Brand managers, don’t allow your brand to risk be associated with inappropriate content. Think that sponsoring a channel on YouTube assures that your brand will be associated with appropriate content? Then, let’s talk about what appropriate implies. For whatever dollars Verizon spent to have its logo atop the Wireless section in YouTube this week, the video that ran in this section has been -- at best -- silly.

Their section sponsorship has also been dominated by the banner rotation alongside the right-hand tower position. Like many ads on YouTube, this position has featured random brands, large and small.

Is this worth the cost for Verizon? As a performance idiom, perhaps the enabling of more downloads onto Verizon handhelds is the objective here. But, in terms of branding bang-for-the-buck, I don’t see it. This view is augmented by a quick search on the brand in YouTube’s search window. The results aren’t pretty.