“Direct Response” is the name of YouTube’s new ad format that will add more action, versatility, and compatibility in its advertisements. This new format allows adding browsable product imagery to induce and possibly finalize upon the next purchase by the browsing customer.
The coronavirus pandemic has redefined the sales and advertisement strategy of most of the internet giants as a huge surge is seen in shopping online and the best medium to choose is video.
Google says that “With YouTube, marketers have the flexibility to shift budgets and invest in driving the results that matter most. As businesses begin to reopen, they have an opportunity to use video to drive both online and offline actions on YouTube, where 70 percent of people say they bought a brand as a result of seeing it on our platform. That’s why we’ve invested heavily to introduce effective video solutions that drive action.”
The strategy is based on the premise that various brands that want to use the new shoppable format first need to sync their Google Merchant Center feed with their video advertisements. Once this is done, they can edit the ads’ “call to action” button with their popular products to induce and influence the consumers, which will direct them to the top product catalog items on the brand’s website. This new format has shown positive encouraging responses from early testers.
“Recently, Aerie needed to simultaneously drive brand love and omnichannel apparel sales for its 2020 spring campaign. They used youtube as a full-funnel solution and connected with audiences with the highest likelihood to purchase. As a result, Aerie saw strong engagement for their brand and achieved a 25 percent higher return on ad spend than the previous year—with nine times more conversions compared to their traditional media mix,“ Google said in a release.
With this new improved format, youtube additionally announced “Video action campaign” which automatically brings video ads that induce action to its home feed, observe pages, and Google video partners, all within one campaign.
“We’ve seen Video action campaigns work for companies of all sizes, including Mos, a startup that helps students find funds for college to avoid large student debts. As a newer company, Mos was excited to test out a solution that could drive results quickly. In the last few months, Mos saw 30 percent more purchases for their service at a third of the cost compared to their previous YouTube benchmarks,” Google said.
It is not only just youtube but also other rivals that are heavily investing in Video action technology as consumers’ loyalties are fast shifting to online sales during this coronavirus pandemic. Just very recently, Facebook and Instagram came out with its online storefronts where consumers can buy directly from brands without leaving Facebook’s or Instagram’s app, with Snapchat also expanding its dynamic ads worldwide in the month of June.
Much more action is expected from these big players on the online shopping front in months to come.