LinkedIn expands video ad program - BrandLink, includes creators and publishers

LinkedIn has expanded its wire program called BrandLink. This expansion will allow advertisers to align their brands with editorial content from trusted publishers and creator voices. With this update, brands can choose to sponsor collections of exclusive video content by running video ads ahead of it.

Advertisers using BrandLink are already seeing, on average, 130% higher video completion rates and a 23% higher view rate compared to standard video ads.

B2B marketers across India face intense pressure to show campaign impact. New LinkedIn research indicates that 94% of them believe video helps accelerate advertising ROI. However, ROI isn't just about video; it's about delivering ads against contextually relevant content. When marketers couple this with video, which 68% of B2B marketers believe most effectively reaches and influences members of the buyer group, brand recall increases.

LinkedIn is doubling its investment in video. The platform announced the expansion of BrandLink to allow advertisers to align with editorial content from trusted publishers and creator voices. With this expansion, brands can choose from a collection of Shows by LinkedIn. These Shows include exclusive video content from creators and publishers on topics that matter to LinkedIn’s more than 1 billion members. At launch, the initial set of Shows will focus on the CEO playbook, AI & innovation, starting and scaling a business, female entrepreneurship, and small business stories. With each show, a brand will have the opportunity to run its in-stream ads ahead of the creator content on LinkedIn.

Speaking about the launch, Sachin Sharma, director, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, India, said that B2B buyers today look for real stories and thoughtful content that speaks to their professional needs, and video plays a central role in that shift. Their research shows that 72% of B2B buyers in India who consume influencer content say it helps build brand trust. With BrandLink, they are bringing the power of video and trusted creator voices together, enabling brands to drive awareness, recall, and relevance through content that feels contextual and credible. He stated it's a strategic step forward for marketers aiming to connect with their audiences in a more authentic and effective way.

Chandrika Jain, director-brand strategy & content, Lenovo India, added that at Lenovo, they are always looking to lead with innovation, not just in their products but in how they connect with their audiences. With the launch of their Aura Edition AI PC, they saw BrandLink as a fresh and impactful way to drive awareness and reach the right professionals at scale. Partnering with Bloomberg through this program allowed them to do just that. She noted they are proud to be the first in their industry to leverage this format successfully.

The program currently includes some of the creator voices in the US and UK, including Bernard Marr, Rebecca Minkoff, Candace Nelson, Guy Raz, and Shelley Zalis, with plans to onboard regional creators globally.

Since its launch, publishers that are part of the BrandLink pilot have found success with the ad format. In-stream video ads against publisher content have seen, on average, a 130% higher video completion rate and a 23% higher view rate when compared to standard video ads. As part of the expansion, LinkedIn is also onboarding more publishers around the world – including ADWEEK, Condé Nast, Der Spiegel, Dynamo, Entrepreneur Media, Fast Company, Front Office Sports, Inc. Magazine, Morning Brew, Penske Media Corporation, The Washington Post, USA TODAY, and WaitWhat – and offering multilingual content to enable brands to strategically reach and engage the audience that matters to them.

BrandLink will be available on mobile and desktop and support a growing list of global publishers who produce region-specific content. Global advertisers can target a location as well as the preferred language setting on member profiles, aligned with their current targeting capabilities.