We are at a point where we genuinely view YouTube alongside the broadcaster when we’re looking to plan video
harvey carroll, IPG Mediabrands Canada
In growing recognition that marketers are unwilling to put all their eggs in one basket, Google Canada is beginning to share more data with media agencies to help them plan YouTube investments alongside traditional TV, and IPG Mediabrands Canada is among the early adopters.
Speaking at last week’s YouTube Pulse event in Toronto, Google Canada executives tried to reinforce how powerful the online video platform has become and why it needs to be an important part of their plan. They cited a 60% increase in the number of hours Canadians spend watching YouTube every day between 2014 and last year, according to a TNS study.
Another report from comScore this past June that looked specifically at desktop users suggested 75% of daily Canadian users visit YouTube several times a day.
“More people are coming to YouTube and they are doing it more often,” said Marshall Self, director of agencies for Google Canada. “We are no longer talking about your teenager’s video platform of choice.”
Self said agencies like IPG are using tools like Brand Lift and Reach Explorer, while also integrating its YouTube reach curve data directly into their proprietary agency planning tools. Reach Explorer provides commercial reach curve data for media planning. This tool is available via a company’s Google team, he said.
“We needed to provide our partners with more data. In Canada, where there is no single source panel data, there’s no way for agencies to get an external perspective that would help them plan appropriately,” he told Marketing.
Harvey Carroll, CEO of IPG Mediabrands Canada, said his company is already seeing the benefits.
“It isn’t an either/or story,” he said. “We are at a point where we genuinely view YouTube alongside the broadcaster when we’re looking to plan video.”
Carroll said online video is adaptive to location, device and context. That makes it more valuable to brands because it is inherently more actionable. He referenced the idea of “light viewers” who may not be tuning into a particular program every week but may watch highlighted episodes on YouTube, for example.
The data from Google helps IPG Mediabrands look for opportunities around premium content but also the most engaged audience.
“Traditional TV doesn’t reach everyone anymore,” he said. “We’re looking for those reach curves, where we’re planning alongside campaigns for audience, reach and also efficiency.”
Self said research Google conducted with Ipsos shows that when you pair YouTube with TV in your media plan, it drives improved brand equity metrics across the board. In particular, the combination of paid ad views on YouTube and TV had a 29 point relative increase in ad recall, a 38 point relative increase in recommendation of the brand, and a 23 point relative increase in purchase intent over advertising on TV alone, he said.
