The Tamesis
Since the short video craze in the early 2020s, brands and consumers have been locked in an endless competition for relevance. For years, with fast trends, faster edits, and faster algorithms, brands have chased virality on TikTok and Instagram, while creators have been pushed into increasingly ruthless production cycles. Now, the industry is starting to shift again.
YouTube is re-establishing itself as a key player as audience behavior fragments and creators become increasingly wary of relying solely on algorithmic influence to attract followers. More than 2.7 billion people around the world use YouTube every month, making it the second most visited platform or website in the world after Google. However, despite the staggering user numbers, in recent years brands have shifted investment towards short-form content on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, which now account for nearly 40% of digital ad spend.
However, by 2024, research from social and influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy found that 70% of marketers plan to increase the production of long-form creator content in the future. Coach, for example, has experimented with episodic “storytelling,” expanding its brand universe from seasonal events into conversational, interview-led formats that include Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee and track and field athlete Tara Davis-Woodhall. Chanel, meanwhile, has begun focusing on behind-the-scenes documentary-style content, including BTS films from its handbag campaigns and show productions. Similarly, Nike has increasingly used YouTube over the past 12 months to deliver long-form athlete stories, such as covering US distance runner Grant Fisher’s first New York half marathon and documenting 800m gold medalist Keely Hodgkinson’s recovery from injury. These videos typically have between 50,000 and 2 million views.
Thomas Walters, chief innovation officer at Billion Dollar Boy, said: “Brands are simply following the direction of consumer attention and adapting to changing consumer behavior. Increased consumption of YouTube on TV and the rejection of passive scrolling habits in favor of more conscious media consumption is helping to drive increased investment in long-form by brands.” Other platforms have taken notice: earlier this year, Instagram launched 20-minute videos, while TikTok launched a 60-minute upload feature.
But YouTube remains the dominant long-form video player. According to research fashion business Last year, 88% of Gen Z and Millennials used YouTube to find or discover new products, according to a survey by youth culture agency Archrival. This influence also extends to younger age groups, with research from GWI showing that up to 78% of Generation Alpha regularly use YouTube, making it the main video platform in their media diet. As a result, YouTube plays an increasingly important role in the early buying process, with younger audiences using it not just for entertainment but also for product discovery and decision-making.
“All of today’s big creators are cross-platform by default, but we absolutely view YouTube as the crown jewel of our media portfolio,” said Taylor Kelly, chief strategy officer at Night Media, which manages talent like Kai Cenat, Hasan Piker, Kalogeras Sisters, and YouTube’s largest creator MrBeast from 2018 to 2024.[YouTube] With a responsive team of dedicated partners who bring brand opportunities directly to talent, YouTube brand deals are often larger per deal. “
YouTube believes its advantage comes from the size of its creator ecosystem and its long-standing revenue-sharing model. “We’ve been paying creators for 20 years, and we have a YouTube Partner Program where we pay creators a revenue share based on every ad we sell,” said Brian Albert, managing director of media partnerships and creative work at YouTube. “We’ve paid out more than $100 billion to more than 3 million creators over the past four years.” “No platform on the planet invests in the creator economy like we do, and it really elevates our creators as the new Hollywood as they build these incredibly passionate communities that are constantly seeking them out and reliably tuning in.”
