YouTube Gaming just got its start this week, in the hopes of catching on to the popular game streaming interface that’s made Twitch such a hit on both the eSports and casual circuits. But one thing is for certain it’s definitely got the attention of some advertisers.
A report from AdWeek indicates that, even with the specifics that YouTube is looking for with advertising on the channel (including popular favorites like HikePlay, Squadrom or Driftor, advertisers are still coming on board for it, with ads that will run alongside gaming-related clips through Google Preferred and Google AdWords.
Wendy’s is on board with the channel, running ads promoting its Spicy Chicken Sandwich through TrueView promos, while Kotex is pointing more towards a female gamer demographic with its 30-second spot, offering free samples as part of its “Save the Undies” campaign.
Other companies on board include Best Buy, Anheuser-Busch’s Stella Artois brand, Taco Bell, Angry Orchard and Carrabba’s Italian Grill and more are likely to join up in the weeks ahead.
NBC Universal is one of the bigger partners at the moment, looking to draw a big gamer-related audience for two of its upcoming properties, including the M. Night Shyamalan horror film The Visit (hitting theaters September 11th) and its forthcoming fall comedy Truth Be Told.
Though the marketing plans are pretty well laid out, the effectiveness of YouTube Gaming ads has yet to be gauged. After all, not all gamers are going to be thrilled with seeing an ad that promotes a “Save the Undies” campaign, and Stella Artois seems to aim towards an older demographic, instead of younger viewers looking for content based on games like, for instance, Super Mario Maker.
However, there’s a large audience just waiting to be reached with this new portal, and if companies can find the right reach to them, they could very well have a success on their hands. We’ll see how YouTube’s Gaming channel as a whole fares over the next few weeks.
