YouTube allows ads next to ‘edgier content’: What advertisers need to know

YouTube is allowing advertisers interested in “edgier content” to run ads next to such videos on its platform. In a recent blog post, CEO Susan Wojcicki said it is running experiments to help match content that could be considered “edgy with advertising” that fits the brand – such as a marketer looking to promote an R-rated movie.Such videos  will typically have yellow icons to signal that only limited advertising can run on a particular video because of its content. The move comes as YouTube continues to address and grapple with brand safety issues. Earlier this year, renowned brands such as Disney, Epic Games, and Nestlé all halted ad spend on YouTube after a child video exposé. In April last year, P&G made its return to YouTube after staying away from the platform for over a year due to concerns regarding ad placements on inappropriate content.With the new label experimentation, according to YouTube, the platform saw “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in ads stream in.Wojcicki added that YouTube will also have a policy update coming soon for gaming creators to help differentiate between real-world, and gaming violence. She said that the new policy will have fewer restrictions for violence in gaming, but will maintain its high bar to protect audiences from real-world violence. Currently, YouTube is also expanding its self certification pilot in 2020 to hundreds of thousands of YouTube Partner Program creators. The programme allows creators to self-report how their video complies with ad policies.“It’s a reinforcing process: the more accurate you are in your self-reporting, the more our system trusts you,” Wojcicki explained. She said that self certification gives creators more control, and offers specific feedback on why a video might have monetisation issues.In a statement to Marketing, David Haddad, CEO of IPG Mediabrands, said that while this move will naturally have a flow-on cash benefit for the creator community, it also shows YouTube’s attempt to secure a higher share of revenue from the growing gaming industry and audience.“It is a win-win for YouTube and creators if they get it right, that’s where advertisers play a role and where brands need to tread carefully,” he said, adding that he sees this model working for industries such as movies, gaming, and alcohol. According to Haddad:Advertisers need to assess and define their appetite and specific need to be placed around content that is edgier and perceived as borderline.Advertisers also need to define their audience and that includes knowing how the audience will react to advertising placed around edgy content. For some brands and products, Haddad explained that the association will be relevant and the audience watching the content may also be more highly engaged and this can boost advertising engagement. But he also added that in certain cases:Just because your audience is engaged with a particular type of content doesn’t necessarily mean they want to be advertised to in that environment.“Ultimately though, advertisers and their agencies need to be on top of reactions by their audience and consumers as a whole and be quick to change approach if there is any potential backlash. Long-term brand reputation can be damaged quickly and take a while to re-build,” Haddad said.Meanwhile, Ramakrishnan CN, partner at Entropia and head of EXR, told Marketing that the experiment is to address the demonetisation issues that YouTube faces due to the algorithm that marks even genuine content that covers violence, sensitive topics as non-monetisable. This leads to friction between the creators and the channel and it is a thin line that YouTube has to traverse, he said.He explained that there is a huge demand for mature and edgy content in the fields of gaming, education, entertainment, and news or documentary. More specifically, advertisers such as gaming console brands, OTT platforms, and adventure gear manufacturers have a reason to target within the context of edgier content. Citing the movie Joker and popular content on Netflix being rated 18+ across topics, Ramakrishnan said this also shows that consumers want to see gritty and edgier content that appeals to them.How successful this experiment turns out depends on how well YouTube is able to sieve out the actual mature content versus the prohibited ones.“Its recent record doesn’t give too much confidence on them getting it right, yet. As long as the interested advertisers have the above caveats in mind while opting in for this and closely monitor the impressions, it should be fine,” he said.Additionally in order to identify content made for children, YouTube recently implemented a new audience setting where creators must designate if their content is made for children. Beginning January 2020, certain features that rely on user data, such as comments and personalised advertising, will no longer be available on content made for children. Marketing has reached out to YouTube for additional information.Read also:YouTube gets more ‘shoppable’, also launches music streaming appYouTube apologises for ‘missing the mark’ in recent verification policy changesYouTube takes paid ad views out of consideration for music chartsYouTube CEO says future of the platform is openness and responsibility(Photo courtesy: 123RF)