YouTube's upmarket TV push still runs on mid-funnel DNA

"Google's sales reps are now being incentivized to prioritize pitching YouTube, according to three ad execs Digiday spoke with in exchange of candor for anonymity. In those pitches, YouTube, especially its Demand Gen offering - a Google Ads campaign type focused on discovery and mid-funnel influence - is being framed less like a glossy TV buy and more like a direct rival to Meta when marketers want lower, mid-funnel performance, the execs said."

"Shorts gives YouTube the inventory and user behavior patterns that performance marketers expect, helping the platform argue it can deliver both brand-scale reach on TV screens and response-driven outcomes inside the same ecosystem - or the middle of the funnel. Paid social media expert Shamsul Chowdhury said he has heard this narrative from Google reps, adding that Google has long struggled to navigate the so-called "messy middle." Demand Gen, he noted, was intended as the company's solution."

""It factors in view through conversions more and isolates Demand Gen/YouTube campaigns from other parts of the Google ecosystem," said Chris Rigas, vp of media at Markacy. "If a customer sees a YouTube ad and then converts on a search ad, the old system would credit search only, now platform comparable conversions gives a conversion to Demand Gen/YouTube also.""

Google is expanding YouTube's role to capture TV ad dollars while maintaining the lower and mid-funnel mechanics that justify those budgets. Sales incentives are shifting to prioritize pitching YouTube and to position Demand Gen as a mid-funnel rival to social platforms rather than a pure TV buy. YouTube Shorts provides short-form inventory and behavior signals that support both brand-scale reach and response-driven outcomes. Measurement changes, including Platform Comparable Conversions introduced in early 2025, attribute view-through conversions to Demand Gen/YouTube when those exposures later lead to search conversions. Owning the mid-funnel is framed as a route to unlock full-funnel ad spend.

Read at Digiday