VideoNuze Posts

2016 has been another crazy year of growth and innovation in online video. Macro trends continued to gain momentum: viewers migrating from linear TV to online/SVOD, connected/mobile devices proliferating, advertising shifting to online video and programmatic, massive social platforms emphasizing video, cord-cutting accelerating, skinny bundles launching and much, much more.

It’s no overstatement to say that tens of billions of dollars in both advertising and pay-TV subscriptions - the financial backbone of the entire video ecosystem - are now completely in flux. All of these shifts have major consequences for both established media companies trying to evolve their business models as well as startups trying to gain traction.

continue reading

The application of data and automation by national TV networks to help sell their ad inventory was the topic of one of our afternoon sessions at the SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit recently. Greg Anderson (Managing Director, Xaxis Media Group, North America), Brett Hurwitz (Business Lead - TV, AOL), Brian Napolitano (VP, Ad Sales, Ovation), Vin Paolozzi (SVP, Innovation, MAGNA), Chris Raleigh (Chief Commercial Officer, Placemedia) and Dan Punt (Managing Director, FTI Consulting) moderating.

The group dug into how programmatic opens up the value of TV ad inventory to new buyers, how new efficiencies are being created, how all of this is affecting organizations on both the buy and sell sides, and how cross-screen measurement and emerging currencies will evolve, among other topics.

Watch the session video

Programmatic video and TV are both taking off, but lots of challenges still remain. What are they, how will they be resolved and over what time frame? These were the key questions addressed in our closing session at the SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit a few weeks ago. The session included Joanne Chen (Partner, Foundation Capital), Barry Green (Head of Business Development, North America, VertaMedia), Dave Katz (VP/GM, Programmatic Revenue Platforms & Operations, Univision), Rich Sobel (SVP, Programs & Services, Publicis Media) and Joe Grover (CEO, Altitude Digital) moderating.

Watch the session video

Conde Nast is in the middle of executing a massive transformation of its business from being a traditional print publisher to becoming a multi-platform storyteller with video having a central role.  At our recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, we were privileged to hear fantastic insights about the company’s video playbook in a 30-minute interview Lisa Valentino, SVP, Network Sales and Partnership of Conde Nast and Chief Revenue Officer of Conde Nast Entertainment did with Matt Gillis, SVP, Publisher Platforms at AOL.  

The interview covered an array of topics, with Lisa zeroing in on how Conde has built up its video business by embracing an open distribution model that has been so successful that social is now the primary way that audiences engage with Conde’s brands.

The company has mined its archive of 90K articles for ideas and content that contribute to over 5K videos now being custom created annually for various social and distribution platforms. Lisa shares one great example of an Emma Stone interview video that got 2 million views on Facebook which was then edited and posted elsewhere the next day and got 8 million views.

Lisa talks in highly specific detail about the enormous complexity behind all of this plus the cultural changes that are resulting from new talent the company has attracted. Importantly, she also provides great insights about how the company is monetizing its content, the critical role of programmatic and how it is staffed, plus the challenges of today’s measurement models, among other topics.

Overall it is a fascinating glimpse into how Conde Nast is leveraging video to completely change its business model. Lisa expertly conveys how much of this is ongoing experimentation, with success equally due to innovative strategies and relentless execution.

Watch the interview now

eMarketer forecasts that by 2018 programmatic video ad spending will be $10.6 billion and programmatic TV ad spending will be $4.4 billion. But how will all this spending impact multiscreen campaigns, and what are the key challenges ahead? These were the primary topics of a session at the recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit which was moderated by Videology’s Chairman and CEO Scott Ferber. Panelists included Ashish Chordia (Founder and CEO, Alphonso), Andrew Feigenson (Managing Director, Digital, Nielsen), Jason Kanefsky (Chief Investment Officer, Havas Media) and Rachel Schlanger (Head of Partnerships, Initiative).

The panelists discussed the issue of knitting together measurement across TV and digital platforms, which is required for multiscreen programmatic to scale up, and how this is being addressed. Other challenges included cutting through some of the confusion around how to select technology partners when many sound similar, reducing the use of acronyms, organizing teams properly to capitalize on multiscreen and improving trust and predictability.

Watch the session video

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