Kasha Cacy, Known CMO: Navigating YouTube's "Other" Category for Advertisers

Summary

Next in Media: Navigating YouTube's "Other" Category for Advertisers

Release Date: July 10, 2025
Host: Mike Shields
Guest: Kasha Casey, Chief Media Officer at Gnome
Special Appearance: View Planner Representative

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Introduction

In this episode of Next in Media, host Mike Shields delves into the evolving landscape of YouTube advertising with insights from industry experts. Joined by Kasha Casey, Chief Media Officer at Gnome, and an unnamed media expert from View Planner, the discussion centers on the challenges and opportunities within YouTube's "Other" category for advertisers.

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YouTube's Ascendancy Over Traditional Television

Mike Shields opens the conversation by highlighting YouTube's rising prominence in the media hierarchy, surpassing traditional television—a shift that has taken a couple of years to solidify.

Unnamed Media Expert emphasizes this trend:
"YouTube continues to steal from television. That's happening year over year over year." (01:13)

Despite YouTube's growth, brands face hurdles due to the platform's content diversity and unpredictability. Unlike the structured environment of television, YouTube offers a vast array of content, making it challenging for advertisers to predict where their ads will appear.

Unnamed Media Expert further explains:
"You don't know exactly where you're going to be. And I think for brands, that's still a bit of a hurdle." (01:13)

However, the necessity of being present on YouTube to reach younger demographics cannot be overstated. As Unnamed Media Expert points out,
"If you're not there for young people, you're not hitting young people." (01:13)
This imperative is slowly easing brand apprehensions, leading to increased comfort with YouTube as a vital advertising medium.

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Challenges in Content Control and Brand Safety

The discussion shifts to the inherent challenges advertisers face concerning content control on YouTube. Mike Shields probes whether the unpredictability of content placement acts as a significant barrier.

Unnamed Media Expert responds candidly:
"There's a question of there's a snobbiness in media sometimes that is like I want to be next to premium content... but that is where eyeballs are." (02:12)
This sentiment underscores the traditional media industry's reluctance to embrace platforms perceived as less premium, despite the massive viewership they command.

Moreover, the issue of not knowing the exact placement of ads remains a concern. While audience-based buying strategies offer some respite, complete certainty is elusive.

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The Evolution of YouTube Creators into Media Companies

Mike Shields introduces the topic of major content creators transitioning into full-fledged media companies, engaging in upfront deals similar to traditional media.

Unnamed Media Expert finds this trend intriguing:
"You're seeing big creators and what I would almost call creator studios... now it's jumping to places like Netflix." (02:48)
He cites "Digital Circus," an animated series popular on YouTube and now available on Netflix, as an example of this evolution.

This shift raises questions about how brands will adapt their advertising strategies across different platforms, considering the varying interfaces and measurement capabilities.

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Measurement Challenges and Solutions Across Platforms

Addressing the complexities of measuring ad performance across multiple platforms, Unnamed Media Expert discusses the dichotomy between media partners and client expectations.

"Every media partner wants to become a wild garden and every client wants less wild gardens," he states (03:49), highlighting the tension between expansive media strategies and the desire for streamlined, controlled environments by advertisers.

To navigate this, he advocates for a hybrid approach to measurement:
"You've got to use both deterministic ways and probabilistic ways of measuring. The idea is to get as much information as you can, even if it's not perfect information. And good is better than nothing." (03:56)

This balanced methodology allows advertisers to maximize insights despite the inherent uncertainties of digital advertising environments.

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Economic Uncertainty and Its Impact on Advertising

In the latter part of the discussion, Mike Shields touches upon the current economic climate and its ramifications for the media and advertising sectors.

Initially apprehensive about a tough economic year, Unnamed Media Expert shares a positive outlook:
"We've seen a lot of new business come in. I think the tariff and broader economy has become noise that nobody can do anything about, so they're kind of ignoring." (04:53)
This resilience suggests that, despite external economic challenges, the advertising sector remains robust, with businesses focusing on forward momentum rather than dwelling on uncontrollable factors.

Both Kasha Casey and Unnamed Media Expert concur on the importance of maintaining optimism and strategic focus in navigating economic uncertainties.
"You've just got to go forward and say, like, we got to go forward and." (05:20)

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Conclusion

Concluding on a hopeful note, Mike Shields thanks his guests for their invaluable insights. The episode underscores the dynamic nature of YouTube as an advertising platform, the evolving role of content creators, and the strategic approaches necessary to thrive amidst unpredictability and economic fluctuations.

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Notable Quotes

• Unnamed Media Expert:
  "YouTube continues to steal from television. That's happening year over year over year." (01:13)
  "If you're not there for young people, you're not hitting young people." (01:13)
  "There is a snobbiness in media...but that is where eyeballs are." (02:12)
  "You're seeing big creators and what I would almost call creator studios... now it's jumping to places like Netflix." (02:48)
  "Every media partner wants to become a wild garden and every client wants less wild gardens." (03:49)
  "Good is better than nothing." (04:29)
  "We've seen a lot of new business come in... so they're kind of ignoring." (04:53)
  "We got to go forward and say, like, we got to go forward and." (05:20)

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from the Next in Media episode, providing a clear overview for those who haven't tuned in.

Transcript

[View Planner Representative]

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[Mike Shield]

Hi everybody. Welcome to Next in Media. I'm Mike Shield. This is, we're live at CAN here. This is part of my special series on the YouTube ad ecosystem with my partners at View Planner.

[View Planner Representative]

I'm here with Kasha Casey, she's the.

[Mike Shield]

Chief media officer at gnome.

[Kasha Casey]

Yep.

[Mike Shield]

Thanks for being here.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Yeah, happy to.

[View Planner Representative]

So I want to ask you about.

[Mike Shield]

You know, it's been a couple years now where YouTube has really been ascending in the rankings and television, which is kind of, I think it kind of shocked people maybe a year or two or now it's really changing.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Yeah. I think YouTube continues to steal from television. That's happening year over year over year. I think the challenge still remains that the YouTube content is different than TV content and it's less predictable. You don't know exactly where you're going to be. And I think for brands that's, that's still a bit of a hurdle. But from a reach perspective you have to be there. If you're not there for young people, you're not hitting young people. So I think brands are getting more and more comfortable with it.

[Mike Shield]

On that note, is it a lack of this content is different than T Banner.

[View Planner Representative]

Get it?

[Mike Shield]

Is it like I don't know what kind of stuff I'm going to be next to? Is there a lack of control? Like what is the, what's the barrier there?

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Yeah, I think there's an education. I think it's different and I think if you're of my generation, you look at it and sort of go, it's not high quality. I also have a 14 year old and a 16 year old and I know that that is where they spend all their time all day long.

[View Planner Representative]

This is horrible.

[Mike Shield]

But they love it.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Right? So there's a question of there's a snobbiness in media sometimes that is like I want to be next to premium content and I want my. But you know, that is where eyeballs are. So I think that, you know, will, will evolve over time. I think there is a real issue depending on how you buy it with just not knowing what you're going to be next to and you know, buying on an audience is great, but that.

[Mike Shield]

Still isn't totally solved.

[Kasha Casey]

Yeah, that's horrible. Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Shield]

So what about you're seeing now some of the really big creators operate like media companies and do almost like upfront type deals?

[Kasha Casey]

Yep.

[Mike Shield]

Are you guys exploring that? I don't, I don't know how big that universe is.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, what I'm finding actually fascinating right now is you're seeing big creators and what I would almost call creator studios. Right. They're not just a human being, but they're companies producing content on YouTube and now it's jumping to places like Netflix. So you know, we. Digital Circus is this kooky animated series that my 14 year old loves. We've been watching it on YouTube for two, two years and now we're watching it on Netflix. So there's. And, and, and it'll be interesting to see how brands feel about that. Content on Netflix versus YouTube.

[Kasha Casey]

Yeah.

[Mike Shield]

Is it the interface?

[Kasha Casey]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Shield]

That is kind of what do you need more of? And broadly, this could be a YouTube artist. Is it. Is the measurements are the capabilities equivalent across all these platforms? You're mixing and matching. You laugh.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Every media partner wants to become a wild garden and every client wants less wild gardens. Right.

[Mike Shield]

That's just complained about that forever and now we all do it.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Right. So there are measurement solutions that can help. I think again, we're also precious in the media world. I think we miss the good for the perfect. So, you know, there are deterministic ways of measuring, there are probabilistic ways of measuring. You've got to use both and you've got to. The idea is to get as much information as you can, even if it's not perfect information. And good is better than bad in my opinion. Or nothing.

[Mike Shield]

And then I guess lastly work and you're talking a lot of partners. Where are we in the weirdness of the economy? Uncertainty? Do people feel like we're past the tariff scares and everything's fine?

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Yeah, I mean I can only speak for what we see in our business. But you know, at the beginning of the year I was a little depressed because I was like, not another really hard year.

[Mike Shield]

Like that's had a lot of it.

[Kasha Casey]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

And knock on wood, we've seen a lot of new business come in. I think the tariff and broader economy has become noise that nobody can do anything about, so they're kind of ignoring, which is fascinating to me. Yeah, you've just got it. You just got to go forward and say, like, we got to go forward and.

[Kasha Casey]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Shield]

All right. Well, that's, I think, a hopeful note to end of it. Thanks so much. Let's. Let's talk again here.

[Unnamed Media Expert]

Yeah, I love it. Thank you so much.