YouTube’s new Director tools allow small businesses to create video ads on their phones

YouTube is launching a new suite of products for advertisers under the umbrella name ofYouTube Director. Collectively, these products are supposed to make it easier for businesses (particularly the smaller ones that don’t have their own production capabilities and aren’t going to hire an ad agency) to shoot and edit video ads that can run on YouTube.

One of the new products is a YouTube Director mobile app, which offers the ability to create a video ad directly from your phone. It’s supposed to be usable even if you don’t have any editing experience. For example, YouTube says Woody Lovell Jr., owner of the The Barber Shop Club in Los Angeles, used the app to shoot and edit the video below:

Mr. Lovell Jr. shot and edited a video ad by himself, uploaded it to YouTube, and worked with an AdWords expert to run a campaign. As a result, Woody’s business saw an increase in potential customers being able to remember and recognize his ad: his video drove a 73% increase in ad recall among target customers on YouTube, and a 56% lift in brand awareness.

Or, if they’re trying to promote an app, businesses can just provide the logo, screenshots and other assets, and YouTube will automatically use them to create a video ad.If businesses don’t want to make the ads themselves, YouTube has created a program where it sends professionals to do the shooting and editing, at no extra cost to the business — they just have to spend at least $150 on YouTube ads. (This “onsite” service is currently available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.)