YouTube has become a critical platform for brands to reach their audience.
Understanding YouTube’s three key ad formats – in-stream, in-feed, and Shorts – is essential to creating campaigns that entertain, educate, and inspire without wasting marketing dollars.
But why do these formats matter, and how can brands make the most of them?
To answer that, we must look at how YouTube has evolved to become a cornerstone of modern advertising.
The YouTube ecosystem: Viewers, creators and advertisers
To fully understand YouTube’s impact, it’s essential to examine its ecosystem:
The viewer: Viewers are the foundation of YouTube. Their behavior has shifted from traditional TV to YouTube, and now back to TV screens via streaming.
The creator: Creators drive viewer growth. With YouTube, individuals can produce content independently, bypassing the need for large production teams or corporations.
The advertiser: Advertisers play a key role in this ecosystem. They can now reach viewers through creators or by producing compelling content on a platform designed for video consumption.
This ecosystem highlights the interdependence of viewers, creators, and advertisers in shaping YouTube’s ongoing evolution.
Dig deeper: How to overcome the top 3 objections to YouTube video ads
YouTube advertising: 3 formats your brand needs in 2025
YouTube remains an evolving platform, and many advertisers are still navigating how to approach it effectively.
With the right strategy, you can unlock its potential to entertain, educate, and inspire your audience in 2025.
Here’s how to make the most of YouTube’s three key ad placements.
1. In-stream ads
The way people consume video content is shifting. While viewers once moved from traditional TV to desktop YouTube, they’re now streaming YouTube on TV screens again.
YouTube usage on TV screens has grown by 63% compared to phones, according to eMarketer. It’s an impressive shift that’s only emerged in the last five years.
At the same time, traditional TV usage has dropped by 40 million households over the past decade.
Many of those households now use connected TVs, allowing apps like Google and YouTube to stream content directly to their screens.
This raises a crucial question: why rely on a connected TV provider when Google TV offers better targeting, data, and the ability to exclude video partners?
With Google TV, you can segment campaigns specifically for TV screens while integrating seamlessly with other Google ad campaigns.
This is a powerful opportunity for brands to target audiences at scale and use in-stream ads to educate viewers.
In-stream = Education
Where? TV.
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2. In-feed ads
In-feed ads offer a unique opportunity to draw users into your brand.
This is driven by human behavior. Users are scrolling through their feeds, looking for something to capture their attention and inspire them.
In-feed ads appear in three key places:
Home feed.
Watch Next feed.
Search feed.
Each placement triggers different user behaviors.
Previously, users only had the opportunity to watch videos after watching an ad (either skippable or non-skippable).
The ability to run in-feed ads in all three places completely changes how we experience ads.
For example, someone opens YouTube and starts scrolling, similar to LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.
However, these social platforms differ because you don’t know what’s coming next.
Is it a company post?
Is it grandma’s post?
Is it my best friend’s post?
Is it an ad?
But on YouTube, you know exactly what’s coming next – video.
This familiarity creates a more engaging experience, making this format highly effective for many brands.
This brings us to a crucial aspect of the process: the purchase cycle.
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room – attribution.
A common question arises: if someone watches my ad, why don’t I see conversions in the UI?