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YouTube on Friday announced partnerships with Nykaa and Purplle to scale its Shopping Affiliate Program, as shopping-related watch time on the platform grew by over 250% year-on-year. The streaming giant said that more than 200 million logged-in users in India searched for shopping-related content on YouTube in the past year.
Launched a year ago, YouTube’s Shopping Affiliate Program allows creators to earn revenue by tagging products from partner merchants, including Flipkart, Amazon, and now Nykaa and Purplle, in their videos. The platform said that over 40% of eligible creators in India have joined the program, and more than 3 million videos have been tagged with affiliate products.
To make video commerce more seamless, YouTube is introducing an AI-powered system that automatically displays product tags at the exact moment they’re mentioned in a video. Later this year, the company will also test automatic product identification and tagging across all eligible videos.
Deepening brand-creator collaborations
Recognising that 85% of Indian viewers find brand collaborations with creators to be authentic, YouTube said it plans to strengthen brand-creator relationships with new monetisation formats.
The company is launching a flexible brand segment format, allowing creators to insert or replace sponsored content easily. YouTube Shorts creators will soon be able to add clickable links directing viewers to brand websites, helping advertisers track direct traffic and conversions.
Additionally, a new Creator Partnerships Hub within Google Ads will enable brands to discover and collaborate with creators, integrating authentic creator content into marketing campaigns through Partnership Ads, according to the company.
“The next era of video commerce is already being defined by India’s vibrant creator economy on YouTube,” said Gunjan Soni, Managing Director, YouTube India. “We are scaling content-driven shopping from a successful program to a complete monetization ecosystem. By empowering creators with new tools, engaging formats, and deeper merchant partnerships, YouTube is cementing its role as the leading platform for the next generation of shopping experiences.”
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