• The Wall Street Journal (by subscription), Wednesday, January 17, 2007 10:46 AM

Just three weeks before YouTube's acquisition by Google last September, the company unveiled Suzie Reider as YouTube's first chief marketing officer. The pending Google deal may have had something to do with that, as the online video site clearly needed to get serious about its business model.

Reider is charged with expanding YouTube's ad sales and marketing teams in order to make money off YouTube's offerings.

One of the changes she's implemented is the prominent advertiser video on the YouTube home page, which users can rate, share and discuss as they would any video on the site. It's a novel approach to advertising to include users in this manner, but it's also an honest way of dealing with the reality. Offering users the option of engaging with the ads likely results in more views for the advertiser, too.

Reider has also helped give YouTube's brand channels a softer edge. For example, Adidas' "It Takes 5ive" campaign page focuses on the power of teams and teamwork, and it also encourages users to upload its basketball highlights.

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