Youtube ads: Results from our first 6 months and how to get started
Youtube ads: Results from our first 6 months and how to get started
Tim Ridgway - The Humane League UK
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We're on a mission to end the abuse of animals raised for food. Our strategic priorities are:
End cages for hens: currently at 86% cage-free in the UK
End the use of fast-growing 'Frankenchickens'.
Growing our email list
Growing our email list
We're aiming to grow our email list to 55,000 people by March 2027. Our email list supports our campaigns by signing petitions, sending emails to companies, volunteering, and making donations.
In 2025, I joined The Humane League UK and started running ads on Meta. After some initial success - where we grew the list from 34,000 to 38,000 people - progress stalled.
Scaling was an issue
Scaling was an issue
Our first Meta campaign targeting the supermarket Iceland was successful with an average cost-per-lead of £1.28. This allowed us to grow in-line with our goal and budget.
Our second campaign targeting the fast-food chain KFC, however, saw an increase in costs as we attempted to spend more budget. The cost-per-lead of £2.19 was too high and we had to look to a new campaign.
Why Youtube?
Why Youtube?
We decided to create a Youtube campaign. This was for a few key reasons:
To diversify our growth - so we're not wholly dependent on Meta for results.
We had lots of existing video content that could be used for ads.
I already had Youtube ads experience so I knew how to create a campaign.
To open us up to greater overall growth by accessing new audiences.
And it worked...
And it worked...
Six months on from the launch of our first Youtube campaign, our email list has grown by 10,000 people and we're on-target to achieve and surpass our goal.
What you'll find below:
What you'll find below:
How we did it
What happened (plus an unexpected outcome)
Our best-performing ads
Some learnings along the way
Our Demand Gen campaign
Our Demand Gen campaign
What are Youtube ads?
What are Youtube ads?
If you've ever been on Youtube and seen an ad before or during the video you're watching, that's a Youtube ad. The Google ad platform offers a number of campaign types. 'Demand Gen' is the name of a video-first campaign hosted on Youtube.
Step 1: I chose videos
Step 1: I chose videos
The Humane League UK has been producing great organic video content for Youtube for many years. I chose videos that were primarily about Frankenchickens as we have a goal to raise awareness of this term. I was especially interested in videos with a higher organic view count as I read this as a signal that the video was engaging. I also selected any videos I felt had potential.
Step 2: I built the campaign
Step 2: I built the campaign
Youtube campaigns are structured very similarly to Meta campaigns with three levels: campaign, ad set and ads. Here's a screenshot of the campaign in the ad platform.
Step 3: Conversion tracking
Step 3: Conversion tracking
I set up 'enhanced conversions' to improve the strength of our ad tracking. To do this, I set-up a hidden field on the thank you page of our petition to allow Google to match the user's email address.
...then something unexpected happened...
...then something unexpected happened...
First month results
First month results
Cost-per-lead went down a little, which was good.
But unexpectedly, we attracted A LOT of new donors. This meant we made most of our investment back within the first month.
So what happened?
So what happened?
It seems that the Youtube ads were behaving like donation appeals. When people watched the videos, they connected with the issue on a deeper level than they perhaps do with our Meta ads. On the thank you page of our petition, there's an ask to 'chip in' to help with the campaign. People were signing the petition and making a donation through that mechanism. Some left comments too.
But, our list only grew a little.
But, our list only grew a little.
With a budget of £30 per day and a cost-per-lead of £1.61, our new Youtube ads weren't delivering the email list growth we wanted.
Our Performance Max Campaign
Our Performance Max Campaign
I built a second campaign
I built a second campaign
Now that I had established a benchmark with the Demand Gen, I decided to use a Performance Max campaign (P-Max) as well to see if we could bring our cost-per-lead down. P-Max campaigns are generally recommended when your priority is to achieve email sign-ups. They combine video, display, discovery and gmail.
Set-up
Set-up
Performance Max campaigns can use all the same assets as a Demand Gen campaign so I copied those across and added some images. I selected those from some of our best-performing Meta ads.
Results
Results
Cost-per-lead came down significantly to £0.72 per lead. The P-Max campaign also generated a decent number of donations, though less than the Demand Gen campaign.
We have lift off 🚀🚀🚀
We have lift off 🚀🚀🚀
Combining the P-Max, Demand Gen and Meta ads delivered a high volume of new supporters and donations - and it's been sustainable. We've grown the email list by over 10,000 people in the last six months.
Looking forward
Looking forward
We're creating new videos
We're creating new videos
We’re focusing on Frankenchickens because we have a goal to raise awareness about the term ‘Frankenchicken’ in the UK. We have over 3 million impressions so far plus 1.5 million views on Youtube.
We're aiming higher
We're aiming higher
We’re on track to achieve and surpass our goal of 55,000 email supporters by March 2027. We're now working towards a stretch goal of 70,000.
Learnings
Learnings
Youtube ads is a great new platform for growth:
Videos can be high effort but they’re impactful and scalable - the same videos have been delivering results for six months now.
Youtube can be strict with farm footage! This had been a barrier with some videos but it's also encouraged us to find creative ways to talk about animal issues.
Low competition: Most animal charities I know are on Meta but not Youtube. But more are starting to 👀 Now’s a good time to start
How to start
How to start
Find two videos. Look for videos with the highest view count on your Youtube. This is a good signal. Or you could try videos from your Meta ads.
Set up a Performance Max campaign - use the best Meta images.
Set up enhanced conversions (ask a developer if you’re not sure how - or message me. Happy to show you how we did it!)
Launch it and see how it goes!
The easiest video to make
The easiest video to make
Try recording a piece-to-camera if you don't already have videos you can use. Simply record someone talking about the issue you're working on. It could be a member of your team, a volunteer, a campaigner, a celebrity or a politician. Extra visuals and music are optional.
It doesn't need to look pretty
It doesn't need to look pretty
This video is one of our most successful videos of the last year. A piece-to-camera can be recorded on your phone.
Final ideas to take with you
Final ideas to take with you
Performance Max campaigns are great for getting sign-ups.
Demand Gen campaigns (video ads) can generate donations.
Measure your ROI. If you're able to create a positive ROI within the first month, this makes your ad campaign very scalable.
Search your Youtube or Meta accounts for videos you can try.
The easiest video to produce is a piece-to-camera. Give it a try!
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading!
Have any questions about our Youtube ads? Want more details?
Reach me at tridgway@thehumaneleague.org.uk or send me a message on LinkedIn.
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