As video media becomes increasingly digitalized, YouTube has the potential to deliver messages to more and more people’s lives. However, when companies run campaigns to improve brand awareness, the reality is that they focus on TV commercials first, and allocate the remaining budget to digital advertising. Is this media allocation in line with the modern trend of increasing digitalization?
In this article, we will introduce the background to the increasing digitalization of video media, and explain the reach power of TV commercials and YouTube ads, as verified by Google.
Progressing digitalization of video media
YouTube has more than 2 billion logged-in users every month, and more than 1 billion hours of video viewing time each day. Additionally, until now, most users watched YouTube on smartphones, tablets, and computers, but in recent years, the number of users who watch YouTube on a TV screen has rapidly increased. Furthermore, in Japan, there were over 170 YouTube channels with over 1 million subscribers as of June 2019, an 80% increase compared to the previous year.
With the addition of TV screens to viewing devices, the number of subscribers to YouTube has increased, and it can be said that YouTube is a video medium that can deliver messages to more people’s lives as a familiar presence to users. However, the advertising industry still places emphasis on the reach of television, and the first thing companies plan to increase brand awareness is television commercials. When it comes to digital advertising, the reality is that the remaining budget for TV commercials is allocated, and in many cases, creatives are created to match the TV commercials.
Regarding this situation, Google asked, “Are current media allocation and creative production in line with the trend of digitalization in recent years?” We decided to explore new possibilities for digital marketing by examining the reach of TV commercials and YouTube ads to see if advertising is keeping up with the digitalization of video media.
Google examines the reach of TV commercials and YouTube ads
In order to verify the reach power of TV commercials and YouTube ads, Google conducted a total of four surveys, placing advertisements with the same size in terms of period, area, target, amount, and budget. The results showed that YouTube ads exceeded TV commercials in terms of reach, achieving 65-75% reach on YouTube alone. Compared to the reach of TV alone, YouTube ads have a reach of 1.1 to 1.4 times. Regardless of area, YouTube outperformed TV among a wide range of age groups from 18 to 49.
Furthermore, it was also revealed that YouTube ads were able to reach people faster than TV commercials. From the first day of testing, we achieved a reach that exceeded that of TV commercials, and during the testing period, YouTube ads never had a lower reach than TV commercials. YouTube ads have always had the reach of TV commercials.
The results of this study showed that YouTube ads can reach more users and more quickly than TV commercials. The reason there is such a difference in reach between TV commercials and YouTube ads is thought to be because YouTube ads reach even customers who have turned away from TV. Even though the area and target are limited, it has been proven that YouTube alone can achieve great results.
YouTube ads can reach people who are away from TV.
According to Google, the time spent on digital media such as smartphones and computers continues to increase year by year, and in 2020, digital media accounted for 51.6% of all media consumers interacted with. 10 years ago in 2011, it was 32.5%, so you can see that it has grown significantly over the past 10 years.
On the other hand, the percentage of TV contact time is 35.0% as of 2020, which is down from 46.1% in 2011. In particular, people in their 20s spent a high percentage of their time interacting with digital media at 69.0%, which clearly shows that young people are moving away from television and switching to digital media.
This shows that YouTube advertising is an essential part of digital marketing and has the potential to reach young people who have stopped watching TV. Even without depending on the creative, there is a difference in the reach power due to the difference between the platforms of “TV” and “YouTube”. Furthermore, by revealing the difference in reach, we were given a strong impression that digital marketing is indispensable for delivering messages to modern consumers.
summary
◆With the digitization of video media, YouTube has the potential to deliver messages to more people’s lives.
◆Google examined the reach of TV commercials and YouTube ads and found that YouTube outperformed TV among a wide range of age groups from 18 to 49, regardless of area.
◆It has been proven that YouTube ads can reach more users and more quickly than TV commercials, and have the potential to reach younger generations who are increasingly turning away from TV.
◆From this verification, we found that there is a difference in reach depending on the platform of “TV” and “YouTube” even without relying on creative, and it is strongly impressed that digital marketing is indispensable. It was done.