YouTube now support 360-degree advertisements

YouTube has supported 360-degree videos for a while now, but only for user-submitted content. Now, in an effort to improve engagement with mobile users, Google has announced that 360-degree advertisements are now supported as well. Considering how you have to physically interact with the screen in order to get the full experience, this is definitely one of the more direct ways to improve user engagement. 

YouTube is bringing a 360-degree experience to its TrueView ads, a move the online video giant says will help advertisers better engage mobile users. With the so-called 360-degree ads, users can drag their mouse along directional arrows to watch the video from all different angles. YouTube, a unit of Google, says the format is especially impactful on mobile devices, which account for half of the site’s views. Users can change their orientation in a 360 video ad and see different facets of the spot simply by moving their phone. “360 video ads are truly a mobile-first video ad product,” said JR Futrell, YouTube ads product manager. YouTube first introduced 360-degree videos in March, but it’s now bringing the offering to TrueView ads, the site’s skippable, pre-roll video ads. With TrueView ads, marketers are charged when users have watched at least 30 seconds of the ad or when users specifically visit the advertiser’s landing page. In recent months, YouTube has added interactive cards and shopping elements to TrueView to make its ads more engaging.