10 September 2025

YouTube Brandcast 2025: CTV, AI, and Shoppable Ads drive advertising growth in Australia

In summary

• What’s happening: YouTube now reaches 96% of the adult online population and is rolling out new ad formats for CTV, commerce, and cultural sponsorships.
• Why it matters: With CTV viewership surging, AI powering precision delivery, and shoppable formats linking awareness to action, YouTube says it’s closing the loop between audience engagement, and measurable ROI.
• How to respond: Marketers should test new CTV formats, integrate AI-powered delivery, align with cultural moments, and use Google’s measurement tools to prove campaign impact.

YouTube’s reach and growth in Australia

At YouTube Brandcast 2025 in Sydney, new Kantar research revealed that YouTube is cementing its position as Australia’s #1 streaming platform, outperforming competitors which included Linear TV, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Binge, Broadcast Video on Demand, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Stan. From surging Connected TV (CTV) audiences to ROI-driven ad performance, here are the key insights for marketers:

• YouTube reached 20.1M adults in May 2025, 96% of the adult online population (Ipsos iris).
• CTV audience growth (Australia): 13.3M Australians watched via Connected TV in May 2025, up from 12.9M a year earlier (Ipsos iris).
• Viewing time (Australia): The average adult watched over 87 minutes of YouTube per day in May 2025 (Ipsos iris).
• Engagement metrics (Australia): Kantar reports YouTube ads drive 2.4× higher purchase intent versus other digital platforms.
• ROI comparisons (Australia): Analytic Partners found YouTube campaigns deliver 2.5× the ROI of TV and double the impact of linear broadcast.
• Big-screen viewing (New Zealand): Logged-in viewers watched over 1M hours daily on Connected TV in Dec 2024 (YouTube Internal Data).
• Global scale (Worldwide): Logged-in viewers worldwide watched over 1B hours daily on big screens in Q4 2024 (YouTube Internal Data).

New ad tools unveiled for advertisers

Caroline Oates, Google Australia’s Head of YouTube AUNZ, introduced a new wave of CTV-first advertising products:

Product	What it delivers	Why it matters
Immersive Masthead on CTV	A new product that provides an edge-to-edge creative canvas on the YouTube homepage to capture maximum attention.	Captures high-attention, premium real estate
60-Second Non-Skippable Ads	Coming soon to YouTube Select, this format offers brands the space for deeper storytelling in a premium, lean-back viewing environment.	Perfect for brand-building campaigns
Shoppable CTV	This tool closes the loop between big-screen impact and action, allowing audiences to shop directly on their TV	Closes the loop from awareness to conversion
Cultural Moments Sponsorships	Brands can own key cultural moments, like the FIFA World Cup or the Met Gala, to ensure they show up when it matters most to their audience.	Aligns brands with culture-defining moments
Peak Points (AI-powered)	Built with Gemini, this AI-powered tool uses microsignals to deliver an ad when a viewer is most emotionally receptive to it, at the ‘peak’ of an experience.	Increases engagement and recall
Attributed Brand Searches	A new measurement solution that directly links YouTube video ad views to brand searches on Google.	Proves ROI across the Google ecosystem

For DV360 advertisers, these formats will be available programmatically, offering cross-screen scale, AI-driven delivery, and end-to-end measurability.

“Our latest [AI] models are built to understand user intent,” Oates said.

“They read millions of real-time signals from across the Google ecosystem to predict what users are looking for and want to do.

“That means more relevant discoveries for viewers and more relevant ads, all delivering more measurable outcomes for you.”

Culture, commerce, and creators: The YouTube trifecta

Mel Silva (Google ANZ MD) and Ben Jones (Sundogs CEO) highlighted three core trends:

• Culture at scale – 84% of Australians return regularly to creators they love, making YouTube the hub for entertainment and discovery.
• AI-powered relevance – Google’s latest models predict user intent across billions of signals for more precise ad delivery.
• Commerce integration – With Shoppable CTV and Attributed Brand Searches, YouTube spans the full marketing funnel from awareness to conversion.

Case study: L’Oréal’s winning formula

L’Oréal ANZ’s Georgia Hack revealed how the brand uses YouTube for reach, diversity, and ROI:

• 85% video completion rates via NRL YouTube sponsorships.
• 30% higher ad recall with authentic, creator-led content.
• 20% of Australians reached in just four hours for the Through Their Eyes campaign.

“YouTube gives us both the scale and the authenticity we need for brand-building and sales impact,” Hack said.

Louder’s recommendations

To capitalise on Brandcast 2025 updates, marketers should:

• Test CTV-first formats: Use Shoppable CTV and 60s non-skippable ads for storytelling and commerce returns on the big screen.
• Adopt AI-powered delivery: Leverage Peak Points and DV360 automation for contextual precision and ROI.
• Align with cultural moments: Sponsor events and tentpoles that matter to your audience.
• Measure ads against ROI: Use Attributed Brand Searches to connect ad exposure directly to business metrics.
• Blend brand + performance: Run campaigns spanning awareness to conversion in a single platform strategy.

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