Google is launching some new options to help marketers better manage their video ad campaigns, and reach consumers where they're most active.

First off, Google's adding new TrueView ads in the YouTube Home feed, "a tremendous opportunity for any advertiser looking to drive more, high value conversions".

It's a fairly bold move from Google, inserting ads up front - Google also recently added similar for TV-connected YouTube users, via Masthead ads on the main screen.

The ads definitely grab attention, but the overt nature of them could be a turn off for some users. That likely won't stop them using YouTube, however, and the capacity to have your brand dhow up, front and center, will no doubt be a big draw for many brands, largely emulating traditional TV ad reach.

In addition to these new YouTube ad formats, Google is also adding 'Video Reach Campaigns', which will enable brands to upload a range of video assets and have Google's systems determine their placement.

As explained by Google:

"Rather than managing separate campaigns for 6-second bumper ads, skippable in-stream ads, and non-skippable in-stream ads, now you can upload multiple video creatives into a single campaign. From there, Google’s machine learning will automatically serve the most efficient combination of these formats to help you reach your audience at scale."

It's essentially automated placement for video ads - while traditionally, marketers have maintained control over each element, by utilizing Google's machine learning processes, it may be possible to optimize your video ad delivery for better results. 

Google says that brands are already seeing strong results with the option, with Ford lowering its campaign cost by over 20% through automated placement.

As we head into the holiday period, you can expect almost every digital ad platform to be offering new tools and processes, and these video ad tools definitely provide a lot of potential, particularly the new opportunities to gain exposure in YouTube's main feed.

They'll also provide Google with a significant new revenue opportunity. The front page of YouTube is prime ad real estate, and you can bet that it will be a big winner for Google's bottom line. The question then will be whether it drives as good results for the advertisers - and if it does, will that mean even greater ad exposure within Google apps in future?