Big News on YouTube Creators, SAG-AFTRA, and OTT/CTV Display

YouTube rolls out new tools, Hollywood strikes demand changes in your marketing strategy and OTT continues it’s relentless march to dominance in this week’s marketing minute.

YouTube Rolls out Video Thumbnails

YouTube announced it’s opening up testing of video thumbnails, which is a great opportunity for creators to optimize content. If clickthrough is high and view duration is low, you might need better content, but if clickthrough is low while view duration is high, you likely just need a better thumbnail. It could also be the title, and to help with that YouTube is also rolling out an AI driven title generator based on the video transcript. These two new tools could help dramatically lift your YouTube views and engagement.

SAG-AFTRA Joining the Writer’s Guild & What it Means For Media Buyers

SAG-AFTRA joined The Writer’s Guild strike, marking the first time in over 60 years the two have been on strike simultaneously. The impact on the creation of new content cannot be overstated, but it does open up a few bright spots for savvy marketers. Sports and news will continue to be produced, so double check those media buys. Alternatively, move more dollars into OTT and CTV to get targeted impressions from viewers watching existing VOD libraries. These strikes should have less impact on creators on platforms like YouTube, making it another great alternative about concerns over declining ratings.

OTT & CTV are Growing and Evolving

OTT and CTV are growing and evolving. Roku has released a new feature for its Action Ads to integrate with Shopify allowing users make purchases directly through a remote control. Meanwhile, The Trade Desk – one of the largest DSPs for programmatic buying of OTT inventory – just displaced Blizzard/Activision in the NASDAQ 100. Linear TV isn’t dead, but if you aren’t shifting your strategy to include OTT and CTV, then you are falling behind.