BIG BET #3: STREAMING
After a break from commercials, the commercial break is back
Before Streaming eliminated them, TV commercial breaks were an ignorable (and ignoble) part of life: two and a half minutes to refresh your drink, run to the bathroom, or check your answering machine – remember those?
In welcome news to marketers (and audiences, believe it or not), after a short commercial break, commercials are making a big-time comeback. And this time, they’ll actually hold viewers’ attention and deliver measurable results.
To what do we owe this resurgence? The surging popularity of Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) like Pluto TV and Tubi, along with ad-supported subscription services like Netflix, Hulu, and, the latest entrant, Amazon Prime Video (which vowed to show “meaningfully fewer ads” than other linear and streaming providers).
The game changer here is that, unlike ye olden-timey Linear TV, these streaming platforms have so much data on the viewers sitting on the couch, their ads are becoming more relevant and targeted than ever. The commercial break (streammercials, anyone?) is morphing to fit the needs, interests, and attention spans of modern audiences. Shorter commercials (no time to even run to the loo!) are reaping higher video completion rates.
“Larger brands that continue to have a big linear presence should be thinking about the factors hindering them from diving head-first into streaming, and creating a plan for how they can use the more granular streaming data and targeting to their advantage.”
Stefanos Metaxas
EVP, Streaming+, Tinuiti
Facilitated by programmatic platforms, streaming ads are also going to become even more interactive and commerce-focused. Roku’s partnerships with Walmart and Shopify exemplify exactly how checkout is coming to Streaming. As cord-cutting on Linear TV continues and consumers ditch the dial, marketers should ensure they’re taking advantage of the new-age commercial break that consumers are actually watching.
Now, just imagine how AI, with its mind-blowing ability to analyze billions of bits of data in the blink of an eye, will further accelerate the analytical capabilities, the creative process, and programmatic buying. When you put it all together, the result is that the biggest screen in the house will not only be measurable but within reach of emerging brands.
AI has, of course, always been a part of programmatic. However, GenAI is transforming how marketers programmatically buy Streaming (and all other) media. Harkening back to Bet #2, hyper-personalization will be further unleashed as GenAI allows brands to avoid redundancy, target contextually, prevent ad fraud, bolster ROI, and – perhaps most critically – speed up the ability to make the most profitable buys in real time.
OK, SO NOW WHAT?
- When it comes to your streaming dollars, negotiate, negotiate, negotiate (or let us do it for you). More inventory plus competition between publishers for advertisers' business is going to mean more value for your investments.
- Test streaming commerce ads to shorten the purchase journey and capitalize on impulse buying habits that historically only social networks could benefit from.
- Make the case to your CFO that, as adtech (powered by Machine Learning, GenAI, and robust historical data) becomes even more sophisticated, brands can measure both top- and bottom-funnel impact with more granularity than other marketing channels, and pinpoint the optimal level of investment to maximize impact and efficiency of your streaming dollars.