YouTube connects the world during cultural moments and global events. Every day, billions of viewers turn to the platform to engage with content before, during and after major moments. They watch behind-the-scenes footage, highlight reels, fan analysis and more. In fact, over half of people surveyed for the 2023 YouTube Culture & Trends report say they would prefer to watch creators break down a major event rather than watch the event itself (e.g. Oscars, Grammys).

Last year at Advertising Week New York, we announced First Position Moments (formerly known as Moment Blast). It lets advertisers prioritize reaching their target audience within the first moments of their viewing session. Brand Lift studies showed advertisements with this targeting had an average ad recall lift of 26.96%.

That’s why this year, we’re continuing to innovate on moment-based ad opportunities. We’re introducing a new AI-driven package called Spotlight Moments, automatically identifying the most popular, relevant videos, making it even easier for advertisers to own the moment around key events, when viewers are most engaged.

Tap into culture on YouTube in real time

Spotlight Moments gives brands a high share of voice across video content surrounding the world’s biggest cultural moments. And it’s all housed on a dedicated YouTube hub, branded with the advertiser’s logo.

Our AI-powered packaging technology identifies popular YouTube videos related to a specific cultural moment. Take the Halloween example above: an advertiser wants to drive awareness for its brand during the spooky season. Spotlight Moments enables the advertiser to seamlessly serve ads across Halloween-related content on YouTube and curates them into dynamically-updated playlists that will live on the sponsored hub. Brands will automatically appear alongside the most relevant and engaging content associated with the moment.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Google and offer clients across GroupM first-to-market access to Spotlight Moments,” said Susan Schiekofer, Chief Digital Investment Officer, GroupM US. “This solution optimizes advertisers’ business outcomes and reinforces the dynamic content and cultural tent poles that are at the forefront of their minds.”

Advertisers can also choose to amplify their reach by adding additional ad solutions, such as First Position, YouTube Masthead, Google TV Masthead, and In-Feed Displays.

Access all of YouTube’s AI-Powered campaigns to drive results now

Spotlight Moments adds another AI-powered solution to meet advertisers’ objectives, joining Video Reach Campaigns to drive awareness and Video View Campaigns to drive brand consideration.

In testing, advertisers who adopted Video Reach Campaigns with in-stream, in-feed and Shorts saw the campaigns deliver 54% more reach at a 42% lower CPM compared to in-stream only. Video Reach Campaigns will be generally available to all advertisers in November. Video View Campaigns saw similar results in testing delivering 40% more views and a 30% lower cost-per-view than in-stream only. Video View Campaigns launched to general availability last month.

With Google AI, YouTube is making it even easier for advertisers to show up next to the content where viewers are most engaged. From generating brand association with the biggest cultural moments to driving reach and views – explore new ways Google AI is helping you show up where the world watches.