You TUbe – Advertising As an Art Director, I developed the email content strategy to cross-sell YouTube advertising to existing Google Search Ads merchants.
Role:
Art Director
Supported the B2B creative strategy during YouTube’s 2018 commercial evolution, a key period that saw the platform solidify its trust with advertisers.
Long Story Short
2018 was a defining year for YouTube’s relationship with advertisers. Small business owners perceived YouTube advertising as "out of reach," believing it required expensive equipment, professional actors, and big budgets.
Our goal was to break down these psychological barriers and drive adoption of self-serve video ad tools.
The Strategy:
Reframing the "Creative" Barrier: We promoted tools like YouTube Video Builder (which turns static photos into videos) to show merchants they already had the assets they needed.
Value Proposition: We shifted the narrative from "Branding" (which feels vague to SMBs) to "Action" (using Video Action Campaigns to drive clicks and leads).
Education: We used email sequences to demystify the "Skip Ad" button, explaining that you only pay when a user watches the ad, a huge selling point for budget-conscious owners.
The Results:
Increased adoption of the "Video Builder" tool among target segment.
Improved cross-sell conversion rate from Search-only advertisers to Multi-channel (Search + YouTube).
YouTube Advertising Adoption for SMBs
The Impact
This work was part of a massive, cross-functional effort to shift the perception of the platform from 'experimental' to 'essential,' contributing to a year where ad revenue surged and advertiser retention hit critical milestones.
Contributing to a Winning Season
While the team navigated a pivotal shift in 2018, I supported the B2B creative strategy that helped stabilize the brand.
The work contributed to a broader ecosystem that successfully reassured advertisers, leading to the retention and revenue growth reported by Adweek.
