Google‘s YouTube has announced a new platform for marketers dubbed Video Creation Marketplace. It will connect content creators on YouTube with marketers or agencies rolling out viral campaigns.

Photo: YouTube logo

The new platform is an extension of You Tube’s marketing initiatives that date back to 2007, when the company started partnering with producers on the video site to share ad revenue, allowing people to create YouTube content to make money. So far the brand work done by stars has been happening on an ad hoc basis, says Ad Age.

For example, Howcast channel was partnering with General Electric for a three ‘Healthymagination’ campaign. The new Marketplace will create a formal revenue stream for millions of content creators around the world.

Partners will be able to fill in special profiles saying what they do, their past successes and the demographics or types of brands they are best suited for. Advertisers or agencies will look for appropriate candidates by these parameters and negotiate directly with partners. YouTube presented the platform at VidCon last week and will launch the site later this summer.

“The program will be particularly useful for small businesses that don’t always have the resources to create video ads”, said Baljeet Singh, group product manager at YouTube. “The creativity coming out of YouTube rivals that coming out of creative agencies any day of the week. And we already know that their content performs really well on YouTube.”

One of the examples of successful partnerships between users and brands is Devin Graham, who has been creating branded videos for small companies such as Dirty Dash, a 5K race, and Jet Lev, a water jet-pack company. Graham started producing his energetic, active content featuring brands for free but as he gained popularity, he was able to charge companies which wanted to appear in his videos. Now he is negotiating with Red Bull.