YouTube App Update Brings Dedicated Section for Purchased Content, Audio Ads Announced

YouTube has updated its Android app to offer a dedicated section to see all purchased movies and TV shows in one place. This new dedicated section is called ‘Your movies and shows' and has been added in the menu alongside other options like Downloads and Watch Later. Separately, YouTube is also working on bringing audio ads to the platform to cater to those who listen to music and podcasts. Melissa Hsieh Nikolic, Group Product Manager at YouTube Ads, says their tests have found that more than 75 percent of measured audio ad campaigns on YouTube drove a significant lift in brand awareness.

Android Police spotted that the latest YouTube app update has brought along a new section that displays all purchased movies and TV shows in one place. This new section, as mentioned, is called ‘Your movies and shows' and it shows up in the menu tab. All of the purchased content was first placed in the purchase section of the library, but this dedicated menu option makes it easy to access. The ‘Your movies and shows' section sits between the Download and the Watch Later playlist option. Once you tap on this section, it leads to Movies and Shows page, where all your content can be seen through a side-scroll. There is also an option to browse new titles.

YouTube may be rolling this option out gradually, as it hasn't appeared for us even after updating to the latest Google Play store version. Separately, YouTube has also announced audio ads in beta to help interested businesses connect with the podcast-listening audience on YouTube. These audio ads need to be around 15 seconds long and will focus more on audio, rather than video. These ads will be in a video form, but the visual component will be a static image or a short animation.

“When you're preparing your audio ads campaign, keep in mind that audio should play the leading role. Think: If I close my eyes, I can still clearly understand what this ad is about. Be clear and specific with your message and pick a friendly, authentic voice to deliver it,” YouTube says in its blog.

Giving an example of increase in engagement in audio ads, YouTube adds, “One of our early testers, Shutterfly, used audio ads to influence purchase consideration among interested shoppers, driving above benchmark lifts of 14 percent lift in ad recall and 2 percent lift in favorability among their target audience”.