_First published on [New Business](http://www.new-business.de/medien/detail.php?rubric=MEDIEN&nr=706613) on May 10, 2017._
With an average of over a billion views per month, millions of video views per second and the second most popular search engine on the internet, YouTube has long seemed to be the dream of all brands when it comes to generating attention and reach.
Last month, media reports revealed that advertisements for some brands were appearing in the vicinity of controversial content on YouTube. One big spender after another then announced that they would freeze their advertising budgets until these “problems” were solved. This boycott has caused the industry to rethink the long-standing barter deal with the major platforms. Brand conformity is just one of the potential risks associated with YouTube and the like. Many brand managers are therefore rightly asking themselves whether there are other ways to reach their target groups.
## All eyes on YouTube
YouTube, which is essentially a social network, offers a ready-made community that brands can interact with through advertising or free video hosting. What sounds great for brand awareness is, as current developments show, also a risky exchange. Companies are giving ownership, control and, ultimately, the protection of their brand into the hands of strangers. Whether it’s advertising material or videos, as soon as brands put their content in the hands of platforms like YouTube, they lose control over how users interact with their brand and what experience they have with it. Advertisers accept non-negotiable terms of service and suddenly find their content in an environment where brands and messages mix and where they have little or no control.
Subscribers to the print edition of New Business can read the full article in the current issue.
