Cricket-related content on YouTube saw over 50B views: Satya Raghavan, Google

At the Pitch CMO Summit, held in Mumbai on March 21, Satya Raghavan, Director, Marketing Partners - India, Google, took the stage to deliver an insightful spotlight address on the evolving landscape of consumer behavior.

“Consumer behavior is predictably unpredictable,” said Raghavan, as he kicked off his address. In a world where marketers face shrinking budgets and growing expectations, Raghavan made a compelling case for why understanding consumer behavior is more critical than ever—and how AI, Google, and YouTube can help marketers make sense of an increasingly complex digital ecosystem.

In his session, ‘Stream, Scroll, Search, Shop: Unlocking Consumer Behavior with Google and YouTube,’ Raghavan introduced a new 4S framework to understand how consumers interact with content and make purchasing decisions in today's AI-driven world.

He emphasized on how consumers might be Streaming, Scrolling, Searching and Shopping all at once, meaning that businesses could be losing out on valuable opportunities to connect if they assign more “traditional” thinking to the intent of each of these behaviors. Instead, they need to be reaching consumers across every possible moment of influence from discovery to decision - and Google Search and YouTube are uniquely positioned to help marketers do this at scale.

Citing the Indian Premier League (IPL) as an example, Raghavan demonstrated how consumer behavior has shifted from passive viewership to constant and immersive digital engagement, beyond the match. “There are about 500 million cricket fans in the country. 43% of them are Gen Z, a very important number for you to note,” he said. “These fans saw more than 50 billion cricket-related content views on YouTube—not just the live matches but surrounding content as well. Attention is under a little bit of tension.”

The discussion then moved to YouTube Shorts, which has emerged as the leading short-form video platform in India. “How many of you saw a YouTube Shorts video today?” he asked the audience, emphasizing the rapid rise of bite-sized content consumption. According to an Ipsos Survey, 96% of people aged 18 to 44 watch YouTube Shorts, making it a prime platform for brand engagement. “Scrolling is happening rapidly, and consumers are not just watching on mobile screens—they're watching on connected TVs too.”

Raghavan then highlighted the power of search in influencing purchase decisions, introducing a new way to watch cricket. “Take out your Google Search app, open Google Lens, and when the match is on, scan the audience to find out where they got their sunglasses or jerseys from. You might just improve your fashion quotient.” This shift towards visual search and AI-driven insights is changing the way consumers interact with brands, making search more personalized and predictive.

Shopping, the final piece of the puzzle, has evolved into a multi-touchpoint journey where consumers don’t just see an ad and make a purchase. “People are searching, asking, consulting, watching videos, and listening to communities before they buy,” he explained. “But ultimately, they are coming to Google because Google gives them advocacy. YouTube gives them advocacy.” With 89% of Gen Z using Google for shopping, the intersection of search, video, and commerce has never been more important.

Raghavan urged marketers to think beyond just running better ads and instead focus on running a better business. “Make sure that you understand how consumer behavior is changing and then do the right thing,” he concluded. “Don't just run better ads, run a better business.”

As AI continues to reshape consumer behavior and marketing strategies, the brands that leverage these insights— streaming, scrolling, searching, and shopping—will be the ones that stay ahead in the game.