Last year, as the country goes into lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, 40 million Filipinos tuned in to YouTube. This year, the video streaming platform reported that it surpassed the number and reached 45 million viewers over 18 years old.

Overall watch time on the platform increased by 25% from April 2020 to April 2021, and that of various content genres such as cooking, entertainment, gaming, and personal care. Total hours of content uploaded to YouTube by channels in the Philippines grew more than four times between 2019 and 2020.

“In the second year of the pandemic, more Filipinos turned to YouTube to use content that can help them with their everyday life. YouTube’s reach, creators, content uploads, and watch time increased phenomenally and this ecosystem growth unlocked great possibilities for brands to drive results at scale, and deliver a fulfilling experience for viewers,” said Gabby Roxas, marketing head, Google Philippines.

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Filipino viewers always use YouTube to connect with their passion points. Recipe videos grew by more than 50% in watch time during the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same time last year. More people have been indulging in self-care as watch time for skincare videos jumped by more than 80% in the same period and interestingly, that for shampoo videos more than doubled. Watch time for role-playing game (RPG) videos grew by more than 80% while that for drama television series grew by more than 70% in the same period.

Millions of subscribers

According to Google Philippines, the local creator community flourishes too. As of June 2021, over 3,000 channels have more than 100,000 subscribers, over 250 channels have more than one million subscribers, and 12 channels have more than 10 million subscribers.

YouTube has become the platform where brands, creative agencies and marketers, and creators can build content that deeply resonates with audiences while delivering impactful results even at a time of big change in consumer behaviors. YouTube’s “sponsorable” activities like Super Stream, Music Night, and FanFest among others allow brands like Unilever to engage consumers effectively.

“Marketing in a connected world opens new opportunities for brands to connect deeper with people, and YouTube is an effective platform to do that. Through YouTube, we were able to tell our brand stories in an unmissable way, standing up in the frontline of culture to engage today’s attention-restricted audience,” said Dennis Perez, media director, Unilever Philippines.

“YouTube empowers brands to push the boundaries of creative storytelling that delivers results and I’ve seen this with the finalists of the inaugural YouTube Works awards. They used YouTube and its content creators in a powerful way, resulting in key achievements in awareness, engagement, and action,” said Leigh Reyes, jury head, YouTube Works, president, IMMAP, chair emeritus and product officer, MullenLowe TREYNA.