Brands
YouTube ads see 47 per cent view rate, 55 per cent CTR lift: VDO.AI
Report finds contextual targeting boosts performance and brand safety
NEW DELHI: Context is proving to be more than just king on YouTube. A new report by VDO.AI shows that ads aligned with relevant content environments are delivering view rates of up to 47 per cent and click-through rate gains of as much as 55 per cent.
According to the YouTube Advertising Trends Report, campaigns that match ad placements with contextual content outperform those relying purely on audience targeting. View rates rose from 31.9 per cent to as high as 47 per cent when ads were aligned with relevant content, while brand suitability scores improved significantly from around 70 per cent to over 95 per cent.
The study, based on campaign data across seven verticals, highlights that the content environment is often the defining factor between average and high-performing campaigns. Real estate brands advertising alongside home tours and interior content recorded the highest gains, with CTR uplifts ranging between 40 per cent and 55 per cent. Automotive campaigns aligned with car reviews and test drives saw increases of 35 per cent to 50 per cent, while consumer electronics brands placed next to tech reviews and unboxing videos delivered gains of 30 per cent to 45 per cent.
The trend extended across other sectors as well. FMCG, health and wellness, finance and edtech categories saw improvements ranging from 20 per cent to 45 per cent, depending on the degree of contextual alignment. At a more granular level, retail campaigns saw CTRs rise from 0.84 per cent to between 1.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent, while travel campaigns improved from 0.78 per cent to between 1.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent.
Commenting on the findings, VDO.AI co-founder Arjit Sachdeva said, “There is a growing body of evidence that audience targeting alone does not fully explain YouTube campaign performance. Campaigns aligned to relevant content environments consistently outperform unaligned ones on every measured metric.”
He added, “For the industry, the lesson is that context is not a refinement of audience targeting. It is a parallel input that deserves equal rigour at the planning stage.”
The report signals a shift in how digital advertising effectiveness is being evaluated. While marketers have traditionally focused on who they are targeting, the findings suggest that what users are watching at the moment an ad appears may be just as critical.
As video consumption continues to expand across devices and formats, contextual targeting is emerging as a key lever for both performance and brand safety, reshaping how campaigns are planned and optimised.
Brands
Reliance Retail FY26 revenue rises 11.8 Per Cent to Rs 3.7 lakh crore
Q4 revenue up 11.1 Per Cent, hyperlocal orders surge 4x, PAT steady
MUMBAI: Reliance Retail isn’t just ringing up sales, it’s ringing doorbells faster than ever. Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) reported a steady FY26 performance, with growth powered by store expansion, a sharp surge in hyperlocal commerce, and consistent traction across grocery, fashion and jewellery. For the full year, revenue rose 11.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,70,026 crore. In the January–March quarter, revenue from operations climbed 11.1 per cent to Rs 87,344 crore, up from Rs 78,622 crore a year earlier.
Operating performance remained stable, with Q4 EBITDA inching up 3.1 per cent YoY to Rs 6,921 crore from Rs 6,711 crore. However, quarterly profit after tax held steady at Rs 3,563 crore. For the full fiscal, PAT grew 11.7 per cent to Rs 13,842 crore.
Expansion remained a key lever. RRVL added 1,564 new stores during FY26, while simultaneously scaling its digital and hyperlocal commerce play. The latter emerged as a standout, with daily orders surging more than fourfold year-on-year in Q4, underlining a clear shift towards faster, localised fulfilment.
In grocery, large-format stores maintained momentum, aided by festive demand and the expansion of Smart Bazaar, which crossed 1,000 stores. Promotional campaigns such as ‘Full Paisa Vasool’ delivered record results, with sales rising 26 per cent YoY.
Digital commerce also picked up pace. JioMart added 5.8 million new users in Q4, nearly doubling its registered base year-on-year. Hyperlocal orders grew 29 per cent sequentially and over 300 per cent annually during the quarter.
Fashion and lifestyle saw steady traction. Ajio recorded a 23 per cent YoY rise in average bill value, while fast-fashion platform Shein crossed 11 million app installs, scaling rapidly with expanding product lines.
The jewellery business added further shine, with average bill value jumping 53 per cent YoY, largely driven by rising gold prices and sustained consumer demand.
Commenting on the shift, RRVL executive director Isha Ambani said hyperlocal commerce has become a structural growth driver, with orders rising more than fourfold over the year.
Looking ahead to FY27, the company is betting on technology to deepen engagement. The focus, Ambani noted, will be on AI-led merchandising, sharper pricing strategies and disciplined execution turning scale into sustained customer value.
In short, the carts are fuller, the clicks are quicker, and the next phase looks less about reach and more about precision.
