YouTube today announced its new approach to advertising that will make it easier to shop on its video platform. It"s called brand extensions, a new interactive experience that will let viewers learn more about a product they see on their connected TV screen with a single click on a button.
The new ads experience was unveiled at Brandcast Delivered, YouTube"s annual NewFront event that"s now on its tenth year. Brand extensions are designed to conspicuously display an actionable button containing a website link, for example, in a TV ad. In the new ad format, there"s a new "send to phone" button alongside the "Skip ad" button that will allow you to forward a website link to your phone. The new format is meant to minimize disruption to your viewing experience.
After sending the promotion to your mobile device, you can then click on the link and shop for products. For brands, this format also allows them to gauge how many people interact with and buy their products directly in Google Ads.
YouTube says the new feature is part of a broader effort to make connected TV ads "even more helpful for viewers and more engaging for brands". The video sharing service noted that this is only the first step in its effort to release interactive ads features. Brand extensions are rolling out later this year globally.