There is an insatiable appetite for video right now. Consumers just can't get enough; and brands are getting in on the action. See how Australian brands, big and small, are finding success on YouTube.
As audiences move to YouTube, brands are right there with them. Brands that create great content are seeing viewers (sometimes in the millions) choose them actively, giving brands unprecedented opportunities to connect and engage with their audiences.
Here are four ways Australian brands are getting the most out of YouTube.
1. Understand the platform and its influencers
"If you don’t really understand YouTube, if you don't really understand the creators that exist within the YouTube platform, then you really need to lean into it. You really need to understand it because if you scratch the surface of that, you will be blown away," says Leo Roberts, GMM Integrated Marketing Communications, Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola enlisted the help of Australian actor, singer, songwriter, and YouTube creator Troye Sivan to promote its Colour Your Summer campaign. To get in front of Troye's 3.7M fans, Coca-Cola hosted an "Ask Troye Live" Hangout on YouTube, where fans could ask Troye anything via Twitter and he’d respond in real time.
2. See what works with instant feedback
"YouTube's a great platform to get pretty much instant feedback. You can see how your campaign is going and general conversation. Probably the best-performing film we had in the campaign was the 11-minute film, which is hugely exciting," says Simon Langley, executive creative director, J. Walter Thompson.
Nutri-Grain Australia launched its Unstoppable campaign on YouTube, impressing upon audiences the idea that, with courage, strength, and determination, anyone can be unstoppable. A series of videos profiled extreme athletes who have overcome the odds, such as Andy Hensel, the first paraplegic in the world to do a backflip on a dirt bike. His 11-minute, 22-second video racked up the more views than any other video in the series.
3. Localise content
"The beautiful thing about channels like YouTube is that they give you the ability to create a lot more local content—things that are locally relevant and meaningful to an audience in Australia," says Brett Turnbull, head of brand and digital, Samsung.
Samsung Australia knows that sometimes life keeps families apart, so it set out to help one family come together in a new way and to share a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Using the Samsung Gear VR, a dad 4,000 kilometers away from his family could be virtually present during the birth of his third child.
4. Connect with millennials
"The investment in YouTube is paying off in great dividends with our focus on becoming more relevant to millennials. We've seen our brand go from mediocre to actually leading in our category," says Darren Needham Walker, head of marketing, Hewlett-Packard.
HP has teamed up with a number of different YouTube influencers to help increase its relevancy and exposure among millennials. In September, HP partnered with Sydney's YouTube FanFest, which saw the brand team up with Tyde Levi and SketchShe in the lead up to the event.
HP also brought together YouTube creators to collaborate on Megan Trainor's "Lips Are Movin" music video, which amassed over 320 million views. The video features HP products throughout.
As audiences turn to YouTube, Australian brands that understand the platform will continue to find great success on YouTube. To learn more about creating great content and building your brand on YouTube, check out the YouTube Creator Playbook.
