According to analyses prepared by Przemysław Włodarski from the Performics agency, given the current situation it comes as no surprise that some advertisers are shifting their marketing budgets toward digital channels, with particular emphasis on YouTube. In some market segments (e.g. FMCG and technology) we are seeing a 30% YoY increase in budget allocated to presence on the largest video service in Poland.

It cannot be denied, then, that the growth is considerable. We must remember, however, that the decision on where to allocate budget should be preceded by a reliable assessment of media results to date and their translation into business outcomes. While econometric models that allow long-term examination of the impact of specific activities on sales require a bit more time (needed to gather reliable data), when analysing the current reception of our activities we can rely on an analysis of media results. What should be taken into account?

What is the view rate?

One of the main criteria for evaluating campaigns on YT is the so-called "view rate" – which shows how many ad impressions translated into a "full view". At this point it is worth recalling what YT treats as a full ad view. These are: watching the ad for more than 30 seconds (for ads longer than 30 seconds), fully watching a shorter ad (including so-called prerolls), and clicking the link to the landing page.

Over the past few years the rate has grown from around 20% in 2014 to nearly 50% today. There are many interpretations of this change. For some, the increase is a positive factor linked to greater awareness of choosing which ad we want to watch and which we do not. Some point to the greater share of prerolls, where the view rate is naturally close to 100%. Still others raise the issue of autoplay of subsequent YouTube videos and ads being served before those videos too, which in some people's view increases the chance of an ad being displayed even when we are not present at the screen. This is particularly important given that the vast majority of videos watched on YT are music, which accompanies us while we focus on other tasks. Finally, there is the growing share of users with adblockers, i.e. people who probably skip ads, thereby lowering the analysed rate – they are not taken into account in these statistics. Which of these arguments is true? It is hard to say definitively; probably each is partly true. However, the fact is that Google has introduced a number of solutions that affect views: • adjusting ads to the YT ecosystem (e.g. suggesting skipping an ad if the viewer is not interested)
  • introduction of autoplay by Google
  • introduction of double prerolls
  • increase in the total number of ad slots during videos.
All of this meant that for 2019 YouTube recorded advertising revenue of USD 15.15 billion globally. So did the ongoing Covid-19 epidemic and the shift to remote work affect how we perceive ads? Have they become less or more visible? Let us first compare a few facts.
  1. View rate - based on data from selected campaigns run by Publicis Groupe, slight year-on-year differences can be seen. On average we can speak of 7 percentage points.
  2. The CPV level rose YoY by an average of 10%
  3. The number of ad views rose by an average of 25%
  4. The number of ad impressions rose by an average of 15%
  5. Reach frequency per campaign remained at a similar level (on all groups around 2-3 contacts (impressions, not views) per user).
How Did Covid-19 Affect YouTube Advertising Campaigns? — illustration 1

What can we conclude from this data?

Despite significantly larger budgets, the CPV level remained at a similar level. This means that we have not yet reached the maximum level of ad saturation on YouTube. A reach frequency of 2-3 in an era of such heavy load of other marketing messages is low, and the effectiveness of this type of activity is limited. The data does not cover internet users with adblockers.

How Covid-19 affected YouTube advertising campaigns – data analysis


What do these conclusions mean for marketers, and how can they be used to evaluate campaigns?

  • When planning a campaign on YT we should start not from the budget, but from planning reach and frequency. YouTube is a huge, almost unsaturated medium. It is possible to thoughtlessly allocate a significant budget there within the all group, which will not translate into building reach and frequency. It seems reasonable to segment the all group and focus on communication around selected segments.
  • The allocation criterion should be econometric research based on tracking results depending on reach frequency. And if that is not possible, based on previous assumptions regarding contact frequency. Econometric research may be affected by restrictions imposed by Google, but the Ads Data Hub platform should enable broad access to campaign data.
  • It is wishful thinking that the mere fact of being present on YT will fundamentally refresh our TG. The youngest part of the group uses adblockers or actively skips ads. It is nothing unusual that the largest group reached by campaigns is the 35-44 group.
  • Fundamental differences in campaign effectiveness are often invisible. Why? If CPV is PLN 0.04, then even a 10% increase will not be visible from the report level. We give the cost to the nearest penny, and in this case it will be automatically rounded down. Cost analyses down to decimal fractions of a penny seem increasingly important.
The existing ways of reporting and analysing activities on YT, based solely on completed views, are slowly becoming increasingly outdated. YouTube is a huge, horizontal platform allowing us to reach every group. However, it is necessary to plan activities in such a way that reaching it is as effective as possible.


Summary

An analysis of data from campaigns run by Publicis Groupe shows that during the Covid-19 pandemic advertising budgets on YouTube rose by an average of 30%, and the number of ad views by 25%, with only a 10% increase in cost per view. This proves that the platform is still not saturated with ads, and reach frequency at the level of 2–3 contacts remains low.

The author advises marketers to plan campaigns around reach and target group segmentation, not budget. It is also becoming crucial to use tools such as Ads Data Hub for accurate econometric analyses, because traditional reports based solely on the number of views are becoming outdated.