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ThinkMedia

Services

YouTube Ads

Shorts, Demand Gen, and sequenced formats — built to turn attention into measurable pipeline, not just views.

Get a free auditOur results
more impressions
156%
Clients served
60+
Ad spend managed
$20M+
Years operating
3

average increase when Demand Gen campaigns expanded into Shorts inventory, with conversion rates holding steady or improving slightly (3–7%) rather than declining — evidence that Shorts scale doesn't have to cost quality.

Advertiser testing reported in early 2026

YouTube Shorts became the fastest-growing ad placement in Google's entire network in early 2026, yet most advertisers still aren't using it well — horizontal video simply doesn't work in a vertical, mobile-first feed (Google Ads platform data, 2026). Video Action Campaigns have now fully migrated to Demand Gen, so any account still planning around the old campaign type is planning around a format that no longer exists.

Most YouTube accounts run one video, one format, indefinitely.

ThinkMedia manages YouTube Ads for companies spending $5,000 or more a month. We build for Shorts, in-stream, and Demand Gen together, with creative made for each format instead of one video resized to fit all three.

Four failures show up constantly:

  1. 01

    A single horizontal video repurposed for Shorts with no vertical edit. Shorts inventory is available through Demand Gen and Performance Max, but only converts well with creative actually built for a vertical, sound-optional, fast-hook feed.

  2. 02

    Campaigns still structured around Video Action Campaigns, which have been fully upgraded to Demand Gen. An account manager still describing the account in VAC terms is working from a campaign type that no longer exists.

  3. 03

    No creative volume. A properly optimized YouTube program typically needs 50 to 100 video assets across formats and campaign types — most accounts run five and wonder why performance plateaus.

  4. 04

    Follow-on views and creator partnerships never configured. Demand Gen now supports optimizing for follow-on views and boosting creator partnership content directly inside campaign setup, and most accounts have never turned either on.

How this runs

What you get.

Reporting
a monthly written report by format — Shorts, in-stream, Discover — showing view-through conversions and assisted conversions alongside raw views, since view count alone says nothing about pipeline impact.
Access
your Google Ads account and linked YouTube channel are set up under your business identity from day one. On exit, you keep every asset and the full historical performance data.
Communication
a named strategist who runs your account directly, reachable with a one-business-day response commitment.
Terms
thirty days' notice, no annual minimum, flat fee — never a percentage of your ad spend.

What's included

The actual thing we do, and how often.

  • ongoing

    Demand Gen campaign management

    campaigns built across YouTube, Shorts, Discover, Gmail, and Display from a single Demand Gen setup, replacing what used to require separate Video Action Campaigns.

  • ongoing, 4–8 assets/month

    Format-specific creative production

    vertical edits for Shorts, horizontal for in-stream, and bumper cuts for awareness — not one asset resized across formats it wasn't built for.

  • as needed

    Creator partnership integration

    boosting creator content directly inside Demand Gen campaigns, since creator-produced video consistently reads as more native than studio production.

  • for channel-growth goals

    Follow-on views optimization

    configuring campaigns to optimize for viewers likely to watch additional content, when channel growth is a strategic goal alongside direct conversions.

  • onboarding, then monitored

    Enhanced conversions and offline conversion import

    connecting CRM or offline sales data so bidding optimizes against actual revenue, not just on-platform view or click actions.

  • onboarding, then maintained

    Sequencing strategy

    structured ad sequences that build a case across multiple views rather than repeating the same single ad to the same viewer indefinitely.

  • monthly

    Creative and format performance reporting

    which specific format, length, and creative concept is actually driving view-through and assisted conversions, not just raw view counts.

How we work

Four phases, always in this order.

  1. Format Teardown

    Days 1–14

    We audit current creative against each format it's running in, and check whether Video Action Campaign assumptions are still built into the account's structure or reporting expectations.

  2. Creative Blueprint

    Days 10–21

    A production plan naming which formats need dedicated creative, how many assets the program realistically needs, and where creator partnerships or repurposed UGC can fill the gap affordably.

  3. Build

    Days 18–40

    We launch Demand Gen campaigns in stages across formats, testing before scaling budget into any single one. What we deliberately do not do: run one repurposed video across every placement and call it a video strategy. Format-mismatched creative is the single most common reason a YouTube budget underperforms.

  4. Compounding

    Ongoing

    Ongoing creative production against the deliverables above, with quarterly format-mix reviews as Shorts inventory, Demand Gen features, and creator tools continue to expand.

Honest scoping

Who this is for, and who it isn't.

You're a good fit if you're spending $5,000 or more a month on paid media, already run Google Ads or are open to managing them alongside YouTube, and can support ongoing video creative production, even at a modest scale.

You're not a good fit yet, and we'll say so before taking the engagement, if you have no video creative and no budget to produce any, since YouTube is a video-first platform and a static-image workaround rarely performs. If your conversion goal needs same-week results, YouTube's typical role as an upper- and mid-funnel channel makes it a slower fit than Search for that specific goal.

Asked and answered

Common Questions

  • ThinkMedia charges a flat monthly fee, not a percentage of ad spend, starting for companies spending $5,000 or more a month. Creative production is scoped separately based on how many format-specific assets the program needs.

  • View-through and engagement metrics show up within the first two weeks. Assisted and direct conversions typically take 60 to 90 days to stabilize, since YouTube most often plays an upper- or mid-funnel role in the customer journey.

  • You keep full ownership of your Google Ads account and linked YouTube channel at all times. They're set up under your business identity from day one, with ThinkMedia added only as a user.

  • ThinkMedia has no minimum contract length. Thirty days' notice ends the engagement in either direction, with no annual minimum.

  • Video Action Campaigns are no longer available. They've been fully upgraded to Demand Gen, and any strategy or reporting still built around the old campaign type needs to be rebuilt around Demand Gen's current structure.

  • Dedicated Shorts creative is ideal, since Shorts is a vertical, sound-optional, fast-hook format, and creative built for horizontal in-stream viewing typically underperforms there. A dedicated vertical edit, even a simple one, consistently outperforms a resized horizontal asset.

  • A named strategist assigned at kickoff, the same person coordinating creative production and reading results — not a rotating production or media-buying team.

  • Four things, stated as terms rather than promises: you own every account from day one, thirty days' notice ends the relationship in either direction, every report shows what underperformed next to what worked, and we'll tell you when your creative pipeline isn't ready instead of taking the retainer anyway.

Proof

Results.

Every case study

Get in touch

Tell us what you’re running.

  1. You send the details

    Channels, monthly spend, and the part that is not working.

  2. We look at the accounts

    Sixty to ninety minutes inside them, before we say anything.

  3. You get the findings

    A 45-minute call covering everything — including what you can fix yourself.

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