Briefing

What is it?

YouTube video ad sequencing (VAS) helps advertisers tell more compelling stories about their brand, product or service. 

VAS is the only YouTube format available to help achieve a weekly frequency goal and drive higher frequency for multiple assets. 

Using a series of video creatives and ad formats, advertisers can build a conditional sequence with impression, view and skip triggers.

VAS campaigns are uniquely optimised to drive higher frequencies by finding users most likely to complete a video sequence.

Why is it important?

VAS campaigns allow advertisers to deliver increased frequency along with the ability to optimise cost by adjusting CPM bids per sequence step. 

It’s this combination that’s really important because it drives brand lift at more efficient costs per lifted user, across skippable and non-skip formats.

We tested the impact of VAS campaigns by measuring ad recall across a mix of standard bumper and Trueview campaigns and then compared it to ad sequencing using the same creatives.

Ad sequencing demonstrated a 4.4x higher absolute lift in ad recall.

Advertisers can also test different creative sequences to find which ones achieve the best results, for example a lower cost per lifted user or a target weekly frequency.

Google has a variety of different frameworks, for example “tease, amplify, echo” but you can also allow Google to automate delivery to maximize towards your desired frequency.

Tailoring creative to your marketing objectives and experimenting with different frameworks is key to understanding how to drive the best results.

What to do next?

Create your VAS campaign:

1. Create a new campaign, and choose the VAS campaign subtype which can be found within a consideration or awareness objective.
2. Choose your targeting and settings then move onto creating a sequence.
3. Consider your marketing objective before deciding on an appropriate narrative journey for your audience. The predefined templates are a good place to start but the options are endless.
4. For longer or more complex messages, use view and skip triggers to craft stories that speak to each of your audiences.
5. In general, frequencies of 3+ on average drive higher absolute lift than frequencies of 1 and 2.

Test and measure performance:

1. Test creatives in standard campaigns and utilise winners in VAS
2. Avoid repeating the same creative over and over.
3. Try different narrative structures to find optimal sequence completion rates and cost efficiency.
4. Use lift measurement to understand performance and compare with other campaign systems.
5. Due to higher frequencies, use at least twice the minimum budget requirement for brand lift to ensure a reliable read.

For more info on how to power up your Youtube campaigns with ad sequencing, reach out to our Media team.