• by Colin Kirkland , May 1, 2023

On Monday, at the IAB NewFronts, YouTube announced a series of new ad formats rolling out to the app's short-form feature Shorts, which the company is also expanding into its Google AI-powered video reach campaigns.

Video reach campaigns use Google AI to improve reach and efficiency on YouTube by serving the best combination of ads, such as skippable and non-skippable ads.

Advertisers can now upload 60-second (or shorter) vertical video along with other assets, the company says, adding that existing horizontal videos can be automatically adapted and optimized for the vertical screen.

Until now, Shorts inventory was only accessible in video action campaigns and app install campaigns, which launched last year.

In its NewFronts announcement, YouTube explained how Paramount+ -- an early partner to test the latest version of video reach campaigns -- reached new audiences and attained higher ad recall (compared to in-stream ads alone) around its new movie, At Midnight, via YouTube's in-stream, in-feed and Shorts ad experiences.

Shorts -- which YouTube says now reach 1.5 billion monthly Shorts users with 50 billion views daily -- is also seeing the addition of YouTube Select, the platform's advanced targeting solution for advertisers that want their ads to appear alongside the most popular and relevant short-form videos.

YouTube is also rolling out “First Position” on YouTube Select, assuring advertisers that their ad will be viewed first by viewers who begin scrolling through Shorts.

“As our viewers bounce between long-form videos and Shorts, discovering tons of new artists on the platform, they are also discovering brands,” said Kristen O’Hara, vice president of agency and brand solutions, during the Newfront presentation. “Since we launched Shorts and video action campaigns last year, we have seen many, many brands really lean into how they can use Shorts.”