YouTube’s Brandcast doubled up as a celebration for the video platform’s 20th birthday and showcase of its continued evolution as a platform for culture, creators and commerce.
More than 600 industry representatives packed Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday to hear what’s new in store for YouTube in the year to come.
Mel Silva, Managing Director of Google Australia and New Zealand, told attendees that YouTube’s strength lies in combining cultural relevance with platform scale.
“YouTube’s not just engaging for fans, it’s incredibly effective for brands,” Silva said. “Great content attracts passionate fans, creating a trusted environment where your brands can achieve incredible growth.”
Mediaweek caught up with media buyers to get their reaction and thoughts on the presentation, and find out what the biggest selling points were for them.
Caitlyn Grant
Caitlyn Grant, performance lead at This is Flow, likened Brandcast to a 20-year birthday party for YouTube that was a mix of nostalgia and future-gazing.
“The biggest ‘wow’ for me was just how large YouTube’s viewing hours are per day: over 1 billion globally, and mighty Kiwi’s alone are racking up 1 million hours!
“The other surprise was how much emphasis there was on long vs short – CTV for the long game, Shorts for those quick wins. A way of YouTube saying: don’t put all your ads in one basket, spread them across screens.”
Grant noted the 60-second non-skip ads a highlight, calling the updated “the most effective for action” that flips the short-is-always-better myth.
The ongoing theme of YouTube saying that it’s an “Ocean of video” also stuck with Grant and highlighted the need to learn to swim or risk sinking.
She also noted how YouTube broke down long-term vs short-term strategy by device as useful.
“Big screen = brand-building marathon, small screen = sprint to short-term action. The combination of both is the sweet spot and should be considered during media planning.
Mark Zala
For Mark Zala, Digital Partner at Avenue C, Brandcast was a glitzy smorgasbord of familiar buzzwords (“unmatched reach, soaring watch times, CTV’s unstoppable rise, and a parade of stats proving YouTube’s business impact”) teamed with cringeworthy choreographed fireside chats.
He highlighted YouTube’s kingdom of content creators, a pointed jab at short-form rivals as the message that cut through the noise.
“They backed it up with stats—500 Australian creators boast 1M+ subscribers, and a staggering 54% of viewers prefer creators’ breakdowns of cultural moments over the real thing. (This grizzled millennial sighed at that one.)”
The new product reveals were slightly underwhelming for Zala. He called the 60-second non-skip ad format as “hardly a surprise”.
“What wasn’t said screamed loudest. The elephant in the room—YouTube’s creeping ad load—was conspicuously absent. It’s a hot topic in agency land, and the silence on stage was deafening.”
Zala said that media investors will be doubling down on YouTube next year as its reach and attention is unmatched.
“YouTube’s betting big on revenue but ignoring viewer tolerance could push users to competitors. We’re watching closely.”
Jacquie Alley
For Jacquie Alley, Chief Operating Officer of The Media Store, the biggest selling point YouTube’s mass reach of 96% of Australians 18+ and deep engagement with the content from Ipsos iris data.
“It can be strategically used by marketers as a brand building tool as well as a conversion tactic, particularly now with the CTV Shoppable ads, powered by DV360, becoming available in ANZ. It now offers a full-funnel solution for a plethora of highly engaged audiences.”
Alley said the investment in CTV shoppable ads, AI Peak Points, partnership ads, the Creator Partnership Hub, and Attributed Brand Search go far in helping brands connect with the right creators and moments to reach their audiences with authenticity.
“Being able to drive more consideration for brands through connecting their YouTube viewing with their Google search behaviour is an exciting evolution.”
She called the platform’s pragmatic approach to AI a refreshing shift on the tools and ecosystems brands/agencies should focus on in the next year.
“Their steady approach makes sense considering their platform houses creators and promotes authenticity.”
Alley revealed the announcement of the 60-sec non-skippable format got a gasp from the audience near her at the presentation.
She said that while the Analytics Partners research showed that attention is at its highest for video viewing post the 60-second mark, “we can’t forget the caveat to this being content chosen to watch.”
“Brands will need to invest heavily into ensuring these formats are well tested with the desired audiences and the ad content contextually relevant, for risk of driving negative brand impact.
“Considering the same Analytics Partners research quoted six seconds as the next ad format for driving attention, aligning with declining attention spans, it will be interesting to see what early results are of the 60-second non-skippable format. Perhaps it is a commercial strategy to drive more Premium subscribers.”
For Alley, YouTube’s focus on measurement and connecting brands with creators will drive more conversations between agencies and clients who have been unsure where to start in immersing themselves into the creator economy and what ROI it can offer.
She called YouTube claim to being #1 streaming platform makes it as “essential channel for media mixes to reach audiences on both the big and small screens in and out of the home.”
Stew Hansen
Stew Hansen, EssenceMediacom Implementation & Activation Group Director, called the presentation: “A reliably informative yet rather safe local upfront overall.”
He noted the positioning of CTV as the new “living room” battleground and the strategy to capture premium, lean-back viewing, and associated marketing dollars.
Hansen also highlighted the push on creators as the heart of culture and driving substantial influence in consumer perceptions.
“Their message was simple: YouTube is the ‘one place’ that consolidates reach, diverse formats, and cultural relevance, offering a powerful solution to fragmentation. YouTube’s ability to exist as both a Social and Streaming content platform is indeed unique.”
Hansen said he was surprised that AI was largely absent, except for one example of AI-Powered Innovation, Peak Points (powered by Gemini). He noted that the tech will help their clients “deliver ads at moments of peak emotional receptivity in a genuinely innovative step beyond simple demographic or contextual targeting, helping increase ad recall and effectiveness.”
“Importantly, this will need to be tactfully implemented, as audience receptiveness may be impacted if it’s deemed too jarring or disruptive to content if not balanced right.”
Hansen said the Creator Marketing via the Creator Partnerships Hub should simplify the process of finding and managing creator collaborations for advertisers and discovering creators.
He noted the 60-second Non-Skippable Format within YouTube Select will give advertisers a canvas for more narrative-driven brand building in a lean-back environment but said that uptake for the format is yet to be seen.
“Many advertisers have moved away from even the 30-second formats in recent years in favour or shorter ads. Currently, longer ads feel few and far between – but this could provide an opportunity for more.”
Hansen also said that Google has also joined Shoppable CTV format and is leveraging QR codes but noted that the impact is yet to be seen.
“They can be effective at driving incremental purchase points but also the potential risk of taking consumers out of their lean-back viewing experience.”
Top image: Caitlyn Grant, Mel Silva (centre), Mark Zala, Jacquie Alley and Stew Hansen