Google and YouTube are reshaping how Filipino consumers connect with brands, turning attention into measurable growth, executives said at the recent event “UNMISSABLE: New Rules in the AI Era of Media.”

At the forum, industry leaders outlined a clear directive for marketers: capture consumers’ attention, sustain it, and convert it into long-term business results.

“YouTube has become the new TV for millions of Filipino people,” Prep Palacios, head of industries for Google Philippines, told the forum. “The new rule is to become unmissable.”

Palacios highlighted the scale and speed made possible by the combination of Google AI and YouTube’s massive reach, giving marketers tools to drive engagement and growth like never before.

Flow as a business strategy

Speakers defined the “flow state” as a moment when viewers are fully immersed in content — a state that makes audiences more receptive to brand messaging and more likely to act.

“We want to be in the flow state. We want the viewers to be in the flow state,” Nikki Del Gallego, data and insights lead for Google Southeast Asia, said.

Citing a Kantar study, Del Gallego noted that Filipino audiences report feeling good about the time they spend on YouTube, emphasizing the difference between brands that connect and those that distract.

“To truly make that deep connection that is more valuable, you have to go into that flow state and win them there. And that is where we need to rewrite the rules in marketing,” she said.

YouTube now reaches an estimated 93 percent of the Philippine online population, with 88 percent penetration even in rural Visayas and Mindanao. Filipinos spend an average of four hours daily on the platform, she added — a scale of attention advertisers cannot afford to ignore.

Connect, commerce, culture

The Google-YouTube strategy focuses on three business levers: connect, commerce, and culture. Connect means capturing quality attention at moments of intent. Commerce leverages AI to guide purchase decisions seamlessly. Culture centers on building long-term brand fandom, rather than chasing every fleeting trend.

“Fueling the consumer engine pays off,” Del Gallego said, highlighting AI-driven targeting, optimized creative, and automated scaling as tools that increase conversion and repeat purchase.

Case studies demonstrated the approach’s impact. McDonald’s Philippines used YouTube placements such as Living Room Takeover and pause ads to influence meal-deciding moments, lifting average daily sales by 46 percent and search volume for brand terms by 35 percent. Chowking’s YouTube-first strategy delivered a 138 percent spike in search interest and about 60 percent reach among 25–44-year-olds in six weeks, translating into offline sales.

“Building a cultural fire pays off,” Del Gallego noted, warning that brands should avoid chasing every viral spark. In the AI era, sustained engagement through creators and community building ensures longevity, which YouTube’s algorithms reward.

AI streamlines creative and media integration

Ben Jern Loh, country video lead for the Philippines and Malaysia, emphasized AI’s role in simplifying what was once a labor-intensive planning process. “Gone are the days, the old playbook was manually getting into the formats that you need to allocate for different budgets. With AI we have simplified things tremendously,” he said.

Kantar research supports this, showing that combining media and creative through AI-driven insights can deliver double-digit lifts in awareness and consideration.