This Winter, Holiday Content Heats Up On YouTube

Holiday content is more popular than ever on YouTube, as consumers turn to the platform to research gifts, shape their holiday purchase decisions, or stream seasonal music. The overall category clocks in at more than 143B total views.
Brands have a considerable opportunity to use video to engage their core audience leading up to and during the holiday season, but it can be difficult to stand out in such a crowded space. Here are some data-driven insights to help advertisers break through the noise and better connect with their audience during the most wonderful time of the year:

1. Music

Music is far and away the top sub-category in the holiday space, with 89B total views of seasonal tunes. The top non-music sub-categories are food, toys, unboxing, and travel. Brands should think about creating cross-over holiday content that takes advantage of these most-trafficked subcategories.

2. Toys

While the toy sub-category ranked third in total views, it’s dominating in year-over-year growth, with a projected 88% view growth rate this year. We believe the spike in toy views is likely related to YouTube Kids usage.

3. Brands Invest Heavily

As Pixability uncovered last year, Walmart is again investing heavily on YouTube for its holiday push, with more than 75M holiday-related views in Q4 alone (as of 12/2/16). Beats by Dre and Paramount trail behind in second place and third place, with around 24M views each. In addition to paid media, Walmart has driven high video performance through seasonal content and a holiday-themed overhaul of its YouTube channel. Brands can reach and engage holiday shoppers by pairing an effective paid media strategy with a YouTube channel that’s optimized for the gift-giving season.

4. Crossover Content

For brands looking to emulate a successful holiday advertising strategy, look no further than Duracell. Duracell recently took the holiday category on YouTube by storm with Star Wars-themed crossover content. Creating crossover content can help brands boost reach across many different demographics — check out the top holiday cross-over demographics in our holiday infographic.

As the holiday season ramps up, brands that understand the changing dynamics of the holiday ecosystem on YouTube will be able to better find advertising success. The question is, will your brand be one of them?
Check out our infographic for more insights on holiday content, and contact us today to learn more about how Pixability’s social video advertising solution can uncover actionable insights for you or your clients across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.