You might be thinking, “Isn’t YouTube’s ad revenue down this year?” And you’d be right: The company reported a decline of 2.6% year over year in the first quarter of 2023. But that hardly means it’s declining in reach or effectiveness—YouTube Shorts has become the platform’s new focus area, competing with paid social advertising. Shorts recently surpassed 50 billion daily views and can now be viewed on smart TVs. The company also expanded the accessibility of snack-sized Shorts in video reach campaigns and expanded reach ads into the home feed to sweeten the deal for advertisers. 

Challenges in YouTube advertising 

There are a few downsides to advertising on YouTube, of course. YouTube is a walled garden, so advertisers face challenges in analyzing campaign data and integrating it with data from other channels. Many YouTube ads are skippable, so brands will need to hook a viewer in the first five seconds (not unlike paid social). And brand safety can be a concern when marketers have limited visibility into the content adjacent to their ads on YouTube.

But don’t let the drawbacks stop you from experimenting; they are far outweighed by the drawbacks of other CTV inventory, which can be cheaper but of lower quality, or premium quality but smaller scale. The cost-benefit analysis checks out.

Be careful not to fall into the trap of third-party inventory like Google Video Partners (GVP), which recently came under scrutiny for violating quality standards. Stick to direct YouTube inventory.

Try a bite 

There’s big potential on YouTube for food and beverage brands; we owe it to our clients to recognize an opportunity when it arises.

Whatever type of eater you’re appealing to, they certainly have a community. Cooking demonstrations and recipe tutorials are hugely popular on YouTube Shorts. Celebrity TV chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Rachael Ray stream entire shows on their YouTube channels to millions of subscribers—they’re perfect places to advertise food and beverages. Depending on what kind of product you have, try fine-tuning your targeting to mealtimes, sporting events, family versus single lifestyles or music video subgenres.

Take advantage of YouTube’s consistent quality and lower costs. Your new, hungry customers will thank you.