What is Google Preferred?

YouTube’s 5th annual Brandcast offered high end advertisers the world over some juicy food for thought.

The video-sharing supremos used their moment in the limelight to announce a raft of changes to Google Preferred – the premium service that allows advertisers to pair up their ads with top-performing videos within a certain top-level theme, such as music, news or automotive.

Google Preferred will now allow advertisers to piggy-back on emerging trends – they highlight the ‘Harlem Shuffle’ as an example – with the addition of Google Preferred Breakout Videos to the Preferred package. Google Preferred is no longer the sole preserve of established superstars – it’s also a home to the up-and-comers who are attracting just as many plays. That’s great news for ad execs with a good nose for a trend.

And that’s not all YouTube had to say. Advertisers will now be able to manage all of their video campaigns through DoubleClick Bid Manager, and the ballers amongst you will be interested to learn that NBA content is soon to be added to the Google Preferred line-up.

Action it!

The biggest news here for the majority of Google Preferred advertisers is undoubtedly the addition of Google Preferred Breakout Videos – here’s how you can make the most of this interesting new feature:

• Go niche– the categories contained within Google Preferred are fairly comprehensive, but it may well be possible to find a finer match for your brand and your advert by pairing it up with a carefully chosen Breakout Video.
• The early bird gets the worm– with Breakout Videos, the advertisers who can predict trends best and react the fastest will stand to reap the greatest rewards. That offers an exciting contrast with the classic Google Preferred content that’s already sewn up, to a large extent, by the marketers with the deepest pockets. Be ready to respond fast.
• Start tracking rising talent– keep tabs on YouTube accounts which are starting to amass a groundswell of interest. Which accounts go viral, which accounts stagnate, and at what rates do views and subscriptions accumulate? If you’re willing to look into this deeply, you’ll be well positioned to strike first when YouTube welcomes its next Breakout star.