YouTube Expands Access To Pause Screen Ads

After experimenting with them over the past few years, YouTube has now expanded its pause screen ad placements to all advertisers, providing another way for brands to reach YouTube viewers.

As you can see in this example, pause screen ads are now appearing for more viewers, via the Connected TV app, displaying targeted promotions alongside a reduced playback window.

As noted, YouTube, via parent company Google, has been experimenting with the format over the past few years, but now, it has “widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers.”

YouTube confirmed the expanded roll out to The Verge with this statement:

 “As we’ve seen both strong advertiser and strong viewer response, we’ve since widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers.”

Google further explained to CNN that Pause ads are relatively “seamless” for viewers, providing another way for people “to learn more about a brand.”

Though I’m not sure that they’ll be as warmly received.

Various commentators on Reddit have criticized the format, as YouTube continues to squeeze in more promotions.

But Google says that it’s seen positive responses, from both ad partners and users thus far, which is why it’s looking to capitalize on the opportunity.

Google noted the development of Pause ads earlier this year, with Google executive Philipp Schindler noting that:

“In Q1, we saw strong traction from the introduction of a Pause Ads pilot on connected TVs, a new non-interruptive ad format that appears when users pause their organic content. Initial results show that Pause ads are driving strong Brand Lift results and are commanding premium pricing from advertisers.”

In its statements, Google has only acknowledged that Pause ads are being displayed in the CTV viewing format, though some examples posted to Reddit appear to show them in the mobile app as well.

What does that mean for your campaigns?

Well, it’s another placement option, that demands attention, as it takes up a significant portion of the playback screen, by reducing the size of the main window. That could make them harder to ignore, while you also get expanded exposure time, potentially, based on how long the video is paused for.

That could make it a good branding option, or even for direct response. If you can get your offers onto Pause ads for longer clips, specifically, that might be a good way to promote special deals for people watching movies or similar.

Really, it seems like a logical expansion of YouTube ads, and a good way to maximize reach in the app.

Google says that Pause ads are now available to all Google video advertisers.