecosystem, addressable audience and tech stack are superior to their rivals. 

OTT will be at the heart of these conversations, which has officially gone mainstream. 

Last year, the OTT market had a user penetration rate of nearly 41%. 

This popularity has further intensified the battle for OTT supremacy, but not just from a consumer standpoint. 

ViacomCBS, NBCU, Fox and YouTube, all of which have streaming services, are courting advertisers. 

As a result, you can expect each company to spend a good part of their presentations on OTT, their audience and the ad capabilities that brands can use to engage them.

A Peek at Our 2022 Guide to TV Upfronts

Every spring, advertisers look forward to presentations from the biggest media players in the game to understand the current and future state of the advertising industry—and where they should spend their budgets. 

But let’s take it a step further. 

Our upcoming trend report dives deeper into TV advertising to uncover even more insights you can use to make smart ad buying decisions in 2022. 

Inside, you’ll see which brands increased their TV advertising investment last year, which DTC brands are going all-in on TV commercials, who’s spending on OTT and much more.

Here’s a sneak peek: 

Show me the Money

Don’t be fooled by the false narrative that TV advertising is on its way out. 

It’s not. 

In 2021, over 7,000 advertisers, including those from Google, Uber Eats and Arby’s, increased their TV ad spend by 20% or more year-over-year (YoY). 

At the same time, most of them are investing in more than one ad format, indicating that TV is sticking around, but it’s no longer the foundational piece it once was. 

Instead, it’s a supplementary component that rounds out any optimized media plan. 

OTT is Here to Stay

OTT has been around for a while, but it wasn’t until recently that it went mainstream.

We can credit the pandemic for that feat. 

Between March 2020 to February 2021, OTT viewing increased over 35% per month YoY. 

According to MediaRadar data, in 2021, more than 6,000 advertisers appeared on OTT programming, including Target and Geico. 

Even more indicative of the shift to OTT, many of these advertisers increased their spending by 20%.

Video Advertising is on the Rise

If OTT advertising is the new kid on the block, video advertising is the retired couple who’ve lived in the neighborhood for decades.

Video is still on the rise. 

Last year, there were over 27k brands that increased their video ad spending investment by 20% or more, including Disney, Amazon and VRBO. 

Despite video’s already prestigious status, the continued rise further underscores that it’s the undisputed king of digital advertising. 

For more insights on 2022 Upfronts, read our latest Trend Report.

Due to this trend, publishers have pushed direct-response advertisements and sought to make shoppable ads a reality. 

Consequently, YouTube has taken direct-response to the next level.

“Today, we’re making it even easier for you to inspire people to take action on YouTube,” announced Director of Product Management of YouTube Ads Nicky Rettke. “With smarter solutions that make video more shoppable, use automation to drive conversions, and help you better understand attribution.”

YouTube isn’t the only contender in the shoppable ad space, so we’ll give you a breakdown of the latest update and how it fits in the overall landscape of shoppable ads.

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What are YouTube’s New Direct Response Advertisements?

YouTube’s new shoppable ad formats allow brands to place product placements below a video ad.

This allows brands to use their video advertisements as a storefront that connects to the advertiser’s page. 

YouTube explains that it’s simple to set up this new shopping channel. Brands need to sync their Google Merchant Center feed to their video ads. From there, they can choose the products they want to feature and visually expand the call-to-action button to drive conversions. 

In addition to shopping features, YouTube released a new form tool that can be used in sync with video campaigns for lead generation. Forms can be placed below videos, without interrupting the video, to capture qualified leads.

On top of these two new features, YouTube will be added to Google Ads attribution reports, giving brands more insight into their video campaign performance and overall mix of marketing efforts. 

Which brands are already using these shoppable YouTube ads?

Aeri was one of the first brands to use this new tool. It set out to boost its brand love and omnichannel sales.

According to YouTube, Aerie saw increased engagement with the advertisements and gained a 25% higher return on ad spend than the previous year. The brand also achieved nine times more conversions compared to their traditional media mix. 

Jeep was another forerunner in using the new tools, taking advantage of the lead generation forms. Jeep produced a high quality video campaign targeting audiences in Korea. With the lead capture form, Jeep generated “the most leads at the most efficient cost among all ad platforms,” says Kenny Hwang, Jeep’s Korea Marketing Manager.

Moz, a startup that helps students find college funding, was another client in the testing phase. With the new tool, “it saw 30% more purchases for its service at a third of the cost, compared to its previous YouTube benchmarks,” according to TechCrunch. 

Where do YouTube’s shoppable ads fit in the shoppable ad tech environment?

When it comes to shopping directly on social media, Facebook and Instagram are already playing in this space. 

Instagram began testing the ability to run organic shopping posts as shopping ads last September. In May 2020, Facebook and Instagram announced that shoppers could buy products directly from a business’s Facebook page or Instagram account.

Snapchat also expanded its dynamic ad products for eCommerce brands this month. 

When it comes to streaming, Hulu and NBCU’s Peacock offer shoppable ads, where viewers can use their remote control to make purchases.

While YouTube wasn’t the first company to make social media a storefront, it is a huge contender. It is the world’s second largest search engine, with over 2 billion users. 

Its new features make it a social media platform, search engine and storefront that are hard to compete with. 

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.