Like many in March 2020, YouTube was dealt a challenge like never before.

In a time when businesses and advertisers were undergoing major pivots, we needed to keep the industry energized about YouTube.

Big tasks call for big tentpoles.

So we turned our focus to NewFront season.

(NewFronts. Like Upfronts. Only digital.)

After 8 years of epic NewFronts, YouTube had earned the reputation for being the world’s best. We dubbed the event ‘Brandcast’ and it has become an imperative tentpole for securing advertising commitments for YouTube.

But in 2020, there could be no big stage, and no in-person presentations or performances.

So with the stakes so high, HOW DOES THE WORLD’S BIGGEST NEWFRONT ADAPT TO A WORK-FROM-HOME WORLD?

While competition responded to the moment with live-streamed webinars, we knew we needed to rise above the dreaded zoom-and-gloom.

We had to completely re-imagine the decade-old concept of a NewFront and create a new event for the times.

INTRODUCING ‘BRANDCAST DELIVERED’: THE WORLD’S FIRST EVER PERSONALIZED NEWFRONT.

Brandcast Delivered was a personal primetime for every remote attendee based on their individual interests.

So instead of one big show served to thousands, we created something more personal…

3,500 completely customized 22 minute shows; each for an audience of one.

That’s 77,000 minutes of personalized content.

With just 3 months to pull it off.

(And that’s just for the US! Our model was scaled to a dizzying 25 additional countries, each layering their own localized content and Creators.)

Success meant winning over C-level ad execs, which (if anyone knows, it's this jury!) is no easy feat.

We needed to confront the fact that our advertising clients are often not personally familiar with YouTube’s content and Creators. But when they see and experience it - they get it.

Truth is, YouTube has never been a one-size fits-all model. From music to marble racing, its extensive video library means every viewer gets a truly unique, personalized experience.

We wanted execs to know that when people are looking for something personally relevant to them, they turn to YouTube.

To win them over, we needed to connect on a personal level and convince them that YOUTUBE IS FOR EVERYONE (EVEN YOU!).

And with our audience watching more YouTube at home and on their TV screens, we’d never had a more captive moment to showcase that story.

When we say we personalized everything, we mean it. An interactive platform captured attendees’ preferences on which YouTube Creator they wanted as host, which trend they wanted to learn about, and even which music they wanted to hear. Custom technology rendered preferences into unique shows and uploaded them to private websites for each attendee.

We planted personal easter eggs with attendee’s names printed on hosts’s coffee mugs, and splashed across plane banners flying overhead.

And because nothing is ever more personal than pizza toppings, we paired our digital delivery with a physical DIY Pizza Kit, with their favorite toppings in tow. The delivery box arrived at their doorstep and was (you guessed it) personalized!

Instead of a splashy NY stage, this Brandcast took a more intimate turn. YouTube took over people’s living rooms, with Brandcast on their screens, and a pizza in their oven, and wearable lockdown swag.

This was the Brandcast with your name on it.

The NewFront with your favorite pizza on the side.

The keynote for one, streamed straight to your living-room.

And boy, did it deliver!

Brandcast Delivered was a wild success, engaging +40% clients YOY and ranking as 2020’s #1 Most Impactful NewFront and Upfront overall.

YouTube Advertisers ranked #1 B2B brand on social share of voice with 1.2M+ social impressions and +100% YOY in press mentions.

Brandcast Delivered didn’t just create conversation, it converted. Despite pandemic pressure, YouTube reached $5 billion in global ad revenue in Q3!

Best of all, we won over the world’s toughest crowd. Advertiser intent to spend was +9 points and execs across 26 countries issued raving tweets like “Bravo @YouTube continues to impress, even in quarantine. This marketer is impressed.”

That’s the story of how Brandcast signed, sealed and over-delivered.