YouTube, who is attempting to help brands and their agencies create more relevant video content, is launching an experimental program called YouTube Labs. With this program, Labs will pair advertisers with YouTube creators.
A Google spokesperson said that the initiative aims to help brands and their agencies produce episodic content designed to build an audience, while executing a “test and run” approach.
“The YouTube Labs motto is better done than perfect,” said a Google spokesperson in an email to Marketing Land.
The program launched last year with “L’Oreal as the exclusive brand partner within the US. Over a four week period, L’Oreal made two episodes that were shared on its Essie, Maybelline and Dark & Lovely YouTube brand channels, where they were run as TrueView Instream ads.
“The YouTube creators weren’t beauty experts, but rather cross-industry talent who were used behind the camera as a creative consultant, as opposed to being the talent,” said the Google spokesperson, “Creators were selected specifically according to brands’ challenges, ethos, and brief.”
According to Google, it didn’t directly connect the creators to the brands, but worked with the influencer network, AwesomnessTV, to locate creators whose talents best fit the brand’s creative needs.
In a report from Ad Age, even though L’Oreal had exclusive use of YouTube Labs in the US, BMW, Johnson & Johnson and Mondelez were part of YouTube Labs became part of YouTube Labs test run in Europe last year.
Kirk Perry, Google’s president of client and agency relations told Ad Age that Google doesn’t make money or charge a fee for the brand-creator arrangements, but the creators will. Perry says Google is making their money from the paid ad revenue that is generated by videos on YouTube. Brands are allowed to use the video content on other platforms, or even their own websites.