YouTube's newly launched audio ads can help brands expand reach and grow awareness

• YouTube has launched audio ads to help brands connect with their audience while they are listening to music on the platform.
• Audio ads, currently in beta, will help brands efficiently expand reach and grow brand awareness with audio-based creative and the same measurement, audience and brand safety features as video campaigns.

To help brands tailor their media and creative approach to the different ways consumers are engaging with YouTube, the platform is now introducing audio ads, designed to connect brands with audiences in engaged and ambient listening on YouTube. Audio ads, currently in beta, will help brands efficiently expand reach and grow brand awareness with audio-based creative and the same measurement, audience and brand safety features as video campaigns.

Reach more music fans
Music has always played an important role in culture and everyday lives. It’s a reliable way to capture an audience engaging with content they love, but for most brands, it’s untapped on YouTube. "With music video streaming at an all time high on YouTube—more than 50% of logged-in viewers who consume music content in a day consume more than 10 minutes of music content—we’re introducing new solutions for your brand to be seen, heard and recognized alongside music content," read a blog on Google.

In addition to audio ads, Youtube is also launching dynamic music lineups, dedicated groups of music-focused channels across popular genres such as Latin music, K-pop, hip-hop and Top 100, as well as moods or interests like fitness, so that brands can easily reach music fans globally and drive results for their business. Music lineups and audio ads make it possible to be there, at scale, whether YouTube is being watched front and center or playing as the backdrop to daily life.

Amp up your brand message
Audio ads are characterized by creatives where the audio soundtrack plays the starring role in delivering a brand's message. During its alpha testing, it was found that over 75% measured audio ad campaigns on YouTube drove a significant lift in brand awareness.

"One of our early testers, Shutterfly, used audio ads to influence purchase consideration among interested shoppers, driving above benchmark lifts of 14% lift in ad recall and 2 percent lift in favorability among their target audience," read the blog.

Audio ads are available in beta via auction on Google Ads and Display & Video 360 on a CPM basis with the same audience targeting options, bidding strategies and Brand Lift measurement capabilities as your YouTube video campaigns. Using both video and audio ads together can help brands reach more people, consuming content they love, with the ad format that’s best suited for their unique YouTube experience.