YouTube is to start offering 100 major advertisers facilities and experts to help them build content for its video-sharing platform, in its biggest initiative to date to try and convince marketers to branch beyond TV advertising, The Guardian reports.
The Google-owned video sharing giant has signed up American Express, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson and PepsiCo as pilot brands, but expects to extend the new program globally to work with 100 advertisers.
"The type of creative experiences and what works well [on YouTube] just can't be done on television," said Robert Kyncl, global head of content at YouTube, speaking at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity.
"YouTube can go beyond the 30-second spot, you can be the entire show.[TV ads] don't have the creative freedom, can't have the two-way conversation and don't have the sharing … the amplification effect [content] receives on YouTube."
The initiative is an expansion of the technical and strategic support YouTube offers to top content creators – it launched a partner program in 2007 to help build the popularity of its most popular users such as Marquese "Nonstop" Scott, a street dancer with a cult following who has gone on to appearing ads for brands including Peugeot 208 .
The program now has more than 1 million top content creators, managed by hundreds of YouTube executives.
"Advertisers will receive the same white glove treatment as top content creators do," said Kyncl. "Each brand will be treated just like a content partner, be assigned a content partner manager who will help them manage their channels, devise content strategies and advise the on audience development."
The four pilot advertisers will start working with YouTube in September in a week-long creative workshop run at its offices in Los Angeles.
The program is expected to be extended to about 100 advertisers by the end of next year.
