Advertising Week returned to London in March, hosting its annual gathering of marketers, media specialists, tech innovators and creative leaders, with AI and data sat right at the heart of this year’s conversations. Also under the spotlight was the power of ‘premium’ and ‘quality’, which is seeing a renewed spotlight in the current news cycle following Meta and YouTube’s liability in the social media addiction trial.
With our AV Specialist hats on, one session that particularly stood out was "Attention Please: Unlocking the Power of Premium" on YouTube, led by VEVO’s Head of Sales, Chris Wright. From a Total TV perspective, we engage with YouTube for three main reasons:
- The achievable scale across CTV for amplifying campaigns on the big screen
- Cost-efficient access to traditional broadcaster content, where brands may not have linear TV budgets
- Extending the reach of our campaigns by meeting younger/digital-first audiences in the environments they are consuming broadcast content, outside the traditional environments
When considering YouTube and the totality of content which sits on the platform, it can be overwhelming to wrap your head around how enormously diverse the content ecosystem is. YouTube content ranges from niche User Generated Content (UGC) as simple as Get Ready With Mes (GRWMs) and How-Tos to premium “Fit For TV” content, such as music videos, where artists have invested millions of dollars into 3-minute videos.
With the spectrum of content so wide, it can feel like walking into a huge department store and not quite knowing where to go or what to pick. The question for advertisers becomes ‘how do we navigate YouTube in an effective and brand-safe manner?’ Is it purely about audiences? Or do we plan around premium content & context? How much value should we place on premium, Fit For TV content on the platform?
A study from VEVO in partnership with Channel 4 and Amplified Intelligence, as presented by VEVO’s Senior Manager for International Research, Nav Gadhvi, found that premium content captures 40% more active attention than non-premium content. And what really stands out is how much longer people focus on ads placed around premium content, with 84% of ads placed around premium videos being watched in full, whether actively or passively, highlighting how premium content not only holds viewers’ attention but also makes ads more effective.
And it’s simply true that audiences just like premium content more than algorithmically-served longtail content. Premium provides value to viewers, and by extension, they are engaged more in the accompanying adverts. Considering the findings from the social addiction trial in the US, advertisers and their agencies have a responsibility to use YouTube in a way that adds value for viewers. This is where YouTube CTV can play a major role. One of the great powers of CTV is that it is not doomscrolled or always accessible. CTV is consumed intentionally, with active choose-to-view content viewers are leaning into rather than quick hits of dopamine and reward loops.
This is exactly why premium, big‑screen content performs so well from an attention perspective. With longer dwell time, better focus, and a stronger emotional connection, greater trust can be built with audiences. It’s a huge part of the reason why new research by Tapestry found TV to be twice as trusted as YouTube. Premium YouTube on the CTV is a route into this similarly trusted environment, which we know is consumed much like TV. Co-viewing is a prevalent habit for premium YouTube CTV, with 71% of households watching content with 2 or more people, strengthening brand perceptions, associations and consideration.
While representing our advertisers, we should be facilitating healthy and intentional relationships between viewers and advertisers, and Premium Fit For TV content is a huge opportunity when considering YouTube within our AV mix.
If you would like to discuss your options in AV further, please get in touch with our team of experts.
