VideoNuze Posts

Ad agencies are in the middle of seismic industry changes including keeping up with viewers’ new behaviors, clients’ increased demands and content providers’ evolving business models. All of that is leading to the need for “smarter media buying,” according to Amanda Richman, president of Starcom USA, who was our afternoon keynote guest at the recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit.

In an interview with MediaLink SVP Matt Spiegel, Amanda described how her agency (and its parent company Publicis) is pursuing more holistic discussions in its upfront negotiations with TV networks across TV and digital, how it is using data more extensively to define target audience and how it is refining key performance metrics across screens. Importantly, Amanda discusses how measurement challenges continue to impact the market.

Amanda also digs into the influence both Google and Facebook are having and how content providers are reacting plus how these walled gardens fit into overall media plans. Amanda also talks about opportunities with pay-TV operators, especially locally. She also talks at length about how her agency and others are organizing themselves, including the role of specialists in data and technology.

Overall, it’s a really insightful discussion of both the role of agencies and how media will be bought and sold in a more automated and data-driven era.

Watch the keynote interview

Data and automation are at the heart of programmatic’s influence on video and TV advertising. At the recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, we dug in deeply to data and measurement in a session including Larry Allen (VP, Ad Innovation and Programmatic Solutions, Turner Ad Sales), Joan Fitzgerald (VP, Product Management and Business Development, TiVo), Noah Levine (SVP, Advertising Data & Technology Solutions, Fox Networks Group), George Musi (SVP, Head of Analytics and Insight, Optimedia | Blue 449), with Tim Hanlon (Founder and CEO, The Vertere Group) moderating.

A key theme the panelists explored was the complexity involved with multiple measurement systems and data sets. With traditional TV and Nielsen as a single currency, transacting was relatively simple. But with the panelists explaining how their companies are using data and how this leads to customized buys, advertisers’ ability to synch up objectives and results is getting ever more complicated. How to solve this is clearly going to be an ongoing challenge.

Watch the session video

NBCU is balancing audience-based targeting conducted though a variety of data and platform initiatives with ads sold the traditional way, based on context and Nielsen metrics. That was one of the key takeaways from a keynote with Dan Lovinger, NBCU’s EVP, Advertising Sales, NBC Sports at our recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit.

In a wide-ranging interview with Wall Street Journal senior editor Mike Shields, Dan discussed how NBCU’s Audience Targeting Platform (ATP) enables the company to re-optimize upfront buys across its entire portfolio, using its own data. Dan contrasted ATP with the company’s recently-launched NBCUx for Linear TV, which allows advertisers to bring their own data and then review all available scatter inventory to create an audience-targeted media plan.

As Dan explained, both approaches are meant to give advertisers more flexibility and efficiency in reaching desired audiences. While the use of data is core, Dan sees data more as a commodity, with the real value being how and where it’s being applied. And while audience-based targeting is gaining momentum, Dan noted that context is still very important and many advertisers remain focused on that.

In the interview Dan also discussed how NBCU is expanding its access to more digital inventory via deals with BuzzFeed and Apple News. He also elaborated on digital viewership in the recent Rio Olympics and how those ads were sold, especially how NBCU structured deals with both Facebook and Snapchat. Dan also highlighted how NBCU has reduced its ad loads in VOD and is very focused on optimizing the viewer’s experience, among other topics.

NBCU has become a leader in the use of data and automation to mine more value from its broad portfolio of networks and digital inventory. Dan’s interview offers great insights about how NBCU is thinking about data and evolving its business going forward.

Watch the keynote interview

I'm pleased to present the 351st edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

In this week’s podcast Colin and I discuss our top 10 online video stories of 2016. It’s been another incredibly busy year with tons of industry innovation and progress. As always, it has been a lot of fun to analyze all of this and report on it. Let us know what you think of our choices, whether you agree or disagree!

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At the recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, we had a deep dive session called “Transactions in Transition: Sizing Up the New Possibilities” in which our panel discussed the key changes in transactions/business models for programmatic video and TV. The panel explored the trend in content providers pursuing private marketplaces along with how they’re operationalized, the shift to audience guaranteed models, yield optimization and the pros and cons of header bidding for video ads plus much more.

The session included Jason Barnett (Head of Programmatic, Teads.tv), Dvir Doron (Chief Marketing Officer, Cedato), Erica Schmidt (EVP, Managing Director, North America, Cadreon), Bryan Sherman (VP, Director, Programmatic, Media Technology, Digitas LBi), with Matt Prohaska (CEO and Principal, Prohaska Consulting) moderating.

Watch the session video now

Here’s more evidence that most smaller SVOD services are fighting for the attention of a tiny group of prospective subscribers. New research from Limelight Networks indicates that just 13% of SVOD subscribers in the U.S. and U.K. take more than 2 services. Of all respondents, 60% subscribe to SVOD, broken down as follows: 33% taking 1 service, 19% taking 2 services, and approximately 8% taking 3 or more services (which translates to 13% of overall SVOD subscribers).

Since Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have by far the biggest market share, they undoubtedly are among the first 2-3 services most people subscribe to. As a result, all other SVOD services, which in the U.S. exceeds 100, are vying for attention from the sliver of people who go beyond the big 3 to subscribe to others. The data highlights how difficult it’s going to be for the dozens of smaller SVOD services to achieve scale.

Continue reading on VideoNuze iQ

Watching video on mobile and connected TV devices is exploding, particularly among younger audiences. Yesterday’s Q3 ’16 FreeWheel Video Monetization Report noted that 22% of video ad views were on connected TVs (up 63% YOY) with 17% on smartphones (up 39% YOY) and another 9% on tablets (up 15% YOY). Combined, that means nearly half of all video ad views are on mobile and connected TV devices.

To further explore video advertising on these devices and programmatic’s growing role, at our recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, we had two dedicated sessions, one on mobile and one on connected TV devices.

The mobile session included Brian Danzis (Head of Global Video Monetization, Spotify), Jeremy Hlavacek (VP, Global Automated Monetization, The Weather Company, an IBM Business), Frank Sinton (CEO and Founder, Beachfront Media), Sarah Warner (Managing Partner, Digital Investment Lead, Programmatic and Video, GroupM), with Alanna Gombert (SVP, Technology & Ad Operations, IAB) moderating.

The connected TV session included Sean Buckley (SVP, Global Revenue, SpotX), Scott Rosenberg (VP, Advertising, Roku), Seth Walters (Senior Partner, Interactive & Connected Television, Modi Media, part of GroupM) with yours truly moderating.

Below are the session videos.

Watch the session videos