Google has announced a new type of advertisements on YouTube during Advertising Week in New York. The advertisements not only shows the advertised product of service, but also allows users to directly purchase them without leaving the video streaming service.
The idea is that advertisements become actionable, which means advertisers can add code to the video that allows users to take action without leaving the page. Actions can be e.g. finding the next movie showtime, downloading an app or booking a trip. Because it takes less effort for users to take action, it's expected that more users will respond to the new advertisement format.
The new advertisements can, amongst others, be very interesting to travel companies. They can display when a flight to a destination shown in the video leaves, and offer the possibility for users to immediately book a ticket for that flight. The same applies for movie theaters, they can advertise along movie trailers, show when a movie starts, and allow users to book a ticket directly from the new advertisement type.
Google will also provide additional analytics to advertisers making use of the feature. Advertisers will be able to measure and view the number of people who were influenced by the advertisement and the cost per influenced user.
