YouTube launches its first advertising campaign

The video-sharing site has set out its stall with its first ad push

YouTube is launching its first advertising campaign in 2010, looking to steal a march in the race to bring online content to TV.

The campaign carries the strapline 'YouTube's got TV' and will run on the sides of buses, Tube panels and as full-page print ads. It will precede the introduction in 2010 of next generation internet-enabled TV sets by several manufacturers, including additions to the Sony Bravia range, which will carry expanded web technology.

The YouTube ad campaign follows their recent deal with Channel 4, where popular C4 shows have been made available to stream on the site. Shows like Peep Show, Hollyoaks, The F-Word, The Inbetweeners and Jamie At Home have featured so far.

'78% of people watch online TV to catch up with missed broadcast TV, according to Work Research/Thinkbox'

In 2008, more than 1.6bn views of TV shows took place online. According to Screen Digest, this figure is forecast to rise to 5bn a year by 2013. TV subscription services like Virgin Media and the Playstation 3 games console enable viewers to watch BBC's iPlayer through their television, furthering the transition towards online TV viewing.

'3.6m Virgin Media subscribers can access the BBC's iPlayer via their TV sets'

Advertisers and broadcasters are wising up to this change in behaviour. The BBC have recently announced an Eastenders online spin-off show that will be exclusively available online. Also drinks company InBev have launched a 15-minute show exclusively on YouTube for their beer brand, Stella Artois.

I think that online TV broadcasting will really take off over the next few years. I think that websites like 4od and BBC iPlayer, that allow people to watch their favorite shows at their own convienience have obviously played a major part in online TV's rising popularity. I do believe however that people do (and will) still value certain family nights in. Family shows like The XFactor, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and Britains Got Talent will remain popular at traditional TV broadcasting times. More niche programmes and videos that you might watch on YouTube will prove popular, with 'middle of the road' shows perhaps dying out as people will have so much choice available to watch they watch.

Rhys McLachlan, head of broadcast implementation futures at MediaCom, says that although online TV is the future of broadcasting, the transition will take time.

"Most people watch the same six channels on TV and will flick if there is nothing on those channels... putting TV content online won't stop this regular viewing, but it could collapse the long tail. People will not flick, but instead turn to on demand services".

Internet ad spend grows during recession

In the first half of 2009 internet advertising weathered the recession and grew by 4.6% to £1,752.1m, despite the entire advertising sector contracting by 16.6% during the same period. In doing so, online advertising has overtaken TV for the first time.

The UK remains the world leader in terms of market share for online, with the medium accounting for 23.5% in the first half of 2009. The results signal a significant restructure of marketing budgets as advertisers follow their audiences online and look to the internet for even more measurable and accountable methods (via IABUK.net).



The IABUK outlines a number of key factors for growth: (link)

1. Advertising networks boosting the market - Alongside the major portals, advertisers are increasingly turning to networks to book their online campaigns. According to Econsultancy research, 70% of online advertisers and their agencies work with three online advertising networks or more. Almost half (46%) the say they are working with more ad networks than a year ago, an average of 31% of online display advertising budget is believed to be spent on online advertising networks.

2. Online as a direct response medium - This year has seen marketing budgets being stretched to their very limits, and online has proved its worth. With improved planning and insight tools which mean more advertisers flock to the medium to take advantage of its targeting, accountability and measurability.

3. Growth of new display formats - With the proliferation of video, the internet has become a highly engaging entertainment medium. Alongside tried and tested methods such as rich media, pre and post roll online video advertising is showing strong growth (a 195% increase year-on-year). This indicates advertisers’ willingness to experiment and invest in more engaging and interactive multimedia content.

4. Ecommerce booming - In a time of recession, people buying and shopping are taking to the internet for the best deals, making online the best place to reach bargain-hungry consumers. The continued annual growth in the online retail market is evidence that online is withstanding the challenges of the economic downturn and the retailers that continue to expand and improve their online presence.

5. Faster, cheaper broadband - 92% people now have a broadband speed on over 2MB and 56% of home broadband users now have wireless broadband driving audiences online and allows advertisers to provide consumers with richer branded content (BMRB Internet Monitor May 2009).



This is some great evidence to highlight the benefits for using online marketing and advertising during a recession. The popularity of the internet amongst the public has risen vastly as we all know over the past few years or so.


A possible reason for the internet's growth above TV might be down to the TV advertisments themselves. Commercials have been shown to be the most disliked aspect of watching 'live' TV by consumers. The internet can offer programs to watch at users leisure (BBC iPlayer, 4od etc) and often shows one or two adverts maximum per show.