The launch of Google Preferred is proof that there is a “scarcity” in premium online video inventory, said Tony Weisman, CEO of DigitasLBi, at the Brandcast showcase at the Madison Square Garden Theater on Wednesday night.

The message to advertisers attending the unveiling of the feature (which offers buyers the ability to buy pre-roll against the top 5% of content creators on YouTube) was best summed up by Weisman, who announced DigitasLBi will be the first agency partner to sign on with Google Preferred. That message is: “the marketplace is at a tipping point,” meaning, lock in those ad buys soon, as inventory is limited.

Last month Google launched an advertising campaign promoting some of its top YouTube influencers. Digital Content NewFronts guests taking cabs from presentation to presentation in New York City this week may have noticed the commercial for YouTube beauty guru Michelle Phan looping within the in-car entertainment system.

Advertisers asked Google to put more “skin in the game” and they listened — not just with the ad campaign, but also by providing the high-end Google Preferred inventory that is easy to buy, easy to measure and guaranteed to deliver audience numbers.

“We’ve developed brand measurement solutions that give you real-time feedback on your campaign and help you make immediate changes that will give you even better results,” said Margo Georgiadis, vice president, sales, Americas, at Google (pictured right). “We started with ad recall and brand awareness measurement. Tonight, we’re announcing the ability to measure actual interest in your brand based on lift in searches from your campaign,” she said.

The tool would give advertisers the ability to measure actual interest in their brand based on people’s real-time searches.

The Brandcast presentation was a flashy affair that closed with singer Pharrell Williams performing “Happy” — and as we all know, YouTube covers of that song make him cry (in a good way).

Other guests on stage included YouTuber Bethany Mota; Shabnam Mogharabi, CEO, SoulPancake, the production company behind Kid President; Shane Smith, CEO and founder of Vice Media.

“Vice News has already been called ‘The Time Warner of the streets’ and the next CNN, but with the scale that YouTube offers, I can assure you we will not be the next CNN, we will be 10 times the next CNN,” Smith boasted.

According to PepsiCo chief marketing officer Frank Cooper, the brand is going to be working with artists like Janelle Monáe (pictured left, who also performed at the event) and innovative filmmakers to create a series of songs and content that capture the spirit of football culture. “And YouTube will be front and center on that campaign premiere. Every song, and every video in 65 countries on YouTube,” Cooper said.

Cooper also spoke about recent digital campaigns, “which have delivered a 40% brand lift for people who have chosen to watch our ads. Even more important, we get this data in real time.”

Brand lift and ad recall are the reasons “that our media investment on YouTube has increased 50% in the last year alone,” Cooper said.

Here’s a video from the presentation:

All images by Stephen Lovekin/FilmMagic

From Stream Daily