YouTube Playables: The Latest Frontier for Brand Advertising Exploration?
Experts applaud YouTube as a marketer's playground, facilitating captivating content creation and broadening brand engagement across diverse audience segments
Sumit Rawat
In a digital era where screens were treated delicately, the mid-2000s ushered in a shift—iPhones and Angry Birds normalized interacting with screens. Now, YouTube Premium users get a nostalgia trip with YouTube Playables, including an Angry Birds title, a reminiscent of those times. Although Google has kept details under wraps, insiders forecast a mid-2024 launch. Presently, Playables is available for selected Premium users on an opt-in basis.
This move by YouTube holds weight in a mobile-centric market like India, where it dominates as a primary medium. Statista notes India as the country with the largest YouTube audience, engaging around 462 million users, a remarkable statistic considering India's massive smartphone user base, anticipated to reach a billion by 2025.
Adding games to its repertoire, YouTube expands its entertainment offerings, joining Shorts, Movies, and Podcasts. Subhamoy Das, National Director of GroupM ESP, expects this to be a consumer-focused 2.0 version, foreseeing an evolving interface for advertisers.
While Playables are exclusive to Premium users now, future general access might integrate ads. YouTube aims to grow its Premium base, reaching 80 million users globally by 2022's end.
This move places YouTube in the gaming sphere, a trend seen across tech giants. Netflix plans games tied to its IPs like Squid Games, reflecting the industry's exploration with gaming.
Raghav Upadhyay from Roisted by Team Pumpkin sees this YouTube feature as a dynamic space for brands, merging entertainment and innovation. Marketers gain a platform to craft engaging content and spotlight their brand.
Besides the Angry Birds Showdown, the game collection spans puzzles, brainteasers, and various genres. Upadhyaya highlights how this integration opens doors for brands to break traditional marketing barriers, engaging with a broad spectrum of consumers.
YouTube's pivot into gaming through Playables signals a significant shift in its offerings, promising an immersive experience and a fertile ground for innovative marketing in the digital realm.
