YouTube is testing a new Instant Review tool in Google Ads that allows advertisers to reserve ad space on a 120 day-rolling window via an automated process with no minimum spend. The tool is being tested globally by advertisers across multiple industries, including consumer goods, media and entertainment, food and beverage and politics.

Advertisers can use the reserve tool to book campaigns in advance with a fixed budget and forecasted reach.

Why we should care

YouTube’s Instant Reserve tool takes pages from upfront TV ad buys and programmatic guaranteed, giving advertisers the ability to reserve ad space in advance with all of the available targeting capabilities but without having to book campaigns through a sales representative. The tool will be particularly helpful for advertisers that want to plan ahead and run campaigns tied to major events — such as the upcoming U.S. presidential election. YouTube did not release an announcement when the tool was launched, but the Wall Street Journal reports political advertisers, and “hundreds” of other advertisers, were given access to it on September 3.

More on the news

• Advertisers that use the tool can reserve ad space, but do not have to pay for the ads until they actually run on the platform, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• An ad buyer for a political campaign told the Wall Street Journal that Google plans to let buyers reserve ad slots via the tool “for the entirety of 2020” starting November 15.
• YouTube recently launched Video Reach campaigns for all advertisers, allowing brands to upload three different asset types in a single campaign, and brought masthead ads to its TV app.