Creators are more influential than ever — producing hit shows, driving cultural trends, and building huge audiences. With YouTube BrandConnect, brands can get more with creators and sponsored content.

Today’s creators are more than entertainers; they’re entrepreneurs building their own production teams, crafting business strategies and redefining content creation that includes everything from long-form videos and livestreams to bite-sized Shorts.

And they have incredible reach — as attendees at South by Southwest heard last week when some of our top YouTube creators shared how they built their fandoms. We know that brands want to tap into the power of influential YouTube creators to support their campaigns. That’s where YouTube BrandConnect comes in.

Unlock the power of YouTube creators with BrandConnect

BrandConnect is a collection of tools and features which help brands connect with creators. In this new era of creator-led entertainment, people make decisions based on the advice of YouTube creators. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos, surveyed online users are 98% more likely to trust the recommendations of creators on YouTube vs. those on other social sites/apps (on average).¹ This trust translates into real results for brands.

For example, a brand could start using existing sponsored content as creative in their campaigns with partnership ads, amplifying the reach of successful videos. In some markets, they could use BrandConnect in Google Ads to get measurement and reporting for sponsored content campaigns. Brands could also see suggested videos to promote or even gain valuable insights into performance of linked videos inside our new central place to manage creator partnerships. Each part of this process is powered by BrandConnect.

To start taking advantage of these features, link any existing assets to your Google Ads campaigns. Once you’ve done that, you can better measure the performance of your partnership ads. You can also create audience segments of the organic viewers of any sponsored content you made with that creator, too.

By harnessing the authenticity and influence of trusted creators, brands can reach new audiences, drive engagement and achieve measurable results. Partnership ads are available in all Google Ads AI-powered campaigns, including Demand Gen, Video Reach Campaigns and Video View Campaigns.

Build meaningful connections with partnership ads

Connecting with creators is driving results for brands. One great example is MAC Cosmetics, which wanted to increase brand awareness and consideration for its lipstick and foundation lines in India. By strategically partnering with beauty creators Ankita Chaturvedi and Naina Bhan using partnership ads on YouTube Shorts in their Video Reach Campaigns, MAC Cosmetics saw 2.5 times better view-through rate and 66% lower cost per view in comparison to their campaign with branded creatives only.

Authenticity is at the core of MAC’s brand DNA, and YouTube Shorts offers a powerful platform to express our passion for makeup in an authentic, engaging way. This approach not only showcases our products but also fosters meaningful connections.

Karen Thompson
Brand Director, MAC Cosmetics

Easy video linking for brands and creators

We also want to make it easier to link creator-made videos in Google Ads. Creator-initiated video linking now allows eligible creators to create linking requests directly with brands for sponsored content they have posted, streamlining the process of partnership ads.

If a brand is working with a lot of creators, they can now automate the process of linking their ads with our new video linking API to save time and additional resources.

Brands of all sizes can tap into the power of creators on YouTube to create engaging experiences for their audiences. To learn more about creator partnerships, take a look at a recent study we published in partnership with EMARKETER.

Source: Google Ads and Commerce Blog