For many years, one of the main vehicles for spreading video ads online was YouTube. This worked well because of the size of YouTube’s audience, but it’s not perfect. To help increase the reach of their video ads, Google has announced a new format that will place video ads on variety of different sites and platforms other than YouTube.
Google’s new Outstream Ad format will operate on mobile devices across Google video partner mobile sites and apps. This will be a powerful tool for advertisers and marketers because they can advertise on a greater variety of sites. YouTube is great for reaching millennials audiences, but the platform is less used by older consumers. Outstream ads can be a way to catch these audiences that slip through the cracks.
“Over the last year, we’ve been working on a way to extend the reach of your video campaigns to people beyond YouTube, especially as they spend more and more time interacting with apps and sites on their mobile devices,” the company wrote in an official blog post announcing the feature. “Starting today, you can use outstream video ads, a new format built exclusively for mobile environments, to reach more potential customers with your video creative.”
What makes Outstream Video ads different from TrueView in-stream ads or Bumper ads is that the new format won’t require placement within a YouTube video. The videos will appear in banners for mobile web placements and as banners, interstitials, in-feed and native for apps (both portrait and landscape.).
According to Google, the plan is for when outstream video ads come into view on a mobile screen, they begin to play with sound off. After that, a user can tap the ad to turn sound on and restart the video from the beginning, or simply keep scrolling.
The new format will work on a Viewable CPM charge system, which means that every impression the advertiser pays for has been on screen and viewable (as measured by MRC standards).
According to Google, the ads have already been used in some markets and have shown promising results. Advertisers like Hong Kong Tourism board used outstream video ads to increase awareness and cost-efficient reach.
Tina Chao, the General Manager for Marketing wrote, “To build awareness for Hong Kong as a travel destination, the Hong Kong Tourism Board used outstream video ads to reach a broad set of potential travelers across Asia. Outstream video ads delivered strong results for our global brand campaign: 30% incremental reach with a 40% lower cost per completed video view and 85% lower CPM.”
Check out the AdWords Help Center to learn more and start including outstream video ads in your campaigns with brand awareness and reach goals.
And for more recent news about Google, read this article on Google’s plan for mobile-first indexing for search.