Released on the cusp of the new year, a new study from podcast advertising agency Oxford Road seeks to debunk any assumption that YouTube simulcasting of podcasts is necessarily more effective than non-visual audio for advertisers.
“There’s no doubt that YouTube podcasts offer a lot of value for advertisers. Simulcasts can bring scale, reach new audiences, offer supplemental exposure, deliver different kinds of product messaging and integrations, and more. However, this analysis shows at least that video content should not be assumed to be better, and underscores the importance of being mindful about biases in media planning and growth imperatives.” — Oxford Road, Re-Thinking YouTube [LINK]
This work addresses a basic discontinuity of measurement: Audio and video measurement of podcast consumption are not measured the same way. The study asserts that the “widely adopted pixel-measurement approach falls down [in video] because these pixels are not supported on YouTube.” Despite the disconnect, some marketers assign all measurement signals with equal legitimacy.
That’s the mistake this study seeks to reveal and solve. The overall takeaway:
“Our results here indicate, counterintuitively for some, that ads embedded in YouTube views may be 18-25% less effective than ads in audio downloads at driving purchases on a website, as measured by promo code and post-purchase survey responses.”
