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Should YouTube think more about infomercials and less about advertising?
By Nigel Hollis
A couple of weeks ago, I expressed surprise that YouTube was not a priority platform for the majority of marketers. Then The New York Times reported that YouTube is making a play to become the online destination of choice for video marketers.
Part of the pitch was that unlike television, YouTube incorporates social elements by inviting viewers to choose whether they watch, share or create their own videos about advertisers’ products. But now that I think about it further, is that really YouTube’s major strength?
Another option is to buy a good, old fashioned pre-roll, where your ad runs before that which the viewer asked for. With YouTube’s TrueView, users can skip the ad after five seconds, but advertisers only pay if someone watches the ad, ensuring relevancy. But will people who see these ads share them?
Now I will freely admit that given what was said in The New York Times article, I am not a typical YouTube user. I am not a 20-something man, and the nearest pizza shop is about 10 miles away (Ramunto’s Brick Oven Pizza in Bridgewater, check it out for an après ski pizza and beer). So my use of YouTube is not representative, but then neither is it that social. What do I use YouTube for?
I tend to use YouTube as a resource rather than a social network. I don’t find the act of discovery, wading through masses of irrelevant and banal videos, to be that interesting. I know others with more time on their hands do, but it makes me wonder if YouTube needs to think as much about infomercial as advertisement.
Sure, fun and awesome videos will get viewed and shared like the one on the GoPro channel mentioned in The New York Times article, but I would have thought just as many people are actively looking for help and guidance.
If your brand is designed to address a specific problem or need, why not create a series of “how to” videos on your own Brand Channel? A good example of this approach would be the Kraft Foods Channel which features recipes like Graveyard Brownies right in time for Halloween. It seems to me that this model plays well for many brands and makes good use of Google’s search functionality.
So what do you think? Should advertisers on YouTube focus less on sharing and more on informing? How might they best do so?
Nigel Hollis is Executive Vice President and Chief Global Analyst at Millward Brown.
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