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Google has hosted its first YouTube Festival Pakistan, bringing together brands, businesses and content creators to explore how digital video can drive audience engagement and business growth.
The inaugural festival took place in Karachi on October 19 and Lahore on October 22. It highlighted YouTube’s growing role in Pakistan’s digital economy, combining local culture, creator partnerships and advertising strategies.
The Karachi event opened with Coke Studio’s hit song “Pasoori”, reflecting the global reach of Pakistani music. The song has surpassed one billion views on YouTube, with nearly 90% of its views coming from more than 60 countries outside Pakistan, according to Google.
Pakistan has developed a rapidly growing YouTube ecosystem, with creators attracting audiences at home and abroad.
According to Google, around 60 million Pakistanis watch content on YouTube. Pakistani channels uploaded 20 million hours of content over the past year, equivalent to approximately 38 minutes of new content every second.
This growing audience offers advertisers opportunities to connect with viewers through entertainment, television dramas and other content that reflects their interests.
“Pakistan is undergoing an unprecedented digital inflection point, and YouTube sits at the very heart of this transformation,” said Farhan Qureshi, Cluster Director for Google Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Frontier Markets.
Qureshi highlighted the success of “Pasoori” and the volume of content produced by Pakistani creators. He said Google aims to make YouTube more relevant to local audiences while helping businesses turn the platform’s growth into sustainable economic opportunities.
He also linked the initiative to Google’s recent opening of its first office in Pakistan.
Mir Ibrahim Rahman, CEO of Geo Television Network, highlighted the reach of Pakistani television dramas on the platform.
“Achieving 13 billion watch hours, with 20 of our dramas each crossing one billion views, is an extraordinary milestone,” Rahman said.
He added that these figures demonstrate the international appeal of Pakistani storytelling and the opportunities YouTube offers the country’s creative industry.
Google also highlighted how major brands have used YouTube campaigns to connect with audiences and achieve commercial results.
Unilever’s Sunsilk brand used popular drama content to engage Generation Z audiences. Nestlé Everyday, meanwhile, built its Ramadan campaign around food, entertainment and tailored Sehri and Iftar messaging.
According to Google, Nestlé Everyday’s Ramadan initiatives recorded 9.4% value growth and 4.8% volume growth. The company attributed these results to campaigns designed around important cultural moments.
Easypaisa also used Google’s Demand Gen campaigns across YouTube and other Google platforms to reach audiences, including sports fans and drama viewers.
A Google causal impact study estimated that the campaign generated a 30% relative increase in app installs, equivalent to 1.3 million additional installs.
“At easypaisa, our focus is on leveraging technology and data-driven innovation to make digital financial services accessible to more Pakistanis,” said Hani Hassan, Head of Growth and Analytics at easypaisa Digital Bank.
Hassan said the collaboration helped the company measure the impact of its marketing investments, increase app installs and strengthen customer engagement.
Google positioned YouTube as a platform that combines brand-building campaigns with performance marketing. Its advertising tools include Demand Gen, which helps businesses reach potential customers across Google’s digital platforms.
The festival also explored how brands can work with content creators to build stronger audience relationships.
At the Lahore event, travel creator WildLens by Abrar discussed reaching Urdu- and Punjabi-speaking audiences through travel storytelling. Menahil Temur shared her experience of building a YouTube presence through Minoqtopus, which explores complex subjects through detailed video explanations.
Their sessions highlighted how creators can build communities by developing distinctive content and connecting with viewers who share their interests.
The festival also brought creators and brand representatives together to discuss how companies can balance branded content with creators’ own material.
Unilever’s Humza Mahfooz participated in the Karachi session, while Pepsi’s Ayesha Khan joined the Lahore event.
Discussions focused on combining creator-led storytelling with paid advertising to expand campaign reach while preserving the authenticity that audiences value.
Google highlighted Creator Media Bundles and Partnership Ads as tools that can help brands extend creator collaborations. Demand Gen can then help connect audience discovery with customer acquisition.
Google also pointed to Pakistan’s expanding digital access as an opportunity for businesses seeking to reach more consumers.
According to the company’s statement, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority reports that 70% of Pakistanis have internet access. The statement also describes Pakistan as the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market based on its three-year compound annual growth rate.
Together, these trends point to opportunities for advertisers, creators and businesses to expand their digital presence.
Through the first YouTube Festival Pakistan, Google brought together companies, marketers and creators from Karachi and Lahore to discuss how cultural relevance, digital advertising and creator partnerships can support measurable business growth.
The initiative reflects Google’s broader efforts to strengthen its presence in Pakistan and help local businesses use digital platforms to reach audiences in the country and internationally.
