YouTube Ads Agency Video user acquisition for apps, games and ecommerce.
Admiral Media plans, produces and runs YouTube App Campaigns, Demand Gen and in-stream ads. One team owns creative, media and measurement, so YouTube becomes a performance channel, not a branding experiment.
5.0 on Clutch, 48 reviews €500M+ ad spend managed 150+ brands
Trusted by teams that have invested over €500M in ad spend with us.
5.0 on Clutch, 48 reviewsThe channel
Why YouTube is the highest-scale video UA channel
YouTube reaches 2.7 billion people a month, and 45% of watch time now happens on connected TV screens. No other video channel combines that reach with Google’s intent data.
YouTube is not just another video placement. It is the world’s second-largest search engine, the dominant video platform for people aged 25 to 54, and increasingly the main screen in the living room.
YouTube App Campaigns serve your install ads across in-stream, Shorts and connected TV from a single campaign. Demand Gen adds YouTube in-feed and Gmail placements with audience controls closer to Meta’s targeting model than classic Google Ads automation.
The real challenge is creative. YouTube demands video in multiple formats, aspect ratios and durations, and the first 5 seconds of every skippable ad decide whether anyone sees the rest. Our AI Creative Factory produces every required format variant in each creative sprint, so no placement runs on a stretched afterthought.
YouTube users index at 95 on LTV against a Meta baseline of 100. Comparable user quality, with reach Meta cannot match through connected TV and search intent.
Platform specifics
Six YouTube ad formats, one coordinated system.
Each format does a different job in the decision journey. We never run one in isolation, and we build the creative matrix before a euro of media is spent.
Skippable in-stream, 15s to 3min
The workhorse of YouTube UA. Viewers can skip after 5 seconds, so the opening has to earn attention. Charged on 30 second views or clicks, efficient from awareness through to install.
YouTube Shorts, 9:16, under 60s
Shorts now generates over 70 billion daily views. Vertical, sound-on creative runs between organic Shorts, and CPMs come in 20 to 35% below horizontal placements, ideal for volume-focused install campaigns.
Connected TV, the living room
45% of YouTube watch time is now on TV screens. Lean-back, high-attention viewing that builds the brand recall driving App Store searches, especially for games and subscription apps.
Demand Gen, YouTube + Gmail + Discover
Google’s answer to Meta-style targeting: custom intent, lookalike-style segments and interest audiences across YouTube, Gmail and Discover. Our pick for retargeting and audience expansion.
Non-skippable in-stream, 15 to 20s
Guaranteed full message delivery at a higher CPM. We deploy it inside sequential retargeting: skippable first, then non-skippable to convert the people who skipped.
Bumper ads, 6 seconds
Six seconds, no skip, built for frequency and recall. The final stage of our retargeting sequence, keeping your app in the consideration set without full in-stream budgets.
We will map the right format mix to your funnel.
What you get
Everything YouTube UA needs, owned by one team.
Strategy, creative, media and measurement, handled end to end. No hand-offs between a creative shop and a media team that never talk.
Strategy & account structure
App Campaigns and Demand Gen structured around your goals, markets and MMP events, so the algorithm learns from the conversions that actually matter.
Creative built for the skip button
Every format, aspect ratio and duration produced in-house, with hooks tested against each other before we scale spend.
See the AI Creative FactoryAudience & intent signals
Custom intent, lookalike-style segments and placement curation in Demand Gen, plus clean signal feeds into App Campaigns.
MMP measurement & attribution
Adjust, AppsFlyer or Singular wired to campaign and creative level, so every install and post-install event traces back to what drove it.
Weekly optimization
A steady testing cadence: cut what loses, feed hook learnings back into creative, and scale what holds your ROAS target.
Reporting on real numbers
CPI, ROAS and LTV against your targets, not view counts. You always know where spend is going and what we are doing next.
How we work
The Admiral YouTube system, in four steps.
A clear path from first call to scaling spend, with no long onboarding before you see a plan.
Deep dive
We review your goals, unit economics, MMP setup and current Google account, then show you where YouTube fits.
Creative matrix
Hooks, formats and aspect ratios mapped to your funnel and produced before launch, so every placement has a native asset.
Launch
App Campaigns and Demand Gen structured for learning, with budgets set to gather clean conversion data fast.
Optimize & scale
We test hooks weekly, cut the losers, and scale the winners against your CPI and ROAS targets.
Creative doctrine
The first 5 seconds decide everything.
In a skippable ad, the viewer’s finger hovers over the skip button from the first frame. Most ads waste those seconds on a logo animation. We open every skippable ad with one of three proven hook structures, and test all three per app category before scaling.
The pain-first hook
Open with the viewer’s problem in their own language, before the product is named. In our testing this delivers a 3 to 5x higher view-through rate than a brand-led open.
“Still tracking expenses in a spreadsheet?”
The curiosity-gap hook
An incomplete statement or surprising outcome the viewer has to stay to resolve. Strongest for health, finance and productivity apps, where the problem is already felt.
“The reason most fitness apps do not work, and what actually does.”
The social proof hook
Open mid-sentence in a real user’s story, so the viewer watches someone like them before the product appears. It works especially well for games and subscription lifestyle apps.
“I lost 12kg in 3 months and I only changed one thing.”
Why Admiral
Performance is in our DNA.
Since 2019 we have managed over €500M in ad spend for 150+ brands across Google, Meta, TikTok and Apple Ads, and we build our own AI ad creative. YouTube rewards that mix: media discipline plus a creative engine that never runs dry.
Performance-first, always
We are judged on installs, ROAS and LTV, not impressions. Every YouTube ad is built to move a real number.
In-house AI creative
The AI Creative Factory produces and tests the full YouTube format matrix at volume, so a creative-led channel plays to our strength.
The full Google stack
YouTube never runs alone. We manage it alongside Google Ads, search and shopping, so signals and budgets reinforce each other.
Senior strategists, not generalists
You work with people who have scaled video spend across channels and markets, not a junior handed a checklist.
Backed by €500M+ in managed ad spend and 150+ brands scaled.
Client results
Our clients love what we do.
With the team of the Admiral, we were able to scale our paid social spend by more than 200% while achieving our target ROAS!
They always know the current best practices and are able to stay ahead of the curve.
Due to their experience with other clients, Admiral Media could provide real market insights.
Questions
YouTube ads for apps, answered
How do YouTube App Campaigns work for app installs?
What video length works best for YouTube app install ads?
How much does YouTube advertising cost for a mobile app?
Is YouTube better than TikTok for app installs?
Do we need existing video assets to start?
What is Demand Gen and do we need it?
How do you measure YouTube ads performance?
Next step
Ready to make YouTube a performance channel?
Tell us about your app or brand and we will show you where YouTube fits in your UA mix, which formats to start with, and what the creative matrix should look like.
- A clear read on the YouTube opportunity for your category
- Hook and format recommendations built for the skip button
- No obligation, no spam
Admiral Media is a performance marketing and AI creative agency. Since 2019 we have managed over €500M in ad spend for 150+ brands across Google, Meta, TikTok and Apple Ads. Explore all our services, our Google Ads agency, the AI Creative Factory, or get in touch.