Sign in with Google A version of this article was also published by AdAge.
This year has been filled with fascinating paradoxes on YouTube, with audiences seeking the real and the virtual, the old and the new. People have embraced science and fantasy, engaged in shared global fandoms and personal creation, and gravitated to ultramodern aesthetics and retro throwbacks.
These trends are connected by shifting mindsets and preferences. By understanding the shifts and common threads driving these trends, brands can connect with audiences and gain a strategic distance in the year ahead. Let’s look at three key overarching YouTube viewer trends and the moves you can make for your brand’s marketing strategy in 2026.
1. Audiences are seeking both real-life and virtual escapes
With so much going on in the world, people are seeking escapes that deliver a break from their day-to-day. They’re embracing videos that immerse them in science, like creator Cleo Abram’s exploration of how to bring back extinct animals, the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s hours-long deep-sea live broadcasts, and content about the stranded Crew-9 astronauts who returned to Earth earlier this year.
They’re also looking to escape into fantastical new realms, such as the sprawling virtual gaming universes of Minecraft and Roblox. In fact, this year, videos related to Roblox surpassed 1 trillion views on YouTube.1
Your move
-
Elevate the unseen story. Consider how to tell your brand story through new angles that intrigue viewers. For example, Nissan partnered with YouTube creator Michelle Khare on its “What It Takes to Build a Nissan” series, which takes viewers behind the scenes to show the science behind how its vehicles are built and tested.
According to Nissan U.S. CMO Allyson Witherspoon, the series “pulls back the curtain on what most people never see. With YouTube daredevil Michelle Khare and our brilliant Nissan engineers, we break down the science behind the strength of our brand. These aren’t just tests. They’re proof of our relentless commitment to delivering excellence to our customers.” The overall campaign delivered 62 million impressions and had a video completion rate of 145% above benchmark.
- Engage your audiences with virtual worlds. To promote its “A Minecraft Movie” Meal, McDonald’s asked creators already immersed in the gaming universe to create gameplay and reaction Shorts. This delivered a view-through rate 3.3X greater than the benchmark and enabled the brand to achieve 44.6 million paid reach and video views.
2. Cross-border fandoms continue to shape culture
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen phenomena that illustrate global scale and diverse content. Take for example Mexican singer Peso Pluma, who became the no. 1 most-viewed global artist on YouTube, and Amazing Digital Circus, an animated comedy series from Australia-based channel Glitch, that became a global sensation with 25 billion views on YouTube in its first year from fan-created content alone. Global fandoms continued their popularity this year, as people created massive communities around phenomena like Labubus and “KPop Demon Hunters,” an animated fantasy film from Sony Motion Pictures. In 2025, videos related to “labubu” gained over 25 billion views.2
Today’s fandoms are active. Gen Z wants to participate in moments and co-create their entertainment experiences.
YouTube continues to be a powerful launchpad for these new ideas as well as established global stars. Case in point: Taylor Swift attracted a huge global audience when she announced her new album on the New Heights podcast on YouTube. In the last 90 days, Swift’s official videos on YouTube got more than 1.6 billion views, with the biggest viewership numbers coming from the U.S., Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Brazil.
Watch the video
Self-described Taylor Swift historians at “The Swiftologist” break down the pop star’s latest album release.
Crucially, today’s fandoms are active, not passive. Viewers, especially younger ones, want to participate in moments and co-create their entertainment experiences. Fan-created artwork, song covers, dance trends, and other video content on YouTube led to 25 billion views of videos related to “KPop Demon Hunters” on the platform this year.3 In fact, 34% of 14- to 24-year-olds say they contributed to the creation of an online content series or other creator project in the past 12 months.4
Your move
- Build for global fandoms. The youngest teen today was born the same year that “Gangnam Style” became a global phenomenon on YouTube. Global content feels like a norm to them. Tools like multilanguage audio and auto-dubbing with lip sync, which automatically translates videos into different languages, allow creators and brands to fulfill this appetite for nonlocal content.
- Make experiences participatory. Gen Z is embracing video culture that gives them an opportunity to cocreate. Develop worlds and storylines that these audiences can build, expand, and react to. For example, creator and fan-content on YouTube about the “McDonalds Minecraft Happy Meal” drove over 500 million views this year after the brand launched its characters, like Grimace and Birdie, in Minecraft aesthetics.5
- Show up where fans are most engaged. With YouTube Select, brands can seamlessly align with the top creators, most popular content, and the biggest cultural moments on YouTube. A custom Google/Nielsen MMM meta-analysis found that, on average, YouTube Select drives 1.9X higher ROAS than linear TV and 2.1X higher ROAS than other online video platforms.6
3. Gen Z wants content that’s made for them
Digitally native Gen Z and teens have been raised on audio-visual complexity and are embracing it to the max. They’re gravitating to creator content exhibiting creative maximalism, a new language of creativity that’s rich in information and visual cues, often paired with hyperpaced editing and massive scale. In fact, some of the most popular games in 2025 weren’t made by a major studio, they were produced by creators within Roblox, including “Grow A Garden” and “Steel a Brainrot,” which were among the Top-10 topics on YouTube in the U.S. in 2025.
Gen Z is also nostalgic for an era they didn’t even live through. Younger audiences are finding comfort in old-school aesthetics and cultural throwbacks that somehow feel both familiar and fresh. For example, they’re delving into 90s fashion, Hot Topic hauls, and watching videos that showcase early digital tech like retro video games and landline phones.
Watch the video
Gap tapped global sensation Katseye to help promote its denim line to Gen Z music fans.
Your move
- Partner with creators grounded in digital culture. Leverage the creator partnerships hub to find and partner with creators who get the unique creative language and aesthetic that resonates with younger viewers.
- Leverage nostalgia as a creative lens. Fashion brand The Gap and girl group Katseye teamed up on “Better in Denim,” a massively popular video (with over 49 million views), set to the iconic early-2000s anthem “Milkshake,” introducing a throwback look to Gen Z consumers. Fans and creators drove significant organic interest for the brand on YouTube by posting Shorts — about everything from product reviews to dance tutorials — that generated millions upon millions of views.
