MarTech Interview with Sarah Larkin, US Sales Director at Silverpush

Welcome to Martech Cube, Sarah. We’re delighted to have you! Could you please share a bit about your professional journey and what led you to your role at Silverpush?
Thank you so much for having me, I’m thrilled to be able to share my thoughts about YouTube and the role Silverpush plays in that ever evolving space. My professional journey has covered the last 20+ years, and in that time I have worked for companies across the digital marketing landscape. I have worked for small start ups to build name recognition, awareness and build market share, and I have also worked for large companies as a part of a team dedicated to bringing consultative solutions to their partners. I have had the privilege of watching the space grow and evolve over the years, and it has been exciting to watch the growth in video, CTV and YouTube, especially in the past 4-5 years. Funny story – I actually worked at Google in 2006 when they acquired YouTube, so being able to sell YouTube again is, in many ways, a full circle moment for me. )

YouTube advertising requires a tailored approach for each brand. How do you help advertisers create a customized experience that aligns with their specific goals?
Creating a customized YouTube advertising experience is all about understanding the brand’s unique goals, target audience, and message. There are some core steps we take to ensure the experience is customized to the individual client. First things first, it’s critical to get a clear understanding of goals and tangible KPIs. Once we have that established, we create a bespoke solution that focuses on the audience definition – who are the consumers they want to put their message in front of? We ensure we provide a roadmap for what type of creative ad lengths we recommend, and also suggest A/B testing of creative messaging if that is an available option. Lastly, by providing an end-to-end reporting tool, we give real time feedback with strong analytics and actionable insights that can be decisioned against as the campaign runs.

Personalization is increasingly important in digital advertising. How does Silverpush enable advertisers to deliver more relevant messaging while ensuring privacy compliance? 
Silverpush doesn’t use cookies or any third-party tracking to reach YouTube audiences. Instead, our proprietary AI understands the video environment of each individual YouTube video and processes the data to identify and categorize videos based on contextual signals.  This allows Silverpush to put our clients’ messages in front of consumers while they are leaned into relevant content, not relying on the traditional demographic or third-party audience targeting.

YouTube offers a variety of targeting options. What differentiates Silverpush’s targeting capabilities from traditional YouTube targeting?
Silverpush targets based on 360-degree, video-level targeting powered by contextual segments. YouTube, on the other hand, only provides broad-level keyword and audience targeting that doesn’t help brands deliver ads in the most relevant and effective moment. Video-level targeting from Silverpush guarantees a more advanced layer of brand safety as well, since you can specifically target videos within a channel, instead of just the channel itself.

The YouTube advertising space is highly competitive. What sets Silverpush apart from other solutions in the market?
Silverpush is powered by Mirrors AI, our award-winning AI engine, and processes millions of videos and billions of impressions a day. This enables a best-in-class level of precision that drives higher view-through rates, lower costs, and higher engagement than the competition. We combine that with an end-to-end reporting platform that shows advertisers exactly which contextual signals – down to specific influencers, categories, themes, etc. – are driving the best results for your campaign. With precision and transparency, we are redefining how advertisers think about contextual advertising for YouTube and beyond.

As we look ahead, what are the key YouTube advertising trends you foresee shaping 2025?
We’ve seen more clients than ever incorporating YouTube Shorts as part of their media plan. There’s also an increased demand in custom ad creative and targeting options to drive a higher degree of personalization – and AI is playing a role here, too. I also anticipate more emphasis on interactive ads with QR codes as advertisers start to really think about optimizing YouTube ads across platforms, especially CTV.

At a granular level, I still see a ton of opportunity with podcasts. YouTube recently became the top destination for podcast content worldwide. So advertisers can actually get in front of their audience’s favorite podcasters right on YouTube as well… but the ad experience might have to be different. This is part of a larger micro-influencer trend, where aligning your brand with those day-to-day personalities to show authenticity and understanding is more important than ever.

In terms of ad formats and media mix, what strategies have proven most effective for advertisers looking to maximize their impact on YouTube?
A strong media mix is still the key to a successful campaign that is both effective and efficient. Even six-second bumper ads can be a valuable touchpoint for the audience, especially when the ad is contextually relevant. I always recommend using an array of creative lengths and using YouTube ads as a way to test creative messaging with unique audience segments to see what really resonates.

With Silverpush, you can create custom contextual segments that can get you in front of new audiences that otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to your ads with traditional targeting methods.

YouTube ads contribute to various stages of the marketing funnel. How do you see them driving performance from brand awareness to conversions?
The biggest thing that advertisers get wrong about YouTube is that it’s all about view-through rate. That’s why performance marketers often avoid it or treat it like an afterthought. When you want to measure beyond the top-of-the-funnel, we all know that click-throughs are important. But I also recommend always running a search lift study if you have enough scale – that way, you can identify whether more people are searching for your brand during and after the campaign launch.

Second, there’s a big halo effect to YouTube ads that doesn’t get measured by the traditional view-through and attribution methodologies that performance marketers usually use. That’s because when people see a YouTube ad, it can generate an awareness that affects their behavior weeks later. One study took a look at almost 200 different YouTube campaigns and measured the incremental ROI. Here’s what they found:

– YouTube ads drive 3.42X incrementality factor for direct-to-consumer sales… and if you aren’t looking at the full funnel, you might be under-reporting YouTube ROI by 70%

– YouTube campaigns drive a higher halo effect than Meta campaigns for brands trying to sell on Amazon and other retailer channels

– YouTube campaigns show 79% higher incremental return on ad spend when you look outside the traditional measurement window (usually 2-3 weeks)

– YouTube is a customer acquisition machine: 76% of incremental conversions measured were from new audiences

Throughout your career, what personal strategies have helped you navigate the evolving digital advertising landscape?
Having been lucky enough to watch the digital advertising landscape grow up over the past 20 years, the willingness to be adaptable and willingness to learn has helped to ensure I don’t ever lose sight of the horizon and what is coming next. Additionally, and perhaps even more important, I always put my clients first. I have found that if you are doing the right things for your customer for the right reasons, you will ultimately drive success for both yourself and your customer. I stay abreast of changing trends, and do my best to stay educated as the landscape evolves. The blessing and curse of this industry is that things are ever changing – I can honestly say I have never been bored!

In a constantly evolving field like digital advertising, success comes from maintaining a balance of curiosity, creativity, and data-driven precision. By staying nimble, being willing to experiment with new tools and strategies, and always keeping the audience at the heart of the campaigns we run, I have been able to navigate the changing landscape and am always looking for the next exciting evolution to bring to my clients.

Finally, what advice would you offer to advertisers looking to enhance their YouTube campaigns and achieve better results? (SBL)
To enhance YouTube campaigns and achieve better results, advertisers should focus on a mix of strategic planning, creative execution, and continuous optimization.

I believe that helping advertisers enhance their success is really the result of a four key areas:

1. Defining clear objectives
2.Being willing to A/B test different messaging
3.Thinking about YouTube advertising from the viewer’s perspective (ie: is this a message that will resonate with viewers?)
4.Building bespoke audiences using contextual alignment which will allow you to reach the right audience at the right time while they are engaged with content that resonates with your messaging

If you have clear objectives, that will help steer the direction of your YouTube campaign and allow a partner like Silverpush to provide ways to approach the campaign with your consumer front and center. It is important not only to build the messaging, but to continuously test and optimize to ensure it doesn’t get stale in the marketplace.

At the end of the day for advertisers, the key is to combine data-driven insights with creative experimentation. Continuously test, refine, and optimize your campaigns based on performance while maintaining a strong focus on your audience’s needs and preferences. Remember, the digital advertising landscape is constantly evolving, and staying agile, relevant, and audience-focused is the best way to drive sustained success.

Quote:
“Always pur your clients first. If you’re doing the right things for your customer for the right reasons, you will ultimately drive success for both yourself and your customer.”