Pause Ads, Branded QR Codes & Stickers: YouTube announces new ad formats for CTV and Shorts

Shekar Khosla, VP of marketing at Google India announced YouTube's newest ad formats in the video platform's latest Brandcast India event. The two new formats include YouTube Pause ads and Branded QR codes.

It is pertinent to mention here that the tech giant had piloted the new tools earlier this year for YouTube's CTV ecosystem and deemed it successful in April.

With Pause Ads, YouTube is enabling brands to place themselves onto content when the user pauses the video. The Branded QR Codes can be leveraged for additional information on products, brands or the creators.

Last month, ZEE5 announced that it will soon be launching pause ads on its platform. Manish Kalra, chief business officer, ZEE5, said only AVoD users will be shown these ads.

In June, Disney+ Hotstar introduced ‘Pause Ads’ exclusively for its Connected TV (CTV) feed, becoming the first platform in the country to implement this format.

Speaking on the new tools, Khosla said that brands have been utilising YT CTV extensively, so the newer formats are necessitated by the burgeoning demand. "82% of YouTube CTV users would rather watch YouTube than linear TV in India. We want to put your brands in the front and centre of that big screen. With the new ad formats, we are aiming to drive this growth even further."

YouTube also announced Interactive Stickers and Interactive Gestures for YouTube Shorts, designed specifically for brands and consumers who wish to engage with the short-form content.

The event was also marked by the presence of Neal Mohan who is the CEO of YouTube, and popular influencers such as Tanmay Bhat, Shreemani Tripathi, and Slayy Point.