SPEAKER: Hi, and welcome to "Academy On Air."
Today, we're going to discuss how
to design creative for your YouTube for Action campaign.
This episode today is the third episode of four
that will discuss YouTube for Action.
Next episode, we'll discuss TrueView for Action campaign
measurement, so stay tuned and sign into the next episode
as well.
We have a busy agenda today.
We're going to start with the why--
why your creative design is crucial.
Then we'll introduce the story arc
that we've recommended you follow with your creative.
After that, we'll teach you how to design
your creative for mobile.
And lastly, how can we help you get your creative
if you don't have one?
Let's talk about the why.
In the last few episodes, we discussed
what YouTube for Action is, and how you can grow your business.
It's based on reaching audiences who
are searching for Google for what you offer,
and allowing them to take action through our new ad format,
directly from the YouTube platform itself, where people
are truly paying attention.
Today, we're going to focus on this part--
a creative canvas that really shows off
your business, while also giving your viewers a way
to take action.
But for us to start talking about how to do it,
we need to know what a TrueView for Action ad
actually looks like.
On the top-left site you can see the mobile landscape view that
shows a call to action overlay.
On the right, you can see the mobile portrait
mode that has a banner with a call to action button,
and that stays there even after the ad is over.
On the bottom, you can see the desktop view of the format.
Also important to note that mobile and desktop both have
an end card that shows at the end of the ad,
also with a call to action button.
So we already know quite a lot about our ad,
which is our canvas.
It has a few specific characteristics
that can influence how we think about our creative.
First, TrueView for Action has a Skip button.
This means the ad can be any length in duration,
but giving viewers a choice to skip after 5 seconds.
This rewards ads that hook attention right from the start.
Second, TrueView for Action has a call to action button--
a customizable button that leaves viewers
click and take action directly from the ad unit.
Ensure your creative encompasses this same call
to action as well, whether it's visual or with a voiceover--
even both-- to really drive your desired action.
Third, using signals from across Google Search, Maps,
and our other platforms, you can be absolutely
sure you are reaching audiences on YouTube who are already
searching for what you sell, or are
likely to buy based on shopping passions and life stage.
This means your creative can be really
specific to your customer needs.
Lastly, and very importantly when
you're thinking about your video assets, 95% of YouTube ads
are seen and heard.
In other words, users watch 95% of ads
with the sound switched on.
Using sound is crucial to impactful creative.
Think about using music to drive connection with an ad,
or using a voiceover to call out key benefits--
maybe a brand name, or even the offer.
Sound can reinforce the most salient components of the ad,
and drive more action or a full-scripted narrative that
can really aid in explaining a more unknown product
or service.
Now we've covered the need-to-know elements
of our canvas, before we jump straight into best practices
for designing the ad itself, I want
to touch on the importance of great creative in general.
Multiple research studies show just how important creative is
for your campaign performance.
Both Comscore and Harvard Business School
found, in their studies, a creative
is driving 50% of an ad performance on effectivity.
Nielsen's research found that a good effective creative
could double your ROI.
So it's pretty simple to summarize--
creative is the single greatest force
multiplier when it comes to improving campaign performance.
Now let's jump into how we build effective creative.
Now, we watched hundreds of ads to understand
what makes effective, action-inspiring creative
on YouTube, and we noticed that top-performing ads follow
a certain arc of a story.
What we noticed is that they all tend to start with high energy.
With an action-orientated audience,
there isn't time to build up the story slowly
when the Skip button shows only after 5 seconds.
Within the opening seconds, they also
tend to grab attention by establishing a problem
or need, followed quickly by introducing the product
or service as a solution to that problem.
Often, they keep explaining the benefits
or feature to maintain connection throughout the ad,
and they finish with an offer or resolution--
and of course, a strong call to action.
The story arc or creative, template
we refer to here as is called the explainer.
Some ads may end with a call to action.
Others choose to keep going with more product
demonstrations or explanation.
Don't forget that users can skip at any time, though.
Let's look at a few examples that do this in different ways.
This is a great example from Lemonade, an insurance brand.
This ad is actually a great example
of how creative doesn't need to be live action.
We see lots of performance advertisers leaning
into more lightweight creative like animation, graphics,
and animated videos to create effective video assets.
Using animation, or even just pictures makes a creative
a lot more affordable.
The Lemonade example that we just looked at there
is a classic rational example of the explainer ad template.
Thinking about the structure, this ad
starts with a problem statement--
old insurance kind of sucks.
Then gives a solution statement-- but Lemonade
is different.
It keeps explaining the benefits of the insurance using
key statements like "low premiums," "fast paying,"
"powered by AI," and finishes with that all-important call
to action.
Using the YouTube for Action features, Get Lemonade Today.
It does a really good job in demonstrating this story arc--
a problem, a solution to the problem,
showcasing the most relevant benefits, and closing
with a direct call to action.
Remember-- using the TrueView for Action format,
we would also see the call to action button showing
on the ad, or under it.
This second example is a little different.
This is from KiwiCo.
This is another example of the emerging arc structure.
This example, though, doesn't show a problem statement.
It just jumps straight into showcasing the product
in all its glory.
We refer to this as a demo, or demonstration style ad.
Let's analyze this again.
First they jump straight into showing the cool product.
Then they keep demonstrating the features and benefits,
showing a variety of products, calling out benefits like fun,
inspiring, and innovative.
Then, editing again with the brand name, a call to action--
like visit the website--
and even an offer, like free shipping.
Now, it's important to mention--
like these ads, you don't have to follow the story arc
step by step.
Just use it as a helpful checklist to make sure
that you're capturing the main language.
Think about this as a helpful checklist
to make sure you're capturing all of the points
we talked about today.
First, in order to create that hook in the first 5 seconds
and start high, ask yourself, who is my target audience,
and what is their problem or need?
At that second stage, think, what
is the key language to describe your product or service?
How does your solution solve for your audience's problem,
and how might your product capture their attention?
And finally, think about what behavior
you want your audience to take, and if you
have any special offer or promotion that might drive them
to immediate action.
Now, you all know about the story arc.
Let's discuss another important element
for building effective creative, and that's mobile.
More than 60% of YouTube views are
occurring on mobile, which means we
need to design ads that are thinking about mobile first.
To do that, follow these few ideas.
Use close cropping, making it easier for your viewers
to see what's really important in your ad.
Using faster cuts and faster pacing.
Attention spans are much shorter on mobile.
Get to the point fast.
Be quick, and be fun.
Use bright footage.
Think about, maybe, the brightness being turned down
on the screen.
And also think about larger text so it's really easy to read,
and landing key messages.
When placing text or graphical overlays,
avoid the bottom where the Skip Ad and call to action overlays
are.
Also avoid the right corner, where the visit advertiser
prompt text will appear.
Always think mobile first when creating your video RSS asset.
But you're not alone in figuring out what makes action drive
and creative for YouTube.
We're here to help.
You might not have something you think is fit for purpose,
or maybe you don't have a video ad at all,
but it's easier than ever to create a video asset.
If you currently don't have a creative,
we can help with our YouTube training video production
partners, and they can create a video ad for you.
Some partners will handle the entire video creation process,
from concepting to scripting to filming, even
to editing and post-production.
Other partners provide templates and software
to create your own ad on the spot, even from pictures
that you have.
Whatever your budget and timeline,
we have options to help.
Search for creative partners in our new creative directory
at YouTube.com/YT/A dvertisers/MakeAVideoAd.
Thank you so much for watching.
Hopefully you now see that it's a lot easier
once you have the thought to develop
really effective creative.
Use this handy creative checklist
to help make sure you're thinking
or what we discussed today--
working with that emerging story arc,
and always designing for mobile, and creating
effective creative that could drive action for your business.
Very best of luck.