For Connected TV, in-stream, Shorts, and TrueView buys measured on Brand Lift Studies, Conversion Lift Studies, and incremental reach against Google's audience graph.
Surface
In-stream + Shorts + Discovery + CTV + Masthead
full-funnel video coverage
Stack
Demand Gen + Brand Lift + Conversion Lift + Meridian Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM)
incrementality-tested
Operators
50+ combined years
Founder + MD + Ops + Search/Social
Window
Brandcast 2026 product drop
Custom Sponsorships + Shorts deep-link + Masthead Shelf
YouTube Ads management by leapbuzz, an AI-native marketing and business consultancy based in Singapore. We run YouTube Ads (Skippable In-Stream, Non-Skippable, Bumper, Shorts, Masthead with Custom Content Shelf, In-Feed Video, Demand Gen, YouTube Select with Custom Sponsorships, YouTube Select CTV via DV360, Brand Lift Studies) for marketing, product, business, and sales leaders. Nielsen US #1 streaming watchtime three years running. Shorts averages 200 billion daily views (CEO letter Feb 2026). Five anchor markets: Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United States, Canada.
▸ Capabilities
Six surfaces. Performance video runs through Demand Gen (Google's AI-driven video performance product). Brand reach runs through YouTube Select (curated premium-publisher reservation) plus the Masthead (top-of-homepage takeover). Measurement runs through Brand Lift Studies (Google-administered surveys to measure recall, consideration, intent) plus Meridian (Google's open-source marketing-mix-modelling toolkit).
Replaced Discovery (Q1 2024) and Video Action Campaigns (Q1 2025). The performance video default. Cross-surface across YouTube Shorts, In-Feed, Home, Watch Next, Search, plus Discover, Gmail, GDN.
200B daily views (CEO letter Feb 2026). Shorts deep-linking launched Brandcast 2026 (previously friction-blocked). 9:16 vertical, hook in first 1s, on-screen text (60-70% watched muted).
Premium content lineups via Google Ads reservation or DV360. New 2026: Custom Sponsorships use AI to match creator videos to brand brief, replacing fixed-lineup buys.
Top of YouTube Home (desktop + mobile + TV). 30s autoplay max desktop. 2026 update: Masthead with Custom Content Shelf curates brand-adjacent content alongside the hero. Launch days only.
Skippable In-Stream (no max, ≤3min recommended), Non-Skippable (15-60s, length cap unified globally 2025), Bumper (≤6s). CPV or tCPM. "Views" renamed "TrueView views" October 2025.
Brand Lift via Google rep (Tier-based budgets, 10-day window). Meridian Studio MMM (Marketing Mix Modelling) + Meridian GeoX for geo-incrementality. Conversion Lift Studies at $50k/quarter+.
▸ Ad formats
YouTube in 2026 runs across Skippable In-Stream, Non-Skippable In-Stream, Bumper Ads, Shorts (averaging 200 billion daily views per the CEO letter, February 2026), Masthead reservation, In-Feed Video discovery, Demand Gen multi-asset performance, and YouTube Select Connected TV via DV360. Picking the right format for the job is where the lift comes from.
Visual reference. Hover any card for the senior-practitioner read.
Skippable In-Stream
TrueView, skippable after 5s
Best forBrand storytelling at scale with cost-per-view bidding (you pay only on 30s or completed view).
Plays before, during, or after YouTube videos. Viewer can skip after 5 seconds. Cost-per-view bidding means you pay only for engagement past the 30-second or completion threshold. Renamed 'TrueView views' October 2025.
Non-Skippable In-Stream
15s forced view
Best forHigh-reach brand campaigns where you need guaranteed completion at scale.
Non-skippable in-stream ads. Up to 15 seconds. Cost-per-thousand-impressions bidding. Used for high-reach brand-building and big-launch campaign moments where you need guaranteed completion.
Bumper Ad
6 seconds, non-skippable
Best forFrequency layering and ad-recall lift on top of longer-format video.
Six-second non-skippable ads. Cost-per-thousand-impressions bidding. Designed to pair with longer-form video for frequency layering and ad-recall lift. Google's own brand-lift research shows Bumpers reliably move recall when used as a frequency layer.
Shorts
9:16 vertical, < 60s
Best forConsumer-reach campaigns where the audience already scrolls Shorts.
Vertical short-form video in the Shorts feed. 9:16 aspect ratio, under 60 seconds. February 2026 CEO letter cites 200 billion daily Shorts views. Brandcast 2026 added deep-linking from Shorts ads to product detail pages.
Masthead
Top of YouTube Home
Best forBig launch moments needing reach-and-frequency takeover within 24-48 hours.
Top-of-YouTube-Home reservation. 30 seconds autoplay maximum on desktop. Cost-per-thousand-impressions or cost-per-hour pricing. Brandcast 2026 introduced a Custom Content Shelf below the Masthead so viewers can keep watching long-form brand video without leaving the surface.
In-Feed Video
Discovery surfaces, pay-per-click
Best forMid-funnel consideration where viewers actively choose to watch.
Thumbnail-and-headline placements in YouTube Home feed, Watch Next, and Search results. Cost-per-click bidding (you pay only when viewer chooses to watch). Different intent signal than In-Stream because the click is consensual.
Demand Gen
Multi-asset performance
Best forPerformance-led video accounts running across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, and Gmail in a single campaign.
Google's AI-driven performance video product (replaced Discovery Ads + Video Action Campaigns in 2024). Runs across YouTube In-Stream, Shorts, In-Feed, plus Discover and Gmail. Multi-format asset variants (video 16:9 + 9:16 + 1:1 + 4:5 plus image 1.91:1 + 1:1 + 4:5) feeding the algorithm.
YouTube Select CTV
Curated premium publishers via DV360
Best forBrand reach against the living-room YouTube audience with brand-suitability filters.
YouTube Select is the curated reservation tier of top-5-percent YouTube publishers. Connected TV inventory routed via DV360 (DV360 is the only DSP with YouTube CTV access). Brand-suitability filters and content-category guarantees layered on.
▸ How we engage
The same management approach that runs across every channel we touch. Read, wire, spark, measure.
Singapore for senior strategy and client engagement. India for technical execution, dashboards, and overnight monitoring. One team, two time zones, no white-labelling.
01
Demand Gen calibration, Shorts creative inventory, YouTube Select PMP coverage, Masthead opportunity, Brand Lift readiness, regulated-sector compliance pipeline. 2-3 weeks. Findings yours regardless.
02
Demand Gen rebuilt with full asset variants. Shorts deep-linking activated. YouTube Select reservation via DV360 where appropriate. Brand Lift Study designed (country tier + question count locked).
03
Launch Demand Gen prospecting + Bumper reach layer + Shorts cold-test + Masthead reservation moments. Weekly creative review. Veo + Nano Banana AI variants for fast iteration.
04
Brand Lift results, Meridian Studio MMM, GA4 conversion stitching, YouTube Analytics. Custom Sponsorships pilot results quarterly.
▸ Latest in the YouTube Ads stack
Primary-source updates from the Google Marketing Live 2026 keynote (20 May 2026) and Google product blog. Re-verified .
Asset Studio now generates relevant YouTube ad creative from a few prompts using multimodal Gemini. Creator Partnership Boost lets brands amplify authentic creator videos directly inside the asset picker during campaign setup. Dynamic Product Videos pull Merchant Center feed data and auto-distribute across Demand Gen based on user interest. Google cites a 33 percent conversion increase for advertisers with large product selections that adopt product feeds in Demand Gen. Material for accounts where YouTube has been a brand line and Demand Gen has not yet been read as a performance lever.
New inventory connections link advertisers with users exploring local areas inside Google Maps, expanding Demand Gen reach beyond the YouTube watch feed. Material for local-intent brands (multi-location retail, dealership networks, hospitality) where YouTube alone has not historically captured the in-market signal.
Uplift Experiments measure complementary performance between Demand Gen and Performance Max so advertisers can avoid double-counting conversions between the two campaign types. Campaign Type Attribution isolates Demand Gen conversions for accurate channel comparison. Third-party integrations include TransUnion privacy-safe measurement linking YouTube exposure to broader business outcomes. Material for advertisers running both Demand Gen and PMax where attribution disputes have made budget allocation harder than it should be.
AI-assisted campaign creation now lets advertisers combine settings from an existing Performance Max campaign with Demand Gen best practices in one click. Material for accounts that have already standardised on PMax and want a fast on-ramp to Demand Gen without re-briefing the audience and creative strategy from scratch.
Product feeds on Demand Gen now extend to additional surfaces and verticals including automotive, supporting richer product display in the ad unit. Material for dealers, OEMs, and any sector where the product catalogue has historically not had a clean home on YouTube paid inventory.
▸ Benchmarks
Fact-check verdict: 4 verified rows publishable, sector benchmark tables held. Pixability + Strike Social third-party reports were named as candidate sources but specific point figures could not be cross-verified in this research cycle. The verified-only content below ships now; the sector CPM / CPV tables refresh when Q3 2026 third-party studies land.
YouTube Demand Gen + PMax attribution overlap (announced 2026-05-20)
YouTube Demand Gen added Uplift Experiments that measure complementary performance between Demand Gen and Performance Max, plus Campaign Type Attribution that isolates Demand Gen conversions for accurate channel comparison. Material for accounts running both campaign types where attribution disputes have made budget allocation harder than it should be. Source: blog.google, YouTube Demand Gen at Google Marketing Live 2026.
Demand Gen product-feed lift (Google-published)
Google cites a 33% conversion increase for advertisers with large product selections that adopt product feeds in Demand Gen, with extended product feeds now reaching automotive and additional verticals. Source: same blog.google YouTube Demand Gen announcement. Treat as Google-self-reported.
YouTube Select (premium content lineup)
YouTube Select is the premium content lineup product: Top Content lineup plus category-specific lineups (sports, music, food, beauty, gaming, news, entertainment, autos, technology). Bought via Google Ads reservation or DV360 (DV360 is the preferred path for agencies running multi-format CTV plans alongside YouTube). Includes a dedicated YouTube Select CTV lineup for living-room reach. The new 2026 buy: Custom Sponsorships through YouTube Select let AI surface creator videos matching the brand. Source: youtube.com/ads, YouTube Select.
SG MAS FAA-N03 compliance (effective 2026-03-25)
Singapore-specific: MAS FAA-N03 effective 25 March 2026 requires on-screen disclosure burnt into the video (not caption-only) and an influencer monitoring framework plus authorisation log for any creator-amplified campaign on YouTube (Custom Sponsorships, Affiliate Partnerships Boost, YouTube Select with creator content). Creative-approval lead-time inside SG financial institutions typically extends 3-7 days post-FAA-N03 adoption. Source: MAS regulations.
What this section deliberately does NOT publish
Sector CPM and CPV tables for YouTube. The candidate primary sources (Pixability YouTube Ads Benchmark, Strike Social The Big Show Report) are subscription products whose specific point figures could not be cross-verified in this brief. APAC market-specific YouTube CPM also held: Malaysia evidence too thin to band reliably. The verified-only ship-now content above carries the Q2 2026 read; the sector tables refresh when Q3 2026 third-party studies land.
Connected TV reach reference
YouTube's living-room reach has overtaken linear TV among adults 18-49 in the US per Nielsen monthly The Gauge ratings (rolling 2025 reports). Nielsen The Gauge tracks share of total TV time across cable, broadcast, and streaming; YouTube has held the #1 streaming spot since mid-2024. Material framing for any brand evaluating YouTube Select CTV reservations against linear TV alternatives. Source: Nielsen The Gauge monthly reports.
Sector CPM / CPV benchmarks held until Q3 2026 third-party studies (Pixability, Strike Social) ship and publisher URLs lock. Brand Lift Studies, attribution windows, and Demand Gen attribution feature behaviour confirmed against Google Ads release notes before the page next refreshes.
▸ Where this lands
YouTube reaches every sector. Nielsen US #1 streaming watchtime three years running. The list below is where leapbuzz has the deepest operating history.
▸ Deepest operating history
Brand-storytelling categories (insurance, banking, automotive, travel) benefit most from YouTube's long-form CTV reach plus Brand Lift measurement. Regulated-sector clients require MAS FAA-N03 burnt-in disclosure plus creator authorisation log for Custom Sponsorships and YouTube Select with creator content.
▸ Shipped at scale, less frequently
20-minute call, no deck, no templates, just honest thinking about your actual challenge.
▸ Questions
YouTube has been the #1 streaming watchtime in the US for nearly three years (Nielsen Gauge, continuous lead since early 2023; the "12 months straight" milestone was confirmed by YouTube/Nielsen in February 2024 and the lead has held since). Shorts now averages 200 billion daily views (CEO letter, February 2026).
For most accounts in 2026, YouTube + TikTok + Reels run in parallel against different funnel stages:
Demand Gen. Discovery Ads migrated to Demand Gen in Q1 2024. Video Action Campaigns sunset announced at GML 2024, migration completed by Q1 2025.
Demand Gen runs across:
Creative: images (1.91:1, 1:1, 4:5), logo (1:1), text, video (landscape, portrait, square, vertical), optional carousel + product feed. Bidding: Max Clicks, Max Conversions, tCPA, value-based.
Three-tier silo decision:
PMax does not optimise for brand-lift; do not confuse the campaign type with the goal.
Five material product additions:
Shorts daily views: 200 billion (CEO letter Feb 2026). Practitioner reality: Shorts CPM is materially lower than YouTube In-Stream because supply expanded faster than brand-spend demand.
Creative: 9:16 vertical, hook in first 1 second, on-screen text mandatory (60-70% of Shorts watched muted), CTA in lower-third clear of platform UI overlays.
New Brandcast 2026: Shorts deep-linking lets ads link directly to brand destinations.
Reservation-only premium placement: top of YouTube Home on desktop, mobile, and TV. 30s autoplay max desktop. CPM or CPH reservation.
2026 update: Masthead with Custom Content Shelf curates brand-adjacent content alongside the hero. The Masthead is no longer just a takeover; it's a tailored content-experience moment.
Best for launch days, product moments. Not for ongoing performance.
Every engagement is scoped to the data, industry, and market. We don't publish standard rates because no two engagements are the same. Talk to us about your specific challenge and we'll come back with a scoped proposal.
Three layers:
Accounts at $50k/quarter+: Conversion Lift Studies for cleanest causal claim. Combine Brand Lift (top-funnel) + Conversion Lift or Meridian GeoX (bottom-funnel) + GA4 (operational) for the full board-grade chain.
October 2025: "Views" renamed "TrueView views" in reporting dashboards.
Directional planning ranges (rebaseline from account history within 30 days):
Google's enterprise MMM product on Google Cloud, with Meridian GeoX for geo-incrementality testing. Directly relevant for YouTube because brand-spend justification has historically been the weakest link in board-grade reporting.
Meridian Studio isolates YouTube's contribution to total revenue across the marketing mix; Meridian GeoX runs controlled geo-experiments to validate Brand Lift findings causally.
For accounts above $1M annual paid spend with meaningful YouTube allocation: Meridian Studio + Brand Lift Studies + Conversion Lift is the professional-grade stack.
Every engagement is scoped to the data, industry, and market. We don't publish standard rates because no two engagements are the same. Talk to us about your specific challenge and we'll come back with a scoped proposal.
Works when the buyer is a younger founder, marketer, or operator (under 40) and content carries sound-on (60-70% of Shorts watched muted. plan for both).
Strong patterns:
Demand Gen Lead Gen objective + Shorts deep-linking (Brandcast 2026) makes pipeline workflow tractable. Does NOT work for enterprise B2B selling to CFOs above 50; LinkedIn carries that audience.
Yes, with the same compliance pre-flight other channels require.
SG: MAS FAA-N03 (effective March 25 2026) requires on-screen disclosure burnt into video (not caption-only) and influencer monitoring framework + authorisation log for any creator-amplified campaign (Custom Sponsorships, Affiliate Partnerships Boost, YouTube Select with creator content). Creative-approval lead-time extends 3-7 days post-FAA-N03.
US: FS + crypto require Google certification per geography; pharma requires US NABP.
AU: ASIC RG 234; alcohol age-gating; gambling tightly licensed per state.
CA: CIRO disclosures; alcohol age-gating.
MY: alcohol cultural sensitivity; gambling effectively closed.
Three signals:
Our leadership team: 50+ combined years (Siddharth Surana 18+y, Sundeep Surana 16+y, Ratnakar Nemani 11+y Google Ads Certified, Nitesh Sanghvi 12+y Google Ads & Google Analytics certified).
We work with Travel Guard Singapore. Anonymised proof: 6x digital sales growth for a regional banking institution across six APAC markets over seven quarters.
Every engagement is scoped to the data, industry, and market. We don't publish standard rates because no two engagements are the same. Talk to us about your specific challenge and we'll come back with a scoped proposal.
Yes, when the incumbent contract is up. Handover: 1-2 week diagnostic, formal handover of Google Ads + YouTube Studio + DV360 access, parallel-run period, full operational responsibility at the agreed date.
Senior practitioner from leadership team on every account. Strategic direction by Siddharth Surana, Sundeep Surana, Ratnakar Nemani, or Nitesh Sanghvi. Team based in Singapore and India. One team, two time zones, no white-labelling.
Written findings: Demand Gen calibration, Shorts strategy, YouTube Select PMP opportunity, Brand Lift readiness, Masthead opportunity, regulated-sector compliance pipeline for SG FI clients, GA4 conversion stitching health, Meridian Studio MMM readiness, 90-day execution plan. 2-3 weeks. $12k-$24k fixed.
Three triggers.
Below $50,000 monthly with pure performance goals, Performance Max with YouTube enabled is the cheaper path. Above $50,000 with brand-or-CTV goals, dedicated YouTube belongs on the plan.
Each platform serves a different stage of the video funnel.
YouTube deserves the next dollar when:
Most accounts in 2026 need YouTube plus TikTok plus Reels in parallel against different stages.
Three layers.
1. Business outcomes. Cost per conversion for Demand Gen performance; Brand Lift Study results (Ad Recall, Awareness, Consideration, Favorability, Purchase Intent. Pick up to 3 per study); Meridian Studio Marketing Mix Modelling contribution if running enterprise-grade attribution.
2. Attribution caveats stated up front. 'Views' was renamed 'TrueView views' in October 2025; reports written before then use the legacy term. Last-click on YouTube under-credits the mid-funnel role typical of brand video; Brand Lift plus Meridian GeoX for geo-incrementality is the causal chain.
3. The bets. Which Demand Gen campaigns scaled, which Shorts deep-linked creative converted, which YouTube Select reservations earned their place, what Custom Sponsorships (Brandcast 2026) tested into. Brandcast 2026 cited Coach: +60 percent Gen Z awareness, 6x consideration in one quarter. That is the calibre of brand-lift result that justifies YouTube as a board-grade investment.
Brand-led YouTube payback runs through Marketing Mix Modelling, not last-click. Brand-lift studies produce the causal evidence that YouTube spend moves the brand metrics the board cares about (recall, consideration, purchase intent). Defensible: for brand-led YouTube programmes, positive net contribution by month 18 is excellent; faster ROI is suspicious (probably last-touch over-attributing direct-response that YouTube only assisted).
For performance-led YouTube via Demand Gen: payback runs in months, not years. Under 9 months payback on first-purchase margin for consumer direct-to-consumer; under 15 months on B2B SaaS. Fully-loaded customer-acquisition cost includes media + Demand Gen platform fees + Brand Lift study minimum spend + creative production (video creative is more expensive than display). YouTube Select Connected TV reservation pricing requires longer payback runway because Connected TV is brand-led, not response-led.
Seven things 90 days before launch.
YouTube Select is the premium content lineup product: Top Content lineup plus category-specific lineups (sports, music, food, beauty, gaming, news, entertainment, autos, technology). Bought via Google Ads reservation or DV360 (DV360 is the preferred path for agencies running multi-format CTV plans alongside YouTube). Includes a dedicated YouTube Select CTV lineup for living-room reach. The new 2026 buy: Custom Sponsorships through YouTube Select lets AI surface creator videos matching your brand brief, replacing or augmenting fixed-lineup buys. Brand-suitability filtering is fully wired in; DV360 offers reservation guarantees, frequency capping across the YouTube plus CTV graph, and Nielsen-compatible measurement.
Yes, with the same compliance pre-flight other paid channels require. Singapore-specific: MAS FAA-N03 effective March 25 2026 requires on-screen disclosure burnt into video (not caption-only) and influencer monitoring framework plus authorisation log for any creator-amplified campaign (Custom Sponsorships, Affiliate Partnerships Boost, YouTube Select with creator content). Creative-approval lead-time inside SG FIs extends 3-7 days post-FAA-N03. USA: financial services plus crypto require Google certification per geography; pharma requires US NABP for direct-to-consumer prescription. Australia: ASIC RG 234 applies; alcohol age-gating mandatory; gambling/wagering tightly licensed per state. Canada: CIRO disclosures for financial services; alcohol age-gating. Malaysia: alcohol carries cultural sensitivity beyond legal restriction; gambling effectively closed. We run pre-submission compliance review on every regulated-sector creative entering YouTube.
Three patterns. Audit-only: we read the programme end to end, write findings, you or your incumbent agency execute. Embedded strategist: we provide senior strategic and technical direction (Demand Gen architecture, Shorts strategy, YouTube Select reservation planning, Brand Lift Study design, Meridian Studio MMM rollout, compliance pipeline for SG FI clients) while your team or agency runs day-to-day. Takeover: we assume full management with a structured handover from the incumbent. We do not bid against incumbents in pitches.
Compliance disclaimer: information current as of . Brand Lift budget tiers from support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9049373. Shorts daily views and US Nielsen streaming watchtime rank from Neal Mohan CEO letter Feb 2026.
20-minute call, no deck, no templates, just honest thinking about your actual challenge.
