When the first YouTube video was uploaded 20 years ago, it marked the beginning of a shift in media. Today, that evolution continues on YouTube, with better experiences for viewers and new opportunities for marketers.
At Brandcast 2025, we celebrated our 20th birthday with a fresh look at creator-led culture, insights into new audience behaviors, and innovative advertising solutions to deliver results.
The growing impact of creators on culture and commerce
Creators have become essential to how culture forms and spreads. And YouTube is the stage for both the biggest cultural moments and all the content that surrounds them. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan highlighted this by calling creators “the startups of Hollywood,” recognizing their role in building not just content, but trusted communities.
This trust directly influences consumer behavior. Notably, 81% of U.S. viewers agree that YouTube creator content helps them research and discover products, a figure that surpasses other social media platforms in this regard.1 This creator influence throughout the consumer journey contributes to significant brand outcomes: New MMM data shows that, on average, YouTube delivers a 4.5X higher return on ad spend compared to other streaming TV platforms.2 That’s creating opportunities to meet more marketing objectives across more screens, including the biggest screen in the house.
Streaming’s new look: How YouTube leads in the living room
While audience behaviors are constantly evolving, YouTube has ranked No. 1 in U.S. connected TV (CTV) reach for two consecutive years.3
This isn’t simply about YouTube becoming traditional TV. It’s about YouTube redefining the television experience. In this more viewer-centric environment, people seamlessly move between diverse content types, from long-form entertainment and live events to short-form video and podcasts, all on one platform.
This isn’t simply about YouTube becoming traditional TV. It’s about YouTube redefining the television experience.
Advertising innovations: Connecting with audiences on the big screen in meaningful ways
To help brands effectively use these shifts in culture and viewing, YouTube announced several new opportunities for CTV advertising at Brandcast 2025.
Building on our leadership in culture and the living room, we announced Cultural Moments Sponsorships. This brings together a suite of solutions to put advertisers at the heart of moments they care about, with a high share of voice and brand integrations within content viewers love.
And there was more big news for live moments: The NFL’s Friday night game in Brazil during Kickoff weekend was a first-of-its-kind experience that invited fans around the world to watch the game on YouTube, with no extra fees or subscriptions required. And this year, while the world watches, we’ll bring advertisers into the action. As with our NFL Sunday Ticket offering, there will be an opportunity for your brand to become part of the live game and incorporated into all of the content fans are loving around the game.
YouTube’s the place that connects creators and fans around impactful cultural moments — across every way people stream, scroll, discover, and shop.
We also announced Peak Points, built with Google AI. This all-new product uses Gemini to identify the most meaningful or “peak” moments within YouTube’s popular content, placing your brand where audiences are the most engaged.
And finally, we presented new opportunities to drive both awareness and action to the living room. With the immersive design for Masthead on CTV, we’re offering an edge-to-edge canvas for ads on the YouTube homepage. And with Shoppable CTV, viewers can browse and engage with products directly from the big screen.
The next 20 years: Focusing on partnership and innovation
Brandcast 2025 underscored YouTube’s role as the place that connects creators and fans around impactful cultural moments — across every way people stream, scroll, discover, and shop.
As YouTube reflects on two decades of growth, the commitment to partnering with creators and brands to pioneer the future of entertainment and commerce remains strong.
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