YouTube Brand Lift Survey: What It Is, When to Launch, and How to Interpret the Results

How do you measure the actual impact of your YouTube ad campaign? One of the most reliable tools available is the Brand Lift study. In this article, we’ll explain how it works, when to use it, and how to interpret the data it provides.

What Is YouTube Brand Lift?

YouTube Brand Lift is a research tool by Google that helps advertisers measure the direct impact of a YouTube ad campaign on brand perception. It compares survey responses from two groups—users who have seen the ad (exposed group) and those who haven’t (control group)—to evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness.

The tool is available via Google Ads or Display & Video 360 (DV360). While alternatives like Meta Brand Lift and TikTok Brand Lift Study exist, this article focuses specifically on the YouTube implementation.

Who Can Use Brand Lift

Although Google promotes Brand Lift as a free tool, minimum media investment thresholds still apply. You can find the most up-to-date country-specific requirements on Google’s official support page.

What Brand Lift Measures—and What It Doesn’t

Metrics You Can Track

Brand Lift helps assess how your ad influences:

• Ad Recall
• Brand Awareness
• Purchase Intent
• Brand Favorability
• Consideration, and other stages of the marketing funnel

What Brand Lift Doesn’t Show

Brand Lift tracks the short-term impact of a specific ad on user perception within the YouTube ecosystem. It doesn’t reflect broader marketing effects across platforms or long-term brand health.

If you need to monitor brand performance over time, tools such as Brand Health Tracking or custom surveys are more suitable. These can be run independently or with support from research partners (including our team).

How Brand Lift Works

The study typically includes around 10,000 respondents, divided into:

• Exposed group: saw the ad
• Control group: didn’t see the ad

Both groups receive the same short survey, which may include the advertiser’s brand and competitors. The difference in responses between the groups forms the Brand Lift score.

Brand Lift Metrics

Metric	What It Measures	Sample Survey Question
Ad Recall	Whether users remember the ad	“Which ads have you seen recently on YouTube?”
Brand Awareness	Familiarity with the brand	“Which of the following brands do you recognize?”
Consideration	Willingness to consider purchasing the brand	“Which brand would you consider buying?”
Favorability	How much do users like the brand	“Which brand do you prefer?”
Purchase Intent	Likelihood of purchase	“Which brand are you most likely to buy next?”

Launch Requirements

To run a Brand Lift survey effectively, follow these rules:

• Launch it as a pre-launch flight, before your main ad campaign with high weekly impressions goes live
• Ensure creatives aren’t used across other media during the test
• Expect results within 7–10 days of launch
• Google doesn’t enforce strict deadlines for data delivery, but the sooner you analyze—the better

Tips for a Successful Brand Lift Campaign

1. Set realistic goals

New brands should prioritize awareness before measuring favorability or purchase intent.

2. Test multiple creatives

It helps identify top performers but ensures each has an adequate budget to deliver statistically valid results.

3. Choose relevant competitors

Don’t compare with brands that are drastically different in scale or market share. For example, if you’re a niche beverage brand, comparing it to Coca-Cola or Pepsi will distort the results.

4. Tailor your creative to the metric

Measuring awareness? Clearly show and say the brand name multiple times.
Measuring purchase intent? Highlight offers, discounts, and value propositions.

5. Follow Google’s methodology

Budget, duration, and media exclusivity all affect outcomes. Many advertisers run Brand Lift before the primary campaign to validate messaging and fine-tune targeting.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is YouTube Brand Lift in simple terms?

It’s a survey-based study comparing responses of users who saw your ad vs. those who didn’t—to measure its impact on brand perception.

Which metrics can be measured with Brand Lift?

Ad Recall, Brand Awareness, Consideration, Favorability, Purchase Intent.

How is Brand Lift different from Brand Health Tracking?

Brand Lift evaluates the short-term impact of a single ad campaign within Youtube.
Brand Health Tracking monitors long-term changes in overall brand perception.

When should you launch a Brand Lift?

Before your primary campaign begins—once creatives, targeting, and budget are confirmed.

Conclusion

YouTube Brand Lift is a powerful tool for assessing how your creative assets impact brand perception on one of the world’s largest video platforms. With the right strategy and execution, it can offer valuable insights to guide future campaigns.

Need help launching a Brand Lift or analyzing your results?
Our team will support you at every step—from creative planning to performance interpretation.