Brief:

• The top reason people watch YouTube is to relax and unwind, but viewers also seek out programming that teaches them something new or lets them dig deeper into their personal interests, Google found in a survey that was shared with Mobile Marketer. Viewers place higher value on the information they get from videos than on its production value or celebrity involvement.
• Video consumption is especially important to Generation Z and millennials, with half of respondents in the demographic groups agreeing with the statement that they "don't know how they'd get through life" without video. Younger generations also are more likely to favor short-form content such as webisodes, tutorials and video clips from professionals and amateur creators, the research found.
• More than three-fourths (78%) of people surveyed worldwide said they had watched YouTube in the previous 24 hours, ahead of subscription video-on-demand (45%), Facebook (43%), cable TV (39%), Instagram (33%), satellite TV (28%), network websites (28%) and Snapchat (12%), per the survey.

Insight:

Google's findings suggest that mobile marketers need to create branded content for YouTube that provides helpful information for target audiences or to collaborate with influencers who have gained a following by sharing their expertise about a topic. While many viewers watch YouTube to be entertained, they also turn to the video platform for educational purposes including their personal interests and passions. That motivation helps to explain the growth of the social influencer industry, with two-thirds of marketers planning to boost their influencer budgets in the next year, per a separate study by CreatorIQ and Influencer Marketing Hub.

Google is publishing its findings as TV networks and digital media companies prepare for the upfront sales season, which this year is being disrupted by coronavirus concerns. Marketers have significantly boosted their spending on digital video as viewers migrate from linear TV to other content platforms including YouTube. Programmatic video ad spending in the U.S. was forecast to rise 20% to $34.9 billion this year from 2019, eMarketer estimated last year. A separate study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau found that the average advertiser participating in last year's NewFronts upfront marketplace for digital video planned to boost spending 25% to $18 million.

YouTube is touting is reach among audiences as the video platform becomes a significant source of advertising sales for Alphabet, the umbrella company that oversees Google and YouTube. Last month, Alphabet reported YouTube's 2019 revenue rose 36% to $15.1 billion from a year earlier, outpacing the 15% gain for Google's search ad revenue. Google's total ad revenue including YouTube and its digital ad network increased 17% to $37.9 billion from a year earlier, matching the 17% pace of the prior quarter.