Why YouTube is the engine for both long and short-term growth

I'm Rob Brittain, and I recently completed an independent analysis of the ACA Effies database, nearly 500 of Australia's most effective marketing campaigns submitted between 2018 and 2025. For my analysis, I looked specifically at how online video drives effectiveness. When I say online video, I'm really talking about YouTube. I separated it from broadcast TV, from BVOD and SVOD and from video running on social platforms, and I found that when it comes to where your marketing dollars drive the best return, the data has a clear answer.

Campaigns that include YouTube deliver 33% stronger overall business effects than those that don't. Now that's not a marginal result, that's a third stronger across hundreds of campaigns over seven years, across categories, across objectives, and importantly, across every single campaign spend level. Let's start by looking at the long game. The Effies data is clear. Campaigns using YouTube are significantly stronger at building the brand equity that compounds over time.

So why does YouTube work so well? Brand building requires sustained attention, and on YouTube, people are there by choice. They accept advertising as part of that exchange, while a disengaged audience skips ads or scrolls past them. Engaged audiences lean in, allowing messages to register and brand equity to build. We've seen Australian lamb lean into this with their long form storytelling, consistently choosing YouTube as their primary destination.

But their choice goes well beyond asset length. They recognise YouTube as their most effective environment for driving brand impact. The platform acts as a powerful reach multiplier. It allows them to optimise reach with a well-planned balance between paid views and organic amplification, fueled by earned content like reaction videos that amplifies total reach and drives repeat viewing. That's exactly why MLA has shifted 22% of their campaign budget to YouTube.

That's a four fold increase from previous years, and the return was historic. Their Generation Gap campaign took home six Effies. It drove record breaking views, a 19% increase in purchase volume, and propelled MLA's core brand equity metrics to their highest levels in nearly a decade. You've seen for yourselves how effective YouTube is at long term brand building, and we know the data backs this up.

But YouTube is also one of the most effective channels for driving short term impact. It delivers revenue now, while simultaneously building the equity needed for future growth. And that's what your media mix could be missing. Take Samsung's Flipvertising campaign. It previously took home gold, silver and bronze with YouTube as the lead channel, driving 185,000 unique searches and 32% more preorders than the prior launch.

Beyond immediate sales, Flipvertising also generated long term brand equity by reframing Samsung as a brand that speaks the language of Gen Z. Here, the data shows us that YouTube drives stronger effectiveness right across different campaign spend levels. But we also measured profit directly and the trend was clear. Brands who use YouTube enjoyed significantly higher profit growth than those who didn't.

Against the current background of wavering consumer confidence, tight budgets and scrutiny in every dollar, we're operating under pressure. That makes it easy to fall into a trap. Whereas budgets tighten, brands stick with what they already know and what looks good on paper. So when you're building your plans, consider what you're actually buying. Is it an intentional engaged viewing or fleeting, accidental exposures?

If it's the latter, then you're missing out and you're at risk of budgets simply tightening further and you're stuck in this danger loop. The way out. It's in the data. We can see our campaigns under $1 million that shift budget away from social and into YouTube, see effectiveness increased by 30 to 65%, but YouTube increases campaign effectiveness at every level of spend.

These effects are visible across the spectrum, from small brands up to category leaders. So when it comes to your marketing spend, the results are in. Invest in YouTube, where more people are engaged and attentive because the return is there. When it compounds, you'll have more to reinvest, not less.