YouTube or YouTube Kids? Reaching the right audience effectively and safely

YouTube Kids is an application designed for the youngest audience, created with the idea of providing a safe environment for children to navigate easily and enjoyably. This is how YouTube presents its content platform tailored for those under 13 years of age.

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Currently, over 90% of children and adolescents in the Americas use various platforms to watch videos, making it one of the primary means for brands to connect with them. As a professional in this industry and a part of a company that comprehends this segment like no other in the Americas, I conducted an analysis with market data and information to understand the differences between YouTube and YouTube Kids in reaching the U18 audience.

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From this research, I identified four important points that brands should consider when developing their communication strategy on these platforms:

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1. Consumption and Behavior

The reality is that children lose interest in YouTube Kids once they begin their school years, typically around the ages of 6 to 7.

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During the preschool years (3 to 5 years), 62% of children have the YouTube Kids app installed, and 58% already have regular YouTube, even though it's designed for +13. As they grow older, the gap between the two platforms widens, and YouTube Kids tends to disappear from their devices. From ages 9 to 12, only 24% have it installed, and it nearly vanishes by age 13.

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When analyzing their behavior, 95% of children aged 7 to 12 opened the regular YouTube app, while only 3% did so in YouTube Kids (January 2023)*.

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The data is undeniable: children abandon YouTube Kids long before reaching their teenage years.

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Additionally, 8 out of 10 children report enjoying watching videos on YouTube, making it one of the platforms where they spend the most time, second only to metaverse platforms like Roblox and Fortnite. YouTube, on the other hand, is the platform that garners the highest level of trust among all apps, according to 67% of U18 individuals in Latin America.

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2. Reach

The connected population in the Americas comprises over 140 million children and adolescents aged 3 to 18. Of these, 78% watch videos on YouTube and/or YouTube Kids, a substantial percentage. When analyzed separately, the number of children and adolescents connecting to YouTube exceeds 90 million, which is much more than the 33 million on YouTube Kids.

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For any advertiser, reaching the maximum number of people in their target audience is crucial for their advertising campaigns. In this regard, the potential reach with YouTube is 2.7 times higher than with YouTube Kids.

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3. Content/Inventory

It's essential to know that all the content on YouTube Kids is also available on YouTube. What does this mean? It means that channels with content for the U13 segment published on YouTube and YouTube Kids are the same. YouTube Kids curates a portion of the content on its platform (typically classified as "Made for kids") and duplicates it on YouTube Kids, with the channels and videos being identical on both platforms.

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In other words, there are no "specially" or "differentially" created contents for YouTube Kids for children under 13. YouTube Kids merely selects specific channels from YouTube and "duplicates" them on its platform.

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In 2019, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined YouTube $170 million for collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent, violating the COPPA law. This led to significant changes in the app, video availability, and classification.

Following this penalty, content creators are responsible for categorizing their videos as "Made for Kids" when uploading content aimed at children under 13 to YouTube. This classification is the responsibility of the creator and can be sanctioned by YouTube if not correctly categorized.

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4. Targeting and Efficiency

With children, generalization is not an option. It is essential to understand that not all children are the same, and they have different tastes and interests. A 5-year-old boy doesn't engage in the same leisure activities as a 15-year-old girl. Therefore, it is crucial for brands to segment their target audience as efficiently as possible to reach their intended audiences.

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YouTube (as part of Google) does not provide tools for segmenting audiences under 18, which poses a significant challenge for brands wanting to connect with their target audience on the platform. Much of the market merely selects whitelists of "children's channels" in a generic way, without considering that not all content suitable for children is appropriate for users under 18.

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In line with this, advertisers waste 7 out of every 10 dollars invested in campaigns that do not reach the target audience when using advertising platforms designed for +18 (such as Google's DV360, Mediamath, Xandr, among others) to segment minors. This situation necessitates the creation of new models based on data sources, technology, and content curation to reach this audience.

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Finally, a notable point is the difference in the CPM (cost per thousand impressions) between YouTube Kids and YouTube, even when buying exactly the same inventory. According to market data, YouTube Kids costs between approximately 30% to 50% more for the same inventory that is also available on YouTube, without guaranteeing reaching the target segment.

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How does this context impact advertisers? Unlike past decades, brands have a significant advantage when advertising in videos, games, apps, and metaverses for children: the assurance that their audience is present, enabling efficient budget allocation. Videos, as we've seen throughout this article, are consumed daily by the U18 segment, and YouTube is their favorite place to do so. Despite Google's extensive efforts, YouTube Kids does not gain adoption once children start school.

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To connect with minors on YouTube, a high level of responsibility is required, ensuring compliance with regulations and privacy data protection, and employing technology in line with current regulations. At Kids Corp, we have been working for eight years with the mission to create a safe digital ecosystem for this segment, investing in technology solutions to address this issue, streamline the process, innovate, and assist over 500 brands in America in efficiently connecting with children and teenagers.

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Source: Askids Insights Portal, a data platform that surveys more than 84,000 kids, teens, and families in the Americas annually.