A credit union that has funds in the marketing budget available for brand advertising may consider YouTube or CTV. We've seen success for credit unions driving brand awareness since these rapidly growing channels are cost-effective and scalable. To illustrate the growth of these two platforms:

• Between 2020 and 2022 YouTube advertising revenue grew from $28.8 billion to $39.1 billion - an increase of 36%
• In the same time, advertising revenue on CTV grew by 78%, from $10.7 billion to $18.8 billion 
• YouTube is projected to have 2.8 billion users per month in 2023 and is the second most popular website in the world 
• In 2022, 87% of US households had access to CTV devices and CTV views accounted for 28% of total US TV viewership

Advertising on these channels continues to increase each year as younger viewers prefer to stream content versus watching traditional cable channels. Advertising on YouTube or CTV (Hulu, Apple TV, Peacock, NBC, ABC, Food Network, and more) is an affordable way to reach a larger audience and has many benefits.

Should my credit union advertise on CTV or YouTube?

Advertising on these channels continues to increase each year as younger viewers prefer to stream content versus watching traditional cable channels. Advertising on YouTube or CTV (Hulu, Apple TV, Peacock, NBC, ABC, Food Network, and more) is an affordable way to reach a larger audience and has many benefits.

Quality Video Ads

While the placement of videos is not expensive, the creation of the ads can be the limiting factor. Before deciding on video advertising, ensure the production of videos is good. You’ll need to make sure you have the capacity to change the creative periodically as well - we recommend monthly or at least quarterly. There are various lengths of ads to choose from on YouTube that could reduce the cost and make it more feasible.

YouTube Advertising

YouTube video ads are part of the Google ads interface so if you already run Google ads, setting up the YouTube channel only requires a few extra steps; connecting the YouTube channel to the ads account and making the video content available.

Results from YouTube Advertising

Advertising on YouTube is geared toward brand awareness and it does not generate a large number of clicks. However, it is cost-effective. For the 100 credit union campaigns we checked, ads averaged $.03 per view, so the brand message can have a large reach. Clicks are rare as most people are not engaging with ads while watching videos by going to the website. It is more about the viewer remembering the credit union later when a need arises. Conversions are rarer but the average cost per click is $3 and the average cost per lead can be as low as $27.

One of the best things about YouTube ads is that they can be retargeted. If someone watches the video, the system can collect their user information and add them to the audience list to serve them more ads later. This strategy allows you to continue reminding the viewer about your credit union well after they leave YouTube.

The downside to YouTube is that not everyone uses it. So Connected TV helps reach people and diversifies your ad technology. 

YouTube Ad Options

The ad formats available on YouTube and can be placed before, during, or after video content are:

• Skippable video - allows the user to skip after 5 seconds, but allows retargeting
• Non-skippable - must be watched before a video can be viewed
• Bumper ads - non-skippable, short ads up to 6 seconds that must be watched before a video can be viewed.

CTV Advertising

Connected TV (CTV) ads are for devices connected to the internet and stream content through Apple, Amazon Fire, Xbox, or Roku. These placements have inventory on Peacock, Hulu, NBC, ABC, Food Network, HGTV, and more, and inventory can be customized to the product. Even better, specific demographics can be targeted which is a big appeal for credit unions, since other platforms restrict demographic targeting. 

Visitors to your website after viewing the ad in CTV can be attributed to CTV as an assisted conversion or view-through conversion. While direct conversions are rare, it is possible to see who came back later. In general, we see direct traffic to websites increase and there is a general brand lift because viewers remember the advertiser’s name. 

In our experience, CTV is a credit union advertising channel worth testing and can be established with a monthly budget of $300. It is flexible and can be turned on and off easily, and the creative can be updated easily. 

More Resources

Watch the full webinar on Credit Union Advertising Campaigns that Soar in 2023