YouTube offers big followings for brands as well as teen pop stars

27 May 2010

Anyone who has been following the music charts this year will have noticed the arrival of Justin Bieber. This cherubic boy prodigy has risen from oblivion to become a global pop star at the age of 16 after the videos his mum uploaded to YouTube gained millions of views. This isn’t a one-off: there are many other examples across the globe. YouTube’s power to make individuals famous is well-established. What’s less well known is its power for brands.

Last week, as we celebrated five years of YouTube, we announced an extraordinary milestone: the site now exceeds 2bn views a day. We’ve expanded beyond our user-generated heritage. Pioneering deals with Channel 4 and Five have demonstrated we have one of the richest online video platforms.

Only a couple of months ago, we partnered with the Indian Premier League so it could deliver live streams of cricket matches to our users, and its success exceeded even our expectations. Our own figures show the broadcasts reached 9% of all adults in the UK and 50% of all UK-based Indians.

In March, according to UKOM, our audiences hit record levels as viewers opted to watch more of this premium content online. This is not only good for viewers but also for content owners, which make money from showing their clips to our community. An independent Ipsos study published last week documenting the changes of the past five years found YouTube is the ’most engaged’ brand in TV entertainment.

Advertisers are seeing benefits too, whether from big brands or small businesses. Evian last year uploaded its Rollerbabies ad, promoting it with a brief campaign on the site. By the time the ad had been viewed 60m times, Evian knew it had a hit on its hands. We also carried the very first advertising for Avatar in the UK.

Three months before the film was released, it took over the YouTube home page and the impact was sensational, driving spontaneous awareness up 25%.

Doors have also been opened to small businesses, which are using our cost-per-click Promoted Videos to get listed in search results. One user approached me at an event this month and exclaimed, “These are the cheapest clicks we’re getting anywhere on the web. When is the price going up?” I reminded him it’s an auction, so advertisers decide the price.

The arrival of Justin Bieber, the impact of Evian and the success of Avatar show that whether you’re a creative artist or advertiser, if you’re good enough, YouTube’s users will make you famous.

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