Time for another ‘For and Against’ blog! This time the topic is “YouTube Branded Content is better than YouTube Ads”. We will be examining whether branded or sponsored content within YouTube videos is better than pre-roll or banner ads on YouTube.
The Affirmative
Branded content is ads within the videos themselves. This may be in the form of challenges (e.g. the Oreo challenge), Lets Plays (e.g. for new games and apps), ‘adventure’ type content (e.g. going on a trip in a Peugeot), hauls (e.g. make up, clothes), trying out products in some way or featuring the brand as a named sponsor at the start or end of a video. Some brands may sponsor a YouTuber in a more long term way, but most are just for one video.
A big benefit of branded content is that it gives more revenue to YouTubers than ads do. This means that, by doing one or two branded content videos, creators then have the money to create the videos they really want to make.
For the viewer, the ad may be less annoying and jarring than pre-roll or banner ads. As the ad is integrated into the content, it may seem more appealing and comfortable.
For the advertiser, branded content is a more effective form of advertising – they get more heavily featured than they would through traditional ads, and get more attention and custom. The product or service also gets endorsement from the YouTuber this way, which will make it seem more appealing to the viewer. It also allows the brand to have a more creative endorsement of their product or service than the usual playing of the same ad over and over, making it more effective.
The Negative
YouTube ads are in the form of pre-roll ads (skippable after 5 seconds or a maximum 30 second ad) or banner ads at bottom of video or to the side of the video.
There are several benefits that YouTube ads have over branded content. There have been far more problems with the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) for branded content, as the guidelines are less clear and YouTubers are less experienced with advertising rules and are therefore more likely to break them.
It is also more difficult to do branded content as, as an advertiser, you have to provide a brief and clear guidelines to the YouTuber, and then review and suggest changes, and then finally approve the video. All of this can take a lot of time and work for both the brand and the creator.
Less popular YouTubers (though still popular and worth advertising with) may be passed over by advertising companies, meaning they miss out on revenue. In this case, they rely heavily on YouTube’s usual ad regime.
Almost anything can be advertised in YouTube ads – the ad doesn’t need to seem native to the channel. For branded content, the brand and the YouTuber have to complement each other and fit around each other. This can lead to clashes in style and result in failed projects or videos that seem clunky and uncomfortable. This does not happen for YouTube ads as they are separate to the video content in the same way that TV ads are separate to TV shows.
YouTube ads can be less annoying than branded content as they are over quickly, and they don’t dominate the whole video. Whereas branded videos may be ignored entirely as they are clearly just ads, pre-roll and banner ads are endured for the sake of the video and therefore seen where branded videos might be avoided due to their lack of usual content from the YouTuber.
YouTube ads are also consistent in a way that branded videos are not, and are a more reliable source of income for video makers. They may choose to do branded content on top of their usual content, but they will always rely on YouTube ads as their basic source of income.
What do you think? Which is better? Let us know!
