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NORM JOHNSTON, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MODEM MEDIA

YouTube is a brand and platform that is populated entirely by user-generated content.

New owner Google will be able to build on this, as it has the facility to link more customers together based on interests, and build sophisticated consumer profiles. This gives marketers the chance to talk to consumers in a place where they choose to spend time.

The challenge for agencies is to do it in an engaging way that offers real value in terms of entertainment and information. Our client Hewlett-Packard has seeded user-generated versions of its ads on YouTube and urged others to create their own too. This is helping to transform brand perceptions among a younger audience.

GUY PHILLIPSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, INTERNET ADVERTISING BUREAU

YouTube already carries traditional display ads, but it presents another chance for marketers to build their brands online.

Increasingly, YouTube will secure deals with the big film studios to provide premium full-length content, making it a key destination for video on demand and IPTV.

Essentially, it's TV on a smaller scale - which marketers understand - and some brands are already testing the water. VW, for instance, has been running an 'Unpimp my ride' campaign, which has seen it upload alternative versions of its ads to the site, generating a huge response.

Ultimately, success will favour those that understand how to turn advertising into social currency.

CHARLES DAVIES, MARKETING DIRECTOR, YAHOO! MEDIA GROUP, EUROPE

Users of sites such as YouTube and Yahoo! Video usually do so either by searching for a topic or following a recommendation.

The result is a highly engaged audience in an environment where contextually relevant advertising can be more effective than broadcast media.

Sponsorship, channel and video-player branding are packages that can accompany video-on-demand services, aligning advertisers with professional and user-generated content.

The opportunities are very exciting for small businesses. For example, one Californian wine seller uses Yahoo! Video to post a weekly wine-tasting infomercial, which attracts a highly interested audience.

WAYNE ARNOLD, FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROFERO

If YouTube remains just an amusing site to find and share video content, its commercial value will be limited.

However, if it becomes the gateway to all video content, from TV shows and film through to videos of Billy breakdancing in his bedroom, it will be the equivalent of MTV, ITV and niche cable channels all rolled into one, and hugely valuable to marketers.

It could well break down the traditional ways of finding content. As content starts to be delivered to every home via IPTV, YouTube has the potential to be the world's biggest cable operator. Rather than using the remote control, consumers will find entertainment for their TV or PC via Google and YouTube.