The event featured eight stages, representing the eight different areas of the advertising industry. Track content included marketing, ad tech, the creator and influencer economy, television, creative, web3, DEI, leadership, female empowerment, and of course the most glorified of them all, AI.

Aside from the content inside session rooms, the activations, iced coffee, juice bar, apple cider, and overall visual asthetics kept attendees busy and enthused.

AdMonsters X (formerly Twitter) community is full of insights and humor, and after browsing, we decided to spotlight a few X posts that caught our attention. We got a kick out of them and figured you would, too.

1. As Usual, GenZ Was a Topic of Discussion 

.@Marriott has two #travel related programs on @amazon TV, but here's the kicker. As branded #entertainment they're both short form #storytelling (5-7 minutes) pieces. Great way to catch/tether #GenZ audiences. Smart. #marketing @anniegranat #AWNewYork23 #awny #hollywood #roi pic.twitter.com/AoqRteh0Ey

— Jon Burk (@MrJonBurk) October 19, 2023

2. Netflix Still Won’t Sit Still, They’re Always up to Something

ICYMI: @Netflix is stepping up its advertising game! During the recent Advertising Week New York, the streaming giant revealed some juicy opportunities for advertisers, including single-title sponsorships and even a splash into live sports. Frito-Lay's Smartfood popcorn will… pic.twitter.com/35ELUc6MTw

— Pesach Lattin (@pesach_lattin) October 18, 2023

3. Will the Real AdTechGod Please Stand Up?!

Just overheard a group of ppl at #adweek accusing each other of being @AdtechGod

— Shiv (@airgups23) October 17, 2023

4. The Kids of CMOs Panel Stole the Show

The best session at @advertisingweek was hearing directly from GenZ (kids of CMOs!).

They:
– are not a homogenous group.
– have different needs/expectations.
– do their research via social & support purpose-minded brands.
– want to collaborate & be rewarded for participating. pic.twitter.com/hYpJcvT76r

— Matt Wurst (@mwurst) October 18, 2023

5. The State of Addressability

"You need to diversify your addressability approach right now. I'd rather buy an addressability ETF than an addressability stock."@airgups23 at ad week 2023 nyc. pic.twitter.com/TmWOUHt62H

— Myles Younger (@Myles_Younger) October 17, 2023

6. What Is Premium Anyway?

Point I liked at an AWNY panel: Premium is what audiences perceive as premium

I.e. If Mr. Beast is premium to audiences 12-30, that’s what’s premium (highly trusted, highly engaging) for advertisers trying to reach them

— Joe Zappa (@joe_zappa) October 18, 2023

7. There Was A Surplus of Fun Things To Do

Between @EpsilonMktg & @netflix, there are plenty of opps to squeeze in some fun in between panels this year @advertisingweek #AWNewYork23 pic.twitter.com/o6ZsqOdgag

— Josh Dysart (@dysart) October 18, 2023

The post Seven Insightful Posts From Advertising Week NY, As Told From Our X Timeline, appeared first on AdMonsters.

Due to its infancy, streamers need help to quantify these diverse audiences’ value and integrate them into the broader media ecosystem. The current state of measurement struggles to fully capture the significance of independent streamers, creating a need to establish common standards to support the “indie” ad marketplace.

At the CIMM Summit, industry experts Stuart Schwartzapfel, EVP, Media Partnerships at iSpot.TV;  Katya Shkolnik, Head of Partnerships at Future Today; Timothy Ware, Senior Vice President, Programmatic Sales and Partnerships, at Crackle; and Evan Bregman, General Manager, Streaming at Tastemade, discussed the need to address these challenges and the uphill battle publishers will face addressing consumer targeting in the independent streaming wars.

Will organizations like the IAB, the government, or entities like The Trade Desk establish industry standards to help mitigate the complexities? Whatever the solution, independent streamers need help connecting with their hyper-engaged audiences. 

Essence of Hyper-Engaged Audiences

In this age, viewers demand top-quality content that keeps them engaged, entertained, and glued to their screens. Various streaming platforms like YouTube have succeeded at this, providing better content that captures their audience’s attention. Advertisers can leverage such platforms to reach contextually relevant audiences. However, the downside is that the ecosystem needs more infrastructure to connect advertisers with these hyper-engaged audiences, and building this infrastructure will take time.

“…But right now, the ecosystem is not necessarily set up in such a way that you could find them,” said one of the Summit panelists.

The good news is that the potential for success is vast since advertisers are increasingly encouraged to invest in streaming alongside traditional linear TV. 

On the Birth of the Independent Streaming Alliance 

At the heart of the streaming revolution is the Independent Streaming Alliance, a collective of independent streamers determined to challenge the dominance of prominent players. The ISA’s genesis was rooted in shared concerns, fueling a collaborative effort to amplify the impact of independent streamers. Through strategic partnerships and joint initiatives, the ISA represents the collective strength of independent streaming platforms.

Bregman said that independent streamers are actively forging partnerships to bolster their presence in the market. Collaborations between various platforms, data providers, and advertisers are pivotal in building an efficient ecosystem. These partnerships enhance content offerings and facilitate knowledge exchange, helping participants stay ahead of industry trends and challenges.

Collaborations with measurement companies like ISPOT.TV enabled these streamers to gather invaluable data, including reach, impressions, and frequency. Their collaborative endeavors yielded a profound insight: independent streamers collectively reach approximately 15% of US TV households, indicating a substantial and engaged audience base.

Challenges in Measurement and Standardization

Despite their impressive reach, independent streamers encounter challenges in measurement and standardization. The absence of common standards hampers their seamless integration. Addressing issues related to ad pods, impressions, and metrics necessitates concerted efforts to establish foundational standards for measurement.

“So if we kind of put on the buyer hat, it’s vital to note that diversifying offerings of different publishers and supply are important to the brand,” said one of the panelists.

They pointed out the dominance of a handful of agencies, with a staggering 80 to 90% of revenue allocated among them. However, their anticipation rested on the paradigm shift expected among smaller, local brands. 

Independent streamers are pioneering innovative approaches, such as contextual relevance, to enhance the value proposition for advertisers. By offering transparent and detailed insights into their content metadata, these streamers provide advertisers with a clearer understanding of their offerings. Transparency ensures advertisers can make well-informed decisions when investing in independent streaming platforms.

Schwartzapfel asserts that achieving measurement standardization involves standardizing big data and set-top box data. Standardization ensures accurate targeting and personalization of ads and enhances ad effectiveness and monetization potential.

Ad Pods, Impressions, and the Future of Indie Streaming

While ad pods and impressions remain integral components of the discussion, the broader focus lies in unlocking the potential of independent streaming. Independent streamers can redefine the streaming landscape by emphasizing the value of partnerships, contextual relevance, and transparent measurement practices, paving the way for a diverse and thriving ecosystem.

“We’ve got advertisers who traditionally buy in linear. They’re being told by the likes of Paramount and others who have spoken today very eloquently, hey, you can buy streaming as well,” added one of the panelists.

Traditional linear TV buyers are adapting to purchasing streaming inventory, and digital buyers are venturing into the CTV space. However, challenges persist in the measurement and buying process, including inconsistent measurement metrics, attribution difficulties, and the need for inventory transparency. These challenges hinder effective decision-making and necessitate collaborative solutions.

Importance of Diversification in Offerings and Looking Ahead

Diversifying offerings is instrumental in expanding reach and engaging new audiences, strengthening the position of independent streamers in the industry. Diversification increases reach, captures niche markets, enhances revenue streams through various content formats like podcasts and on-demand videos, boosts user engagement, and ensures a competitive edge. Diversification is vital; different publishers and supply options are essential for brand success.

Independent streaming must rely on collaboration, innovation, and a collective commitment to overcoming challenges. As they continue to forge ahead, their collaborative initiatives and strategic partnerships drive the indie streaming industry toward a vibrant and prosperous future.

YouTube channels present an opportunity for advertisers to reach contextually relevant audiences. However, the lack of infrastructure to find these audiences and the absence of standardization in measurement pose setbacks. Forming partnerships and alliances among independent streamers is a positive stride toward measuring audience size, diversifying offerings, and bolstering a robust indie ad marketplace.

The post CIMM Summit: Independent Streamers’ Engagement is Booming, But Measurement Challenges Hinder Seamless Growth appeared first on AdMonsters.

The event was Sponsored by New York Interconnect, the VAB, Premion, iSpot.tv, Locality, Kochava, Kargo, wurl, ARF Dash TV Universe Study, and Imagine Communications. 

In case you missed it, dive into the short summaries of our favorite sessions below.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT 27th 

Keynote Session With Jamie Lumley, Third Bridge Group Limited

When asked by moderator Lynn Leahey, editorial director at Cynopsis, about the challenges and opportunities in the industry, Jamie Lumley, an analyst at Third Bridge Group Limited emphasized that both revolve around the ongoing shift from traditional media to streaming, with cord-cutting and the rise of streaming companies.

The current cost of living has led consumers to be more lenient when it comes to choosing ad-tier models. Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown led to them seeing a subscriber increase of 100,000, and it looks like Amazon Video is now following in their footsteps.

“The big question facing the ecosystem today is as streaming continues to elevate, does the new media space have the same overall pie that traditional has? We don’t have the answer just yet, so as we continue to discuss finding this balance, finding the right way to build up these businesses is one of the key areas here,” Lumley explained.

What about local news and major sports, you’re wondering? According to Lumley, this has been a big area for the industry. “Different players are thinking about what sports rights they can afford. News will increasingly be a part of the streaming experience, and whether that can drive audiences to streaming is a big question.”

Finding a Cross-Platform Measurement Fit 

In the words of Andrea Zapata, EVP and head of ad sales research, measurement and insights at Warner Bros. Discovery, the way God intended for us to watch TV was on our big TV screens, but now we consume it on various devices. Moderator Sean Cunningham, President and CEO of the VAB, led an engaging discussion where both executives outlined their measurement solutions. 

“From the start at Warner Bros. Discovery, we were very clear that there are two different ways that you can activate against linear television,” Zapata explained. “One is using more data-driven tactics, and the other is how you measure it or, ultimately, how you transact against it.”

The research has shown this trend where content is being captured everywhere. “My sons are on the iPad more than the big TV,’ Jason Swartz, VP, advanced advertising, New Business, and National Sales at New York Interconnect. “We need better transparency for streaming,” Swartz continued, “so we are pushing way ahead of others to get reporting at the network level to understand how to place programmatic streaming programs in a specific space to find the audience.”

CTV’s Resilience: Reflecting on 2023, Charting 2024’s Path for Advertisers 

While 2023 has been a year of resiliency and growth for streaming, the ecosystem must focus on taking the consumer-centric approach. Now is the time, more than ever, to pay more attention to your consumers’ needs and values and ensure that they align with your marketing priorities. 

Yakira Young, content manager at AdMonsters, sat down with John Vilade, Head of Sales at Premion. When asked about the convergence shift and implications for sellers and advertisers, Vilade replied, “Sellers need good experience in selling both linear and streaming. If not, you’ll be left behind.”

He predicted 2024 to be a better year in advertising as we know it, considering the political election and Olympics taking place in the same year. His exact words were, “Streaming will win elections in 2024.”

According to Vilade, Premion has already started having conversations with government officials in DC, and there will be a bigger investment in streaming with this upcoming election. All in all, streaming is an interactive platform with an interactive audience. Buyers and sellers need to take advantage of this. 

Steaming’s New Wave

By now, we’ve recognized that many CTV services and platforms are moving to an aggregated world. We saw this with Disney, Hulu and, ESPN, and Warner, and then HBOMax became Max and brought in the Discovery content. At this point, we also can search movie titles straight from our CTV platform.

There’s no doubt that streaming continues to grow in popularity. With this in mind, Verna Coleman, VP of brand partnerships and B2B Marketing at Canela Media, highlighted that for her and her team, reaching their audience “is all about the growth of the audience as the consumer population continues to rise.” 

To adapt to changing audience behaviors, Bloomberg recently launched Bloomberg originals. “We did this in February with the intent of pulling some of that existing viewership that we have and extending their engagement and bringing in a little bit of a broader younger audience as well, “Travis Winkler, GM of video & audio at Bloomberg Media, explained. Originals focus on docuseries, docu-style content, and talk shows.

Chicken Soup for the Soul leans on a few things at its fingertips when sharing its core audience of about 40 million with the brands they work with. “We have the robot kiosk, which is a huge DOOH opportunity. Millions of people walk past it daily,” Maura Gray, SVP of marketing at Chicken Soup for the Soul, explains. “It leads to a huge marketability considering about 50% are signing up with their emails.”

Unlock the Power of Local TV: Combining the Value of Broadcast and Streaming

Local TV is often overlooked, but this reminds us that it is still at the forefront of our industry. Ann Hailer, President of Broadcast at Locality, and Keith Kazerman, President of Streaming at Locality, highlighted that most consumers live close to their homes, and retail planning is based on location intelligence and foot traffic. 

“The concert of national marketing versus that local partnership or that local decision has to come with marketing that is tailored to that local marketplace,” Hailer explained. 

The panelists weighed in on the challenges in unifying streaming platforms at the local level and the value of local news in building trust and brand reputation. They discussed the role of programmatic and acknowledged its benefits but also emphasized the importance of a consultative approach and human intelligence in understanding local nuances. 

Moderator Albert Thompson, Managing Director of Digital at Walton Isaacson, mentioned programmatic and how he thinks programmatic needs to fix and address many things. 

“Everything we do is automated, and that solves many of the complexities concerning programmatic at Locality,” Kazerman said. 

How to Reach Sustainability Goals

Barber Lange Principal and CEO of Kibo121 and Dr. Laura Marks, Professor at Simon Fraser University talked about sustainability in the media industry, focusing on the significant carbon footprint and energy consumption associated with content creation, manipulation, and distribution. 

The pair emphasized the need for measures to reduce the environmental impact, highlighting the rising energy use of information communication technology (ICT) and the consequences of streaming. 

“The bigger the production, the more carbon footprint you have, our goal is to do more with less over time,” Lange stated. “Virtual productions are one way content creators can get around some of the energy issues, use your existing footage.”

“Film in lower resolution so that when you compress it, you won’t have to work so hard, the carbon footprint of streaming is due to devices,” Marks mentioned.

THURSDAY, SEPT 28th 

Where Art Thou, Gen Z?

The impact of Gen Z’s entertainment consumption is a trending topic. Viewing habits have drastically changed, and while demystifying Gen Z won’t happen, we can work to understand them better. 

“Brands and marketers must allow themselves to be criticized, but also stand out as a brand,” Drew Corry, SVP, group director of Strategic Investment and Marketplace Strategy at MAGNA. “From a content perspective, think about how you can get scripted to work in the context of social media.” 

Let Hali Anastopoulo tell it, Gen Z knows authenticity like they know their ABCs. As co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Get Me Out Productions, she comprehends the significance of your values being reflected in your content. “It’s really important to be authentic with the content you’re making, the messaging, the marketing, and the campaigns you run,” she said. 

Taryn Crouthers, President of ATTN: suggests thinking about how Gen Z is consuming content. “When casting for this audience, you don’t need a big A-list celebrity but those with a strong niche following. 

Key takeaway? Trust and authenticity go a long way when reaching and engaging with Gen Z audiences. 

Pay Attention!

The Q&A went both ways when Angelina Eng, VP of Measurement, Addressability, and Data Center at IAB, and Brian Lin, SVP of Product Management at TelevisaUnivision, took the stage together. It made for exciting dialog, listening to them share their insights regarding attention-based measurement. 

Eng broke down the three ways she thinks about attention and measurement, those are: 

1. Physiological and neurological – Eye tracking, brainwaves, heart rate, blood pressure, anything that can be connected in a media lab, device, or camera. 
2. Data proxy – Signals coming specifically from a device or passed by publishers. It could be around behavior, engagement, and through a CTV system, laptop, or a mobile device.
3. Cognitive and emotional data – focus groups, brain awareness studies, brand health studies, et cetera.

“Attention measurement is still in its infancy, and defining attention has been challenging, which is why we are looking at the three above approaches,” Eng said. 

“I think it’s extremely interesting from a product standpoint. We must continue going against the grain of looking for opportunities to reach the marketer’s goal. We have to continue to experiment and grill those data providers by asking the hard questions,” Lin explained. 

Artificial Intelligence: It’s Personal

On a panel moderated by Kristin Wnuk, SVP of Sales at Madhive, each panelist agreed that there are opportunities for brands and advertisers to use AI. The moral of the story is it’s less about what tools we can make in AI and more about how it is permeating everything we do as consumers and professionals. 

Rich Frankel, Global Creative Director at Spotify Advertising, pointed out that AI will evolve at the speed of light. All we can do is be ready. “Understand what you’re letting AI look at to learn and how you’re managing the data it has access to,” Frankel suggests. 

“There’s a lot to be done and to be optimized. The people who will be the most successful are those who approach AI with curiosity. Curiosity is the beginning of creativity,” Nicky Lorenzo, SVP, Executive Creative Director of 305Worldwide, added. 

“2024 will be the year of targeting in terms of AI and influence,” Will Heins, Partner at Brandtech, closed us out with this. 

Finding – And Retaining – The Employees You Need Now

Karen Gray, EVP of HR and Head of DEI at A+E Networks, Artis Johnson, HRBSN Partner at TV One, and Christine Guilfoyle, President SEEHER, sat down to talk about the importance of empathy, honest conversations, and fostering a culture that values employees needs and perspectives. 

“Seen, heard, and valued are truly at the heart of what DEI&B strategies are about,” Guilfoyle said. The fully virtual mentorship dynamic had to reshape itself. I think the return to the office is amazing for Gen Z employees because of the mentor sponsorship aspect of it. I’m not sure they know what they’ve missed out on.”

“Employees are the reason we are here. They are the ones pushing out the work,” Johnson added. How can we exhibit a connection to a consumer or community if there is no community internally within the organization? In a hybrid environment, when employees challenge their higher-ups, it gives the executives no choice but to change how they manage. This is how growth happens at the top down.”

“Retaining employees saves money. If there’s a revolving door, there is no retention,” Gray said.

What A Brand Wants

Shortly after a quick beer and wine break, Betsy Paynter, director of US Media at Heineken, Greg Miller, VP/account director of Eicoff, and Jeremy Herbert, VP of marketing at We Buy Any Car hashed out the need for brands to adapt and optimize their strategies for CTV with the evolving role of data at the forefront. 

“There’s a bit of a difference between performance marketing and brand marketing, but at the end of the day, everyone is very excited about how CTV will evolve in delivering data, Moderator Rachel Herskowitz, VP of Brand Partnerships at iHeartRadio, said. 

“Measurement regiment is better now than ever,” Miller pointed out. “You can certainly learn a lot, and there are tools out there today where you can put linear and CTV on the same plane.”

“I think the next stage is to get more joined up in our first-party data and the first-party data of media providers and the platforms. We can make beautiful things happen together,” said Herbert.

At Heineken, Paynter showcased the sensitivity about what they can and cannot buy into. “Context is super important, and I think having a more transparent view of what programming is doing well is super helpful,” she stated. 

Feel the Churn: Strategies for Boosting Subscriber Engagement 

When each panelist was asked the one thing they think needed to be fixed in order to increase subscriber engagement here is what they had to say:

Jon Giegengack Founder and Principal of Hub Entertainment Research: “Do a better job of showing people things that will interest them and surprise them in lieu of throwing everything at the wall and expecting that you’re going to win by volume.”

Eric Sorensen DIrector of Streaming VIdeo Tracker at Parks Associates: “We talked alout about personalization and I think there is certainly an opportunity to make it a better experience. I think we will see some consolidation that makes that process easier.”

Monica Williams SVP of Digital Products and Operations at NBC Unicersal: “Discovery experience is part of the total content experience, so I hope to see a deeper collaboration between publishers and platform partners in terms of support.”

The post Big Takeaways From Cynopsis’ 5th Annual Big TV Conference 2023 appeared first on AdMonsters.

“Welcome to the world of advertising technology and the people behind it. I’m your host,” proclaimed AdTechGod, the mysterious ad tech memeographer, who has fast become an industry favorite.

It was the introduction to the third episode of his self-named podcast, where he continued to introduce his guest, “Today, I get the pleasure of speaking with Lynne d Johnson, Content Director of AdMonsters.  In this conversation, we get to meet Lynne to better understand her career growth and challenges, and some of her milestones. We’ll also explore the ever-changing landscape of ad tech and the direction we are heading in over the coming few months and years.”

Check Lynne d Johnson’s highlights below the player…

On ad ops & ad tech: Johnson reflected on her career, realizing that she had played a role in ad ops, product and even sales, despite not having a traditional background in the field. She also highlighted her Web 1.0 experience with putting ad code and tags on web pages, trafficking ads, and working with sales teams, demonstrating her versatility in the industry.

On the evolution of SSPs: Johnson expressed concern about some publishers’ concerns about the lack of data transparency in the ad tech ecosystem and their struggle with practical workflow solutions and what role SSPs could play in mitigating some of those challenges.

On the adoption of the Privacy Sandbox: Johnson talked about some publishers’ disbelief that cookies are even going away and how that might impact their decision to do the wait-and-see dance before playing around in the Privacy Sandbox.

On the evolution of CTV: They both discussed the industry trend for consolidation and how FAST was growing as a primary business model. There was also a consensus that measurement standards need to evolve sooner rather than later.

On growing a career in the industry: Johnson extolled the importance of networking and building relationships in the industry, as well as developing soft skills like communication, flexibility and resilience.

Plus so much more!!

Check out more episodes of AdTechGod Pod to learn more about the people behind ad tech.

The post AdTechGod Pod: Episode 3 With Special Guest Lynne d Johnson, AdMonsters appeared first on AdMonsters.

In short: It’s probably not. But as voices around the digital media industry have been telling us, how businesses approach in-housing is changing. It’s becoming rarer and rarer to hear about brands aiming to bring all functions of their ad tech stacks inside. That’s good because managed tech services deliver significant value to the ad marketplace. If a business wants to replace one of its partners with an in-house solution, it should have a real, practical purpose.

Over the last several years, industry leaders have found that building out all primary ad tech functions internally isn’t just daunting – it’s effectively impossible. Today’s digital marketplace is too complex to strategize exclusively for self-service. Specialized tech partners are better suited to navigate that complexity.

There’s a dire need for quality service in ad tech, and that service is becoming increasingly a priority for businesses. A specialized partnership is more important than ever in this current landscape – with myriad digital channels, rapidly changing industry protocol and new regulations around data. It helps ensure optimal campaign performance while preserving the business’s bottom line. And the choices brands and agencies make to ensure success today show they agree. 

This Isn’t the Same Old Programmatic Marketplace

The reasons why the in-housing trend began are straightforward. As the programmatic market emerged, so did third-party services to guide advertisers and publishers. But in time, businesses started questioning whether the margins were too high and the services were not high enough in quality to justify the investment. Many companies assumed they could build teams and solutions in-house for better customization and lower costs.

The catch is that the in-housing trend started when in-housing was a much easier and more cost-effective proposition. Today, it’s not likely that a brand or agency can learn just a bit about each important tech function and expect that’s enough to replicate it on their own. The proliferation of digital channels is difficult for one business to manage effectively. Those channels require specialized knowledge to transact, analyze, measure, and report on. 

Countless Interlocking Pieces To Oversee

A decade ago, we might have been able to think of “outsourcing” as meaning “one person clicking five different buttons” to manage client services. But today, it’s more like ten people clicking a whole lot of buttons on multiple, distinct platforms – to ensure they’re doing things like maximizing CTV/OTT spend, optimizing social budgets, managing digital out-of-home, avoiding duplicating audiences during attribution, and providing insights that are concise enough to understand real ROI.

It’s too much of a lift in operational cost and human resources for one brand or agency to build and adequately oversee these functions. For brands, agency attrition only increases the burden. With a high-quality managed service, the cost of outsourcing delivers obvious value. 

So, once again, managed services can deliver greater value to businesses than self-service. Specifically, performance-driven managed solutions will take us into the future of the digital marketplace. Otherwise, brands and agencies must figure out how to drive ROI from their in-house solutions that can compete against what specialized managed solutions provide. “Good enough” won’t win against “highest quality.” Businesses looking to in-house tech must seriously consider whether they have the resources to go far beyond “adequate.”

AI Can’t Do All the Heavy Lifting 

Considering the direction so many conversations in the industry have gone over the last several months, you’re probably thinking: Why can’t businesses use AI to tackle some of these challenges? AI does hold promise. But it’s not about to relieve the kinds of headaches brands and agencies are dealing with today. AI may lower the cost of automation, but it still requires a great deal of human oversight, verification, and cross-checking of output and recommendations. 

Innovators must make AI results more consistent, comprehensive, and less prone to inadvertent bias or compliance risk. We should expect this process of optimizing AI tools to play out in years rather than months. In advance of any breakthroughs AI may have in the next five years, companies that want to play ball in the current digital landscape will need managed services by real people.

A Broader View of the Marketplace

Another key benefit of bringing in managed services: You can learn more about the right strategies for a business from the outside than from the inside. We can’t underestimate the value of specialization and customized services. This is one of the top takeaways brands and agencies have gained from the in-housing trend: The skills they wanted to take in-house are too specialized to find all the talent necessary.

Managing first-party data, for example, is a primary focus among brands and agencies, and outsourcing complex data-related tasks is far more efficient than building internal teams. Businesses finding external partners can help them build relationships across the digital ecosystem while recognizing internal teams’ blind spots. 

It’s not as though managed services are replacing in-house teams. Instead, they give in-house teams the ability and flexibility to use a variety of partners that can create synergies in the right structures and ultimately benefit the business’s bottom line amid such digital complexity. Businesses weighing the benefits of in-housing versus outsourcing need to ask themselves: Do they have the internal resources to create the same ROI as a managed-service partner, given the tasks and goals? Industry leaders must look at the best drivers of performance and the best ways to position themselves strategically and competitively in the industry.

The post The Big Debate: Is In-Housing Dead? appeared first on AdMonsters.

After months of considerable back-and-forth, where nearly 15 million subscribers were denied access to the U.S. Open, college football, and other programming, Disney and Charter Communications have finally reached an agreement. Fortunately, for those subscribers on the sidelines, it was just in time for Monday Night Football. 

While carriage disputes are common in pay-TV land, many critics are speculating that this particular falling out signals cord-cutting’s rise as the potential nail in the coffin for the cable TV industry.

We spoke with Julie Clark, SVP of Media & Entertainment, TransUnion, to dissect the future of cable television in a world dominated by streaming, and marked by both challenges and opportunities. As the lines between traditional linear models and streaming continue to blur, we explore the impact on publishers, evolving revenue models, and the changing landscape of consumer access to content. 

The cable television landscape is in flux, but it is within this flux that the seeds of the future will be sown.

Yakira Young: The agreement between Disney and Charter Communication has been brewing for quite some time now. What implications do you see for the future of the streaming TV industry based on this agreement?

Julie Clark: In the future, streaming will continue to be a priority, but it still serves as a reminder of the deep dependency on linear, which can’t be ignored and can still be an engine for content. 

Legacy subscription models (subscriber fees) remain a major motivator for content hubs like Disney. However, they need those to bolster the bottom line while streaming continues to mature. The streaming TV industry is ripe for more consolidation as many streaming platforms are unhappy. Those players who will win in the streaming inflation wars are those who do not have to deal with the loss of past revenue or the fights of today.

YY: This agreement further blurs the distinction between traditional linear models and streaming. How will this blurred distinction impact publishers?

JC: Disney and Charter Communications both felt the pain in this agreement and further emphasized the power of having great content and a scaled distribution business. With agreements like Disney and Charter Communications, the distinction between traditional linear models and streaming is becoming more blurred. Impacting the entire ecosystem, not just publishers.  

Consumers gravitate towards platforms that focus on new content, and marketers will always want to reach a scaled audience connected to that premium content.  

YY: How do revenue models and distribution agreements play a role in the developing landscape of streaming TV? What changes can publishers expect to see in this regard?

JC: Streaming has had the benefit of massive budgets to develop content. They were already feeling the burn of needing to offset with new ad-supported revenue models. Legacy publishers are finding a way to have distribution agreements as a means to diversify revenue streams and support growth versus weighing them down. We will see more of the merging of these revenue models and distribution agreements – not less.  

YY: How does this new agreement impact consumers and their access to content? Are there any pricing or access changes on the horizon?

JC: Streaming platforms understand that economic pressures make it impossible for consumers to subscribe to multiple platforms, so we’re already seeing all major streaming platforms increase prices. Additionally, streaming platforms understand offering various levels of tiers to content that consumers can choose which best suits their budgets and needs is a logical next step. 

However, with access to streaming content being gated, it’s already leading to new consumer behaviors of churn from services of either pausing or ending subscriptions and rotating to other platforms that better suit their budgetary needs and provide access to new content. 

YY: With the continued growth of streaming, how do you foresee the future of cable television?

JC: As the market contends with increased offerings and fragmentation, the shift moves towards profitability. The future will be simplifying consumer access, scaled ad environments, and a lot of growing pains in between. Revenue per user (RPU) will accelerate while the marketplace begins to understand consumer willingness to pay across various platforms. 

The post Exploring the Impact of Disney and Charter Communications’ New Deal on the Future of Streaming appeared first on AdMonsters.

The advantages of audio are clear: Audiences are expanding, as is the volume of content and convenient avenues to buy inventory at scale. Consumers have shifted dramatically toward streaming audio platforms, and podcasts and audiobooks are essential to the current cultural landscape. 

We’re seeing a generational shift in media habits, as younger audiences are particularly eager to embrace digital audio. Like in CTV, the proliferation of platform options makes ad-supported offerings highly appealing versus paying for more subscriptions. 

Despite the advances we’ve seen in ensuring brand safety in the space, a recent study showed more than 70% of advertisers believed brand risk here would increase as more ad inventory enters the market. Early adopters note industry efforts in ensuring brand suitability, transparency, and fraud prevention. As digital audio matures, stakeholders proactively address risks, making it a vital choice for brands and campaigns. In reality, today, digital audio should be an obvious, even essential, buy for a wide variety of brands and campaigns.

Advertisers Navigate the Unknown and Unexpected

To leading advertisers, the scale and reach of audio have long been enticing, inspiring them to advocate for the measures they need to take advantage of its value. In 2022, 223 million people, or 74% of all internet users in the US, said they listened to digital audio. And more than half of US marketers now say they plan to increase investment in digital audio. 

Digital audio advertising spend reached $4.9 billion in the US in 2020, a 58% year-on-year increase. Spotify, Pandora, YouTube Music, and other high-profile platforms have developed ad-supported products. Now, prominent DPSs like Yahoo and The Trade Desk have launched media-buying capabilities for digital audio. This has opened access to more programmatically-bought inventory, scaling audio ad buying and luring top brands like H&M and Nike. At this rate, late-adapter brands will soon find themselves playing catch-up in the marketplace.

Digital audio content can be unpredictable in terms of subjects, tone, and availability. Podcast content is variable by nature. Some popular recording artists and record labels have stated their preference for one specific platform or another. However, marketers have come to acknowledge this variability and have worked with streaming audio platforms to work with and around their media quality concerns.

There have also been significant improvements in ad fraud prevention. Fraud can be an issue in emerging channels, but marketers that recently addressed challenges in CTV have already applied the lessons they’ve learned to audio. Ad tech companies have jumped into the fray. For example, DoubleVerify recently uncovered the fraud scheme BeatString, helping to prevent fraudsters from continuing to steal ad budgets. 

Long-needed Clarity Is on the Rise in Audio – If You Know Where and How to Look

The potential for reach and engagement in digital audio is too great for marketers to fear any minor brand safety pitfalls and ad fraud in perpetuity. The vital work of building trust among stakeholders throughout the audio space is well underway. As advertisers demand greater transparency and clarity over their digital audio ad investments, the industry has taken steps to address media and inventory quality challenges. 

For example, audio leaders Triton and Spotify collaborate with top third-party verification providers like DoubleVerify and IAS to quickly identify brand safety issues and sophisticated invalid traffic sources or botnets. Industry leaders also advocate for more transparency around metrics and measurement for advertisers, brands, and agencies. As is always the case in digital, brands build trust based on independent auditing. These measures have led to more data-sharing between audio platforms and their advertising partners.

We’re also seeing industry bodies step in to advise and work toward new standards – a welcome move that can embolden advertisers to spend. Last summer, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released its Digital Audio Measurement Guide to support investment in the space and help build more sophisticated data-driven digital audio strategies. These responsible actions are accelerating solutions to ensure advertisers can take advantage of the growing opportunity in audio.

Advertisers Can Make a Meaningful Push Together

In terms of content and audience, digital audio is an exciting space that hasn’t even reached critical mass. Brand safety, fraud prevention, and overall ad tech functions are rising to the occasion and becoming just as nuanced and tailored to advertisers’ needs as in other highly desirable media channels. 

Increased trust enables creators and platforms to monetize their content and for advertisers to unlock the full potential of digital audio. The industry is moving toward its goals of overcoming any lingering media quality roadblocks as they arise. And we’ll be able to overcome them by continuing to push for transparency, verification, and accountability.

The post Building Trust: Booming Digital Audio Ad Industry Meets Media Quality Challenges appeared first on AdMonsters.

The streaming era of television has drastically changed how consumers watch content and, therefore, how advertising works. There are many streaming channels now — the doors that Netflix opened — and plenty of consumers have subscriptions to several platforms. But how are they able to afford them all? 

For the past fifty years, the video industry used a dual revenue-stream model. This meant that TV networks and pay-TV operators shared the revenue consumers paid for subscriptions and the revenue generated from ads. Then the rise of Netflix’s ad-free platform birthed the streaming dynasty, opening a gamut of questions about the future of advertising in television. 

Meanwhile, Hulu and other streaming services began offering ad-supported options at a lower price, which also led to the rise of the FASTS, and the popularity of the option showed that it was viable. It begged the question of which ad-supported tier would become the industry standard.

One of the original appeals of streaming was ad-free content, but as the streaming medium became oversaturated, ad-supported tiers became a tactical revenue stream. As the streaming wars waged on for three years, lower-cost ad-supported plans “have provided consumers with the ability to afford more services with their entertainment wallet.” 

The growth of ad-supported plans has grown exponentially over five years. By the end of Q1 of 2023, ad-supported streaming made up one-fourth of SVOD subscriptions. 

The Big Four: “Ad Avoiders,” “Ad Takers,” “Ad Managers,” and “Ad Oblivious.”

The popularity of ad-supported subscriptions is undeniable, but the statistics vary based on the streaming platform. For example, two out of three subscribers that signed up for Peacock in Q1 of 2023 chose the ad-supported plan. On the other hand, only one-fifth of subscribers signed up for the ad-supported tier on HBO Max and Netflix.

But why are consumers making these choices? 

Antenna, the subscriber measurement company, created four consumer categories to understand consumer choice: Ad Avoiders, Ad Takers, Ad Managers, and Ad Oblivious. 

Ad Avoider: This segment of subscribers always chooses an ad-free plan. Platforms presented them with an ad-free and ad-supported tier, and they always chose the former. 

Ad Taker: This segment was presented with both options and chose the ad-supported tier. 

Ad Manager: They mix and match both ad-free and ad-supported tiers.

Ad Oblivious: They have not yet signed up for a service where advertising was an option.

Ad Choice Segmentations (All Subscribers) 

This idea of ad choice in CTV is a fairly new concept. Three years ago, 64% of U.S. video streaming subscribers were Ad Oblivious because platforms never presented them with a streaming service with an ad-supported subscription tier. Now the number is down to 32%, a significant drop. 

The upcoming years will be vital for determining the future role of advertising in subscription-supported streaming. This is the first time the CTV industry is offering this amount of ad-supported streaming content, and platforms will need to take this time to understand if consumers bought into the value proposition of advertising, especially as one-third of subscribers remain Ad Oblivious. 

If you put aside the Ad Oblivious segment and focus on the two-thirds of subscribers who made a choice, 58% of Americans chose advertising either some or all the time they had the option. However, Ad Avoiders are the largest single segment at 42%. 

The Ad Manager portion, in which subscribers filter back and forth between both options, might be the way of the future. The Ad Manager portion is small, but there is room for exponential growth. 

“By definition, a consumer can’t be considered an Ad Manager until one has made the ad choice at least two times. If we isolate only the consumers who have been faced with the ad choice two or more times, a fascinating story emerges: 71% of these Americans have chosen advertising at least once. And nearly one-in-two are Ad Managers. Consumers are not only learning to choose whether or not they want ads, but they are also learning to decide on a service-by-service basis,” wrote Antenna. 

There’s room for both ad-free and ad-supported services in the future. The data shows that it depends on the platform. 

The post The Subscription Economy, The Streaming War, and Ad-Supported Media appeared first on AdMonsters.

Doing so profitably starts with performance marketing, which allows advertisers to reach their audiences at scale — and pay for results rather than impressions. 

Marketers can use the strategy across apps of all verticals and categories to stimulate specific down-funnel actions. And performance marketing is achievable across channels — including connected TV (CTV)

CTV is now in more than 90% of US households, creating a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to engage with new audiences. This is especially true for non-gaming apps, which can leverage the mobile gaming apps’ technology, strategies, and tactics to acquire high-value users on CTV and beyond. 

Let’s explore the unique challenges that non-gaming apps face in scaling their UA, how mobile apps across the board can efficiently optimize toward specific business goals, and what the dawn of precision performance marketing on CTV means for profitable mobile audience growth. 

Unique Challenges for Non-gaming Apps 

Revenue from non-gaming apps recently surpassed that of gaming apps in the US, signaling a shift in consumer behavior and an opportunity for further growth. The non-gaming category is diverse, from food delivery and finance to health and wellness. But most brands share the challenge of stimulating down-funnel actions, such as purchases, orders, or subscriptions. 

While gaming apps often rely on in-app advertising or in-app purchases as their primary source of monetization, as gamers spend minutes or even hours at a time in the app, non-gaming apps often need users to take a particular action in a limited amount of time in the app to generate value. 

For example, a food delivery app doesn’t just need people to download their app, even though that could technically qualify as UA. Instead, they need people to download the app and place their first order. Acquiring high-value new users, or those likely to make that first-time order and further purchases, requires first identifying those consumers and then reaching those audiences at scale. 

There’s a ton of data to consider, but apps don’t have to go it alone. Performance-driven data partnerships can help brands connect with high-intending audiences, measure success, and continually optimize campaigns to maximize ROI and drive incremental growth. 

Fueling More Targeted, Profitable Growth With Performance Marketing  

In the example of the food delivery app, advertisers can use performance marketing to understand the impact of their advertising beyond installs. With cost per event (CPE) analysis, campaigns can start to optimize toward the specific “event” of the first-time order. 

This performance-based approach enables marketers to understand down-funnel consumer behavior, and anything from completing a level to making a purchase can be optimized as an event. Starting with an app’s business goal, learning periods, and experimentation, marketers can identify an ideal channel mix that yields users most likely to take the specific action.

Machine learning coupled with powerful data analytics can help app advertisers find their ideal audience and continually optimize campaigns in real time to yield more of those specific down-funnel events. This allows apps to scale UA profitably and avoid ad waste on consumers unlikely to generate high lifetime value (LTV).  

Opportunity in CTV for App Marketers  

While CTV is a new and exciting marketing channel, its pricing model has historically been based on impressions, charging brands for eyeballs rather than results. This can seem hard to justify in our current economic reality, especially for apps operating on thinner margins. 

To leverage CTV efficiently, marketers should test its advantages as a performance channel and shift their buying from a CPM to CPI (cost per install) model, making it a natural extension of their UA campaigns. 

Marketers should prioritize collaborating with channel partners that provide a single access point across mobile and CTV for their performance campaigns. This enables transparent omnichannel reporting that delivers deeper insights for more holistic optimization across channels. 

For example, while tapping into performance-based buying on CTV, marketers can still track performance on a CPE basis, optimizing toward channels where users convert on the desired event, such as first-orders for food delivery apps, as mentioned earlier. This ensures sustainable, cost-effective ROI while increasing user LTV.

By only paying for installs, advertisers turn impressions into a powerful value add for additional brand awareness. For example, users who see a CTV ad for a dating app may not be able to install it immediately, but they may do so later, creating a halo effect from the campaign that delivers long-term benefits. 

As viewership reaches new heights and ad spend projected to grow 21% this year, app developers and marketers neve have had a better time to reach incremental new audiences on this channel. 

With CPI pricing, efficient performance marketing for apps — relying on the same measurement infrastructure as mobile — is more than possible on CTV. In fact, CTV may be all but necessary to stand out in the increasingly competitive app marketplace and scale revenue through the acquisition of high-value users.  

The post How Mobile Apps Can Profitably Scale UA with Performance Marketing and CTV appeared first on AdMonsters.

With billions flowing through programmatic channels worldwide, the incentive for fraudsters to ply their craft was just too great.

Finally, the industry had enough. In 2014, the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) was established to cultivate confidence and trust in digital advertising by facilitating collaboration among players across the supply chain to uphold quality and brand safety standards.

On June 21, TAG released its fifth consecutive fraud benchmark report for Europe, and for a fifth year in a row, IVT rates in TAG Certified Channels were below 1%.

Some Channels More Problematic Than Others

At least in Europe, some channels are more problematic than others. For instance, desktop display and video have IVT rates of 1.54% and 1.30% respectively. CTV isn’t far behind with 1.28%.

CTV Improved Steadily throughout 2022

Throughout 2022, CTV IVT rates exhibited a downward trend in each quarter, but it is important to note that this pattern may not necessarily reflect future trends as it could be influenced by other factors within the CTV marketplace.

Mobile in-app video and display formats consistently maintained lower IVT rates throughout the quarters, exhibiting stability over time.

The Caveat

It’s not as if all campaigns in the European markets studied show low rates of IVT. The report takes pains to point out that less than 1% fraud is only attainable in campaigns that run through fully TAG Certified Channels. These are channels in which every entity — publisher, ad tech platform, agency — have achieved TAG Certification Against Fraud.

The post What 5 Years of Minimal Fraud Should Tell the Market appeared first on AdMonsters.