LinkedIn expands its video ad program with new shows, publishers

LinkedIn is expanding its video ad program, BrandLink, by adding new publishers and creator-led shows to attract advertisers.

AT&T Business, IBM, SAP, and ServiceNow will sponsor the first season of four new video series.

BrandLink lets select publishers and creators place pre-roll ads before their video content and share in the revenue.

The program, rebranded in May to include creators, has added more than 70 publishers and creators since launch.

Publishers such as BBC Studios, BNR, TED, The Economist, and Vox Media have recently joined.

LinkedIn said participation is by invitation only and did not disclose revenue share details.

Video uploads rose over 20% by July, with views up 36% year-on-year as of February.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ LinkedIn enters video advertising two decades after launching ads, following established patterns

LinkedIn’s current video advertising push represents a significant delay compared to other major platforms in adopting this format.

The company first introduced advertising capabilities in 2005, just two years after its 2003 launch, making it an early pioneer in social media advertising 2. However, video advertising emerged on the web in the early 2000s, with YouTube introducing video ads in 2007 3.

While competitors like TikTok and Instagram have built their entire engagement models around short-form video content, LinkedIn is now playing catch-up with its BrandLink program expansion 1.

This timing suggests LinkedIn may have prioritized its text-based professional networking format over video innovation, potentially missing years of video advertising development that competitors leveraged to build creator ecosystems.

The company’s current 36% year-over-year growth in video views indicates strong user demand that existed before LinkedIn fully committed resources to video advertising infrastructure 1.