Ashley Vargas

Feeling very grateful today as I share my promotion at Google. My journey within Global Product Marketing specifically owning GTM for measurement products like Google Tag Gateway, Incrementality experiments, Multi-touch attribution, and Meridian has been an incredibly rewarding challenge. I'm so lucky to have learned from amazing product, sales, and marketing leaders (Cameron, Rushit, Charlotte, Eva, Alexis, Ohi, Eric) every step of the way. It’s been an exciting year already after successfully landing Rethink ROI, by helping advertisers embrace modern, open-source measurement solutions during such a massive shift in the industry. Now it's high-energy season as we gear up for Google Marketing Live 5/20! Shout-out to my teammates: Noah, Cristiana, Andrea, DeVaun, Napat (Jump), ryon (rai), Rita, Maryam Ikuforiji

Week one of my transition. Some things don't change. There is only one YouTube. Creator-led advertising is scaling fast. Spend is growing 4x faster than the broader media market (IAB), and when brands boost creator content on YouTube, performance outperforms other social platforms by more than 3x (Kantar). The implication is simple. This is no longer experimental; it’s core to how brands grow. Last week, we spent time with leading agencies around the world on what actually moves the needle right now: Bring existing creative assets to YouTube and make them work harder. Treat creators as long-term partners, not one-off activations, and build with the API. Identify high-performing organic content early and boost it so it scales fully before it peaks. Such a privilege to have shared this work alongside Mithun Sheth, Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle, Amjad Hanif, Pedro Pina, Gautam Anand, Célia Salsi and so many others. Excited to see the team keep pushing this forward with creators and clients. YouTube for Business

After a short hiatus, it’s time to make it “LinkedIn official.” tldr; Three months ago, I wrapped up a 20-year chapter at Google and YouTube. When I started in February 2006, I was one of four marketers in the NYC office. I had survived 13 rounds of interviews and rushed into the role days after a Super Bowl activation for Samsung. My first day was spent on a plane to an AAAA conference. When I returned, my desk was parked right in front of Tim Armstrong's office. My colleague Janine Gianfredi warned me not to get comfortable - we’d be switching desks every few months. She was right! This was before Chrome, before Workspace, before the YouTube acquisition, and even before we used Google Calendar to book meetings. I never imagined I’d stay for two decades, but it's been a season of incredible growth. Three lessons I’m taking with me: 1️⃣ Dare to be bold: Ask the hard questions, pitch the "crazy" idea, and raise your voice. The best ideas come when you challenge the status quo.  2️⃣ Have a growth mindset: It transforms challenges into learning opportunities. You have to love the learning part of the job to build resilience and adapt (especially in tech!) 3️⃣ Culture eats strategy for breakfast: It is the secret sauce to great execution. Whether it’s deeply understanding the end-user or the person sitting across from you, empathy and human judgment are irreplaceable in the age of AI. Trust takes years to build and seconds to lose, so protect it fiercely. To the people who shaped me: 20 years is a long time, and there are too many to thank, but I have to start with Patrick Keane and Lorin Platto for hiring me, and Jeff Levick for having the faith to make me a manager. Thank you Lisa Gevelber for shepherding my career for so many years, to Scott Levitan who let me take a big job from NYC, the late Brett Willms who helped me dream bigger, and Claire Mudd for allowing me to go all in on small business. Thank you to Jesse Haines for inviting me into Grow with Google and Kate Stanford and Cenk Bulbul for bringing me to the magical world of YouTube, and all of my managers along the way who stretched me: Heather T., Carrie Beth Wood, Eva Hung, Jason Fass, Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle, Dana Vetter. To my teams: It was the thrill of a lifetime to travel the country helping small businesses and creators, launching first-ever campaigns, and introducing AI to the world. My email signature always carried a Nelson Mandela quote that summed up the Google marketing experience: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” I’m so proud of what we accomplished together. What’s next? I will always root for my colleagues at Google and YouTube. For me, it's the perfect time for a sabbatical to spend time with family and pursue goals outside of Google. One of those is to complete my coaching certification, a journey I began three years ago to become a better leader and shepherd of people. I'm excited for this next chapter. More to come!

“Don’t sleep on YouTube.” This gem from creator Haley Kalil, known as “Haylee Baylee” to her YouTube community of over 8M subscribers, was the throughline from a recent panel I had the pleasure of hosting at the Creator Partnerships Summit. I sat down with Haley, creator duo Andy and Michelle, as well as L'Oréal SVP of Brand and Consumer Engagement, Ariana Parasco, to discuss what an effective creator partnership looks like from both ends — and how YouTube is uniquely positioned to drive success across every outcome, from awareness to revenue. A few themes really stood out: ▪️First, YouTube isn’t just a campaign channel. It’s a long-term growth engine. As Ariana put it: “On YouTube, content is an asset that appreciates in value.” She shared that 35% of L’Oréal’s organic watch time in 2024 came from videos published before 2024, a testament to the longevity and searchability of content on YouTube — a reality that is expanding more and more in today’s AEO/LLM era. ▪️Second, YouTube drives not just discovery, but decisions. According to Andy, “On YouTube, our fans are really there for us. They stay longer through the videos than on other platforms — both for short-form and long-form.” Haley shared a similar sentiment: “Because they spend more time with me, they really get to know me… They know I’m not just a viral video; I’m a person they connect with.” That level of trust and buy-in drives real business results. For example, Haley’s recent video around L’Oréal’s Valentino Beauty perfume drove +9.47% awareness lift — 2X the best-in-class benchmark. Recent L’Oréal videos with Andy and Michelle resulted in over 12M views, driving a 37 rank increase in SOI for the brand MoM. ▪️Finally, partnerships work best when brands and creators meet in the middle.  Brands have their campaign goals, briefs, and script points. Creators build communities on a foundation of trust and authenticity. The best partnerships and the highest impact happens when both sides are balanced. Sending a huge thank you to Ariana, Haley, Andy, and Michelle for joining us! How are you thinking about YouTube in your current strategy? #YouTube #Loreal #CreatorEconomy

More resonant creative. More growth for your brand. 🎨🖌️ With the launch of Veo in Google Ads, the gap between a static asset and a high-performing video ad has officially closed. By pairing Veo with Nano Banana, brands can now create personalized assets that resonate deeply with top audiences. Rhone is already proving the value of this AI-powered creativity: “Google's AI, specifically Veo and Nano Banana in Asset Studio, help us maximize our existing assets, extending the life of every photoshoot to drive stronger ROI. Scaling our campaign reach used to require heavy lifting from our design team, but now we can iterate on backgrounds and formats instantly to fit every channel and audience.” — Bethany Catron Evans, CMO Rhone Veo is now available in Google Ads Asset Studio. Learn more: https://goo.gle/4d8Vyv8

Don’t use yesterday’s playbook for today’s technology. AI-powered creative tools like Veo and Nano Banana Pro are shaking up the way smart marketers develop campaigns 🎥 We’re taking out the guesswork and giving you the strategic pivots that help you make the most out of these AI-powered creative tools. Learn more about Veo in Google Ads → https://goo.gle/3OhD01B

Are you ready to scale your YouTube strategy? 🚀 Watch our playbook breakdown to level up your brand and join us for #YouTubeNewFront2026 on March 26th to learn how to unlock your next creator brand partnership. Register here: https://goo.gle/4tbaT39 Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness or drive high-intent performance, the YouTube Formula provides a clear roadmap: 1️⃣Put your brand at the epicenter of culture 2️⃣Unlock the best AI for the best ROI 3️⃣Invest in trusted creators 4️⃣Close the measurement loop

The #SXSW2026 Glambot is officially putting in overtime. 📸 ⚡ ️ We’re giving you a digital pass into the YouTube lounge—the ultimate home base for creators and brands this week. We’re capturing red-carpet energy, fueling up on caffeine, and talking all things creator marketing. Open to all Innovation pass holders at #SXSW! Come make a pit-stop at the YouTube Lounge.

If you know me, you know travel is my ultimate reset button. ✈️ I’m deep in the planning stages for my upcoming birthday trip to France, and I’ve been leaning heavily on Gemini to help curate my itinerary. It’s been a game-changer for making the trip feel "real" before I even pack my bag. That’s why I'm so inspired by this campaign from Virgin Voyages. As part of Google's Creative Lighthouse Program, we challenged their team to create an #ImpossibleAd — to bring to life a creative vision that was simply out of reach before AI. They stepped up with "Postcards from Your Future Self." Instead of the usual "one-size-fits-all" travel ad, Virgin Voyages is using Gemini to interpret traveler signals and then using #Imagen and #Veo to generate bespoke, cinematic digital postcards. It’s a brilliant example of personalization at scale, turning a generic ad into a literal "wish you were here" moment. Check out the full story on Think with Google: https://lnkd.in/eXXYfQUx Crystal S. Hawley Kylie R.