[MUSIC PLAYING]
SHERYL GOLDSTEIN: Hi, I'm Sheryl Goldstein, EVP Member
Engagement and Development at the IAB.
I am pleased to introduce David Katz, the new VP of product
management at YouTube for shopping.
Before joining YouTube, he was the chief product officer
at Afterpay, the SVP of product and design at Fanatics,
and also held senior roles at Groupon, Yahoo, and McKinsey.
He has many, many years of e-commerce experience
under his belt, and we're really excited to have him here today.
DAVID KATZ: Thanks, Sheryl.
It's great to be here at the IAB Brand Disruption Summit.
I've been in the e-commerce space for a while,
and we've all seen the landscape change and grow.
We all know that during the pandemic,
online shopping had its moment.
In 2020 alone, e-commerce grew almost 30% worldwide.
People spent their days shopping online from their couches,
or on those extra tough days, from their beds.
We were all there.
All of a sudden, e-commerce was our only real option,
and YouTube creators knew that.
SHEA WHITNEY: Oh my goodness, we have to talk about these jeans!
DAVID KATZ: Average daily uploads
of videos with "shop with me" in the title increased
over 60% year-over-year.
Brands scrambled to adapt their strategies to this change.
Of course, some had it easier.
For brands that were selling disinfectant, toilet paper,
or yeast, sales skyrocketed.
But others had to think on their feet.
The ones that recognized the need to pivot immediately,
and in some cases radically, were the most successful.
The most nimble retailers reprioritized their spending,
upped their digital investments dramatically.
SPEAKER 1: If you want to shop any of the products
that you saw today, go ahead and click the links down below.
DAVID KATZ: What the pandemic did
really was speed up the inevitable for online shopping.
SARAHS DAY: Lockdown has been the months of checkout.
DAVID KATZ: E-commerce evolved 10 years in six months.
We've heard that so often now, it's become a cliche.
But it really did force brands to experiment and innovate
in real time.
They had to in order to stay afloat,
as demand shifted in ways no one could have ever predicted.
They tried new tools, new products, new strategies,
and tested on the fly, because there was no playbook
for retail during a pandemic.
Even when brick-and-mortar stores
did begin to open back up, people still
wanted to shop online.
Whether it was convenience or inertia,
it became the new normal.
And for this reason, many advertisers
started leaning more heavily into video.
Video is the singular, visually engaging medium
that can actually substitute for seeing a product in person.
And as customers grew more comfortable making higher
consideration purchases, online brands
realized how critical video can be.
SEAN LAVERY: My name is Sean Lavery,
and since it's grilling season, I
want to show you an item that is going to help you level up
your grilling game.
DAVID KATZ: The new reality is that brands
are going to have to continue leaning really heavily
into digital shopping, or they'll fall behind.
We want to help brands and retailers continue
adapting to this new shopping reality,
and be a partner as they keep trying new strategies to see
what clicks.
Which takes us back to video.
Video is a flexible medium, that's one of its virtues.
Shoppers use YouTube for entertainment, inspiration,
and exploration.
It's also a great place to just hunt for information.
People are open to new discoveries
when they're watching video.
And the combination of endless content and deep
personalization means the potential for surprise
and delight is always high.
The combination of entertainment, utility,
and authenticity is powerful.
In fact, 87% of viewers say that when
they're shopping or browsing on YouTube,
they feel like they can make a decision to purchase faster.
And of course, creators are the heart of YouTube.
When it comes to shopping, there's
a unique level of credibility with creators.
Viewers feel personally connected to them,
and that social aspect builds trust.
MARQUES BROWNLEE: OK, so I've held a Pixel 6.
Let's talk about it.
DAVID KATZ: They know that their favorite creators
consistently make reliable recommendations
and give honest takes.
TINA YONG: Ooh.
I'm not a fan of this one, guys.
DAVID KATZ: Even viewers who don't
follow specific creators find YouTube content
helpful for learning about products.
Creator-generated content feels authentic.
That's a huge distinction from more highly-produced formats.
Real thoughts from real people.
And the sheer volume of creator content on the platform
just covers so much ground.
Viewers get their questions answered, and walk away
feeling empowered and informed.
That feeling builds confidence, and helps move shoppers
towards their purchase decision.
YouTube is always developing new ways
to harness this influence that's so unique to the platform,
whether it's through shoppable videos,
personalized recommendations, or live shopping.
We've got some really exciting plans on the horizon,
and I'll be sharing some of those today.
Sheryl and I will be chatting about what's
going on in the world of social commerce,
and how marketers can be ready for the future of streaming
and shopping.
SHERYL GOLDSTEIN: So one of the things you said,
what's important to these creators is trust.
And we know that it's the bond that these creators have
with their audience, with their followers,
it's all on trust and authenticity.
So how should brands tap into that?
How do they find the right creator
to marry with their brand?
DAVID KATZ: Yeah, I think that what's important
is that brands think about how they want to connect.
First, kind of tactically, and then operationally.
You know, tactically, do we want to do a partnership,
do we want to invest in paid ads?
Very important.
But then, as they're thinking about how
to work with creators, I think it really comes back
to that authenticity.
The power of the YouTube platform
is this really authentic relationship
that creators are forming with their fans, with their viewers.
You want to find creators who are
going to have a personal connection with your brand,
where your brand is going to harmoniously become
part of that relationship.
And then I guess the other thing that I'd think about
is reach diverse audiences.
Make sure that you're considering
that as you think about your partnership strategy.
The example that I really like is
Madewell, which partnered with a diverse range of creators.
So they went to XO McKenna, a home renovator connoisseur,
Joe Franco, a multilingual storyteller.
The net was, they increased searches
for Madewell on the platform by 10x.
SHERYL GOLDSTEIN: Some brands have
been leaning into social commerce for a while.
Who do you think is doing it well,
and what do you admire about their strategy?
DAVID KATZ: This fall, we partnered
with Walmart, Sephora, and Target
to run several shoppable livestream pilots.
Sephora beauty directors hosted a live Q&A
about makeup foundations.
Target performed a live style hall
about overcoming fashion fears.
And Raven Elise went live to sell her favorite home workout
gear and morning routine essentials from Walmart.
And it's interesting, Walmart's also been trying out
some of our shoppable CTC ads.
Building on the success of these pilots,
I'm really excited to announce the YouTube Holiday
Stream and Shop event, kicking off on November 15.
This is a week of shoppable live streams,
featuring both brands and top creators
dropping exclusive products and deals on their channels.
The Merrill twins are going to kick
the week off sharing their holiday wish
list from three brands--
Walmart, Samsung, and Verizon.
Fans tuning in will be able to interact
with the creators and other viewers, score new products,
unlock deals and discounts, and get their questions answered
through polls and chats.
You can find all the streams on YouTube
starting on November 15.
And we can't wait to share what we have in store, including
other shoppable videos and personalized product
recommendations.
SHERYL GOLDSTEIN: So David, this is a really big initiative.
And I know a lot of work went into developing the strategy.
Tell me a little bit about this, where you got the insights
and developed the strategy for this big offering.
DAVID KATZ: Yeah, we did some interesting research
this summer with Publicis Group and Talkshop.
Talked to like 2,000 viewers, and we got a couple
of interesting insights.
So one, 89% of viewers agree that YouTube creators give
recommendations they can trust.
There's that relationship with the creators.
87% of people say that when they're shopping or browsing
on YouTube, they feel like they get
the highest-quality information about products.
So there's some authenticity in the platform.
And then the kicker for me is, 70% of YouTube viewers
said that they bought a brand as a result of seeing it
on YouTube.
So you see that whole kind of activity
from the relationship with the platform through to purchase.
SHERYL GOLDSTEIN: So David, if I'm a marketer,
and I have limited budget to do these sort of things,
and there's multiple options, there's Instagram, TikTok--
why YouTube?
What makes it different?
And what can I expect to get from YouTube
versus these other platforms?
DAVID KATZ: Yeah, fundamentally, it
comes down to the medium and the messenger.
The medium, and especially kind of long-form video
in the YouTube environment, is so powerful and immersive.
It gives such richness to the brand, to the product.
The messenger is the other element of this.
And I think it's really important
to think about the relationship that YouTube creators are
building with their viewers.
YouTube creators built these deep and authentic trusting
relationships with their viewers.
And I think that that's something
that you don't see on other platforms.
SHERYL GOLDSTEIN: This seems like it's
a fairly easy addition to a D2C brand that's
used to working in the digital virtual world.
What about a traditional retailer?
How can they leverage creators to have
this in-store-online marriage?
DAVID KATZ: I mean, for all of the energy
around e-commerce growth in the pandemic,
73% of all 2020 holiday sales in the US happened in-store.
Brick-and-mortar is absolutely not dead.
The thing that's really interesting
is that the line between in-store and digital
is getting very blurry.
You see this in the rise of BOPUS,
buy online and pick up in-store.
And all of these other hybrid models
where you see consideration and decision-making online, maybe
the final transaction happening in-store,
maybe even transaction happening online
with a pickup, all of these things
are starting to blend together.
We looked at a 2020 study.
48% of YouTube viewers said that sponsored or branded content
on YouTube made them more likely to actually go
in-store and look for the brand or the product.
That same study also showed that YouTube viewers
are about twice as likely to go in-store or online to buy
something that they saw on YouTube,
versus the competitive average.
SHERYL GOLDSTEIN: So David, this has been a great conversation.
Thank you for joining me today.
I wish you the best of luck, and this is really great news.
Good luck to you.
Thank you again, David.
DAVID KATZ: Thanks, Sheryl.
This has been great.
[MUSIC PLAYING]