Successful and effective campaigns on YouTube have always been defined by great creative, but getting creative right has never been easy. YouTube Creator Ads provide an opportunity for brands to leverage the most knowledgeable YouTube creative specialists, YouTube Creators themselves! We spoke to Khalid Al-Mashgari, Creative Business Partner at Google, to find out more. 

What are Creator Ads on YouTube? 

It’s an approach to YouTube where you use creator-style content in paid media placements. They can be used across all our formats, regardless of the marketing objective. 

Unlike organic creator content, you’re not working with creators to gain access to their audience. Instead, you are leaning on them to create an ad that feels more native to the platform. 

How are they different from other ad formats on YouTube? 

It’s more of a creative style as opposed to a separate ad format. For example, a ‘Creator Ad’ refers to an ad that is made by a creator (vs. one made solely by the brand). And, because it’s a style that viewers aren’t used to seeing in an ad placement on YouTube they’re performing really well on the platform. 

How can brands benefit from choosing Creator Ads to promote their product or service? 

We know that working with Creators can be incredibly powerful on YouTube. For example, in our studies at Google, we’ve found that 8 in 10 campaigns with YouTube creators drive significant lifts in awareness and purchase intent.  So, you really can use them to drive results across the marketing funnel. 

Who has creative control over Creator Ads – the creator or the brand? 

Depending on the contract with the creator you can dial up or dial down the level of control you have over the creative. As it’s an ad the ultimate say will usually lie with the brand, but the best examples often arise out of situations where it’s been more of a partnership. The creator knows what kind of native-style content works best on the platform and the brand knows how to create ads. It's the crossover between the two that makes these types of ads so effective.

Where are they placed on YouTube?

‍They can be used in all of YouTube’s ad formats, whether that be a 6-second bumper that is driving awareness or a 60-second ad looking to drive conversions. The secret is in working with the creator to design an ad creatively that is suitable for the marketing objective. For example, an awareness ad should look very different from an ad that is trying to drive conversions/sales. 

Do you have any examples? 

What is important when briefing Creator Ads?

When it comes to paid ads on YouTube, creative is responsible for up to 80% of campaign ROI, so it’s crucial you ‘design for platform’. On YouTube, our primary creative guidance comes in the form of the ACBDs. These are data-backed findings from over 30,000 experiments that have looked at the top-performing ads on the platform and identified common creative characteristics that lead to success. 

Whilst they aren’t rules, they are guidelines that can significantly increase your chances of success if adhered to. Often creators will be unaware of these guidelines so it’s important that the brand includes the details in the brief and reviews work accordingly. 

A: Attract - make sure the audience is invested.

B: Brand - the brand the creator is promoting must be shown clearly.

C: Connection - build that all-important trust with the audience.

D: Direct - CTAs must be clear if you want your influencer content to lead to conversions.

How do you track success? 

YouTube’s full measurement suite is available when it comes to Creator Ads. Primarily this will be in the form of Brand Lift, whereby you can measure metrics such as awareness, consideration, and purchase intent. When it comes to our lower funnel formats you can also measure conversion metrics such as sales, site visits, downloads, etc.

Which brand verticals are best suited to using Creator Ads to engage audiences on YouTube? 

We’ve seen success across all verticals from furniture to financial services. The key to success is working with a relevant and appropriate creator. 

YouTube Creator Ads offer brands a powerful way to engage audiences and drive results at the same time authentically. YouTube is the original creator platform, so why not blend their creativity into your brand's ads? In a landscape where creative on YouTube dictates up to 80% of campaign ROI, integrating YouTube Creator Ads is not just an advantage, but a necessity for brands seeking a lasting impact on the platform and beyond.

Thank you to Khalid for sharing your expertise on Creator Ads! If you’re interested in seeing how Creator Ads can work for your brand, reach out to us at hello@digitalvoices.com.