In today’s digital landscape, choosing the right platform is crucial for businesses looking to increase viewership and app downloads. With numerous options available, such as Roku, Amazon, YouTube, and more, it can be challenging to navigate through all of the options. This blog post will explore This year’s Upfronts & NewFronts which introduced new, improved and emerging opportunities to increase viewership, app downloads, and brand recognition.
- New Commerce+ Partnerships: Marketers can close the loop on the largest screen in the home with data, experiences, and measurement from top retailers and marketplaces with Commerce+. Instacart joins Best Buy, Cox Automotive, DoorDash, Kroger, Walmart, and other leading partners providing unique solutions to shorten the path-to-purchase for most Ad Age 200 brands.
- Primetime Reach Guarantee: Advertisers can buy with assurance that their campaign will reach more TV households in primetime with Roku than the average program on a top-five cable network on traditional TV for the first time. Primetime Reach Guarantee increases brand recognition by bringing the vast reach of cable advertising to streaming TV.
- New Roku City Brand Experiences: TV’s biggest and most beloved digital downtown is about to become an icon not just for consumers, but for marketers too with unmissable branding. McDonald’s will once again be leading the way as an innovative force in our culture, as the first brand partner. McDonald’s will become a feature of the artwork, unmissable, to nearly 40 million homes that enjoy Roku City each month.
- New Discovery Experiences: Now, when users turn to Roku search, they may see a featured collection that’s “presented by” an ad partner — for example, Walmart was shown “presenting” the Home & Garden collection. New Discovery Experiences allow brands to host content in areas like Home & Garden and Sports experiences that curate content from across TV on the Roku Home Screen.
- Contextual AI: Brands can automatically run their ads right next to the most relevant moments in every show and movie on The Roku Channel. Roku’s artificial intelligence searches the Roku library for iconic plot moments that match a brand’s message and place their ads in real-time.
- Amazon Streaming has elevated itself to be the #1 paid streaming TV service in the US.
- The platform has seen massive audience growth, with 135 million unduplicated monthly viewers in the US, which is 16 times more than the entire population of New York City. More data – 75% of Twitch watchers are between 18-34. Freevee’s 300-channel bundle increased its viewership time by 75% during 2022.
- FireTV now has its own FAST channel bundle. Fire TV channels will feature a variety of dedicated long-form/short-form services, with Xbox, TMZ, PGA and Conde Nast among the charter content suppliers. This experience provides customers with access to live, on-demand, and short-form content on the Fire TV home screen and under the “Free” tab.
- Amazon also introduced new ad experiences for its streaming TV service, including a shoppable experience that allows viewers to interact with brands seamlessly. This means viewers can purchase products directly from their streaming TV screens without leaving the platform. Additionally, Amazon introduced a horizontal QR code overlay that appears during streaming TV ads. This overlay allows viewers to scan the code and be directed to a shoppable experience with the advertised brand. Freevee will beta test immersive ads, where the story unfolds over multiple, consecutive commercial pods.
- Amazon audio ads will help advertisers reach connected audio customers during screenless moments in the home. Amazon audio ads offer scaled access to premium 1P and 3P audio supply and unique audience insights, allowing brands to engage the right audiences in an engaging listening environment. These ads have a wide reach and can be found on top publishers like iHeart Radio, Audacy, Pandora, USA Today, Newsy, and Politico. Amazon audio ads also offer seamless, self-service ad buying that provides increased control, flexibility, and transparency for advertisers.
- Twitch Guaranteed is a product that allows programmatic clients to reserve Twitch Premium Video inventory. It offers fixed CPM and guaranteed delivery without any platform fees. The product provides improved pacing and delivery, allowing marketers to forecast, reserve, and launch campaigns within minutes. Twitch Guaranteed deals are constructed entirely on the demand side, and no minimum budget level is required.
- Thursday Night Football & Prime Video changes the game with tailor-made NFL commercial breaks. For the first time in NFL history, fans across the country will no longer view the same national commercials while enjoying live coverage provided by Prime Video on Fire TV devices. Brands have the ability to present multiple commercials tailored to different Thursday Night Football audiences in the same advertising slot. For example –
- An automotive brand could run a sports car commercial for younger-adult fans
- An SUV commercial for fans who love the outdoors
- A general commercial for everyone else
—all in the same 30-second window during a Thursday Night Football game.
- Massive reach: Nielsen estimated 150 million unique users watched YouTube and YouTube TV on TV screens in the month of Dec 2022.
- #1 most watched service on TV screens in America (across both streaming platforms and traditional TV networks). In April, YouTube was one of the only streamers to see month-to-month growth, per Nielsen.
- Launching :30 unskippable ads just like the commercials that have run on broadcast and cable networks for decades.
- Launching “Pause Experience” ads will be tested for YouTube on TV screens; showing an ad when viewers pause a video. This model mirrors Hulu’s that was launched 4 years ago.
- YouTube Shorts is a rapidly growing platform, with daily views reaching 50 billion.
- Google’s YouTube Shorts platform is a direct competitor to TikTok’s short-form video format, and has been presented as an ideal opportunity for advertisers to connect with new audiences. To leverage this potential, Google is extending Shorts into video reach campaigns. These campaigns utilize Google’s AI technology to deliver an optimal mix of ads, thereby enhancing reach and efficiency.
- Google is introducing new advertising features on YouTube Shorts, including expanding video reach campaigns and launching a “First Position on Shorts” feature. This feature allows an advertiser’s content to be the first video a viewer sees when they start a session of scrolling on Shorts. Initially, this feature will only be available against YouTube Select videos, but plans are to expand it more broadly.
- Despite the opportunities presented by YouTube Shorts, Google’s advertising revenue has declined, indicating potential challenges in the advertising industry.
- Viewers want all their content in one place, therefore, a “Seismic Shift” is happening- more and more viewers are watching YouTube on their BIG screen in their homes, this shift is being seen with all ages, especially younger viewers.
- 2023 NFL Sunday Ticket: YouTubeTV has exclusive rights including an all out of market game package. The YouTube/NFL partnership will create a huge audience, and offer special football content to the already 153 million subscribers.
- New Home Screen: Vizio offered a glimpse of a redesigned interface that will be rolled out to consumers over the next few months. The updated UI not only aims to streamline the user experience but also allows brands to create more immersive ads on Vizio.
- More intuitive, relevant and personalization features. That includes enhancements for media and entertainment companies to promote content, including – Auto-play video, content deep links, trailers, storefront links, QR code activations.
- Additionally, Vizio’s new “Discover, Reveal” row block extends the hero unit to give advertisers multiple touchpoints and first ad spot positions, making brands “an unmissable part of the search and discovery process.”
- WatchFree+ Vizio executives also took the time to mention how the FAST service remains the second most-watched free service on Vizio’s platform. They touted the value of WatchFree+’s single series channels and how they appeal to advertisers. Vizio in its Spring Showcase recently introduced single series channels for “Project Runway,” “Family Feud,” among others. Vizio offers an impressive array of 260+ live channels and more. Vizio also reported that 60% of adults aged 18-34 consider FAST a must-have medium, fulfilling their linear viewing requirements without the cable subscription costs.
- At the end of 2022, Vizio introduced interactive ads to WatchFree+ through a new partnership with Brightline. Vizio at NewFronts noted interactive ads drive greater lift and brand metrics than traditional, passive 30-second spots.
- Vizio has launched a branded content studio as part of its push into streaming programming. Like rival smart-TV makers Samsung and LG, Vizio is investing heavily in free, ad-supported streaming television and its own suite of FAST channels. Vizio-Branded Content Studio (VBCS) that will create first-run unscripted lifestyle and culture series, starting with –
- Clean Break – Home Organization tips from social media influencer Michelle Hobgood
- Island Eats – a combo travel/food look at Caribbean hot spots
- City Limits – offbeat attractions just outside major cities
- From the Ground Up – profiles of entrepreneurs and their paths to business and personal success
- Vizio announced that it’s expanding its partnership with Inscape to provide currency-grade TV measurement (in addition to working with ComScore, iSpot.TV, Videoamp, and 605) to expand on the new growing need for multiple digital + linear currencies.
- Enhanced Carousel Access: 70% of TVs will have the carousel by Dec’23. 40% inventory increase, 20% est. CTR increase. Now Available to ALL advertisers across verticals
- Media Innovation:
- Dynamic Creative Optimization: Weather, Sports, Location, Dynamic QR codes
- Sponsored Screensaver
- Pause Ad Units
- Movie Sponsorships
- LG TV’s innovative ad units on screen including carousels branded canvas’, and partnerships with Amagi’s virtual product placements. Check out this novelty ad creation created in partnership with LG and the Transformers movie which aired during March Madness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeeIfpbUAHg
- Some LG Stats:
- Preference for ad-supported CTV is high (80% use, 63% prefer, 70% like ad subsidized)
- It takes almost 6 mins to decide what to watch (native advertising opportunity)
- Almost everyone multi-tasks, most of the time… (96%, opportunity extend media onto other screens via LG Ads Household Extend)
- Samsung Ads is strictly Team Coco. Starting later this month, Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free, ad-supported streaming service, will launch The Conan O’Brien TV channel. This 24/7 programming is curated as 30-minute collections of clips featuring the best of Conan’s late-night archives, with everything from sketch comedy to celebrity guests. They also announced the inclusion of A&E content, and an expanded news offering encompassing local programming in over 100 DMAs.
- Samsung announced that it is introducing the TV and You Community, a panel measurement offering for advertisers, marketers and publishers to get real-time data about a consumer’s television consumption. Audio content recognition technology will measure the TV content consumption of individual viewers within Samsung households on both linear television channels and streaming services. Samsung says it is on target for 5,000 panel participants who have opted in by the end of Q1, with four undisclosed pilot partners from four different sectors.
- Streaming ACR Ad Viewership will measure viewership of ads on the company’s Samsung TV Plus FAST service, as well as other select streaming services, which the company claims will offer a level of granularity unavailable from other current measurement options.
- Rounding out the company’s performance-related announcements was Smart Outcomes, a single suite of performance-focused planning and optimization tools that currently exist across its products, such as pre-campaign insights tool Audience Advisor and AI optimization tool Smart Audiences.
- In terms of ad formats, Samsung has also partnered with interactive video platform Kerv that will allow it to automatically create interactive and shoppable ads, identifying objects within videos using AI.
- Finally, Samsung has also announced its plans to extend its ad reach into digital out-of-home, with the initial launch taking place in the company’s own inventory globally, as well as select supply partners in retail.
- Meta’s launching new AR ad types across Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories to provide another way for brands to engage users with its more immersive ad formats.
- More Interactive Ads: They are taking learnings from how people engage with Reels to improve our ad formats. For example, testing a larger call-to-action button with more advertiser information on Facebook and Instagram Reels ads. This new button will include an ad thumbnail, headline and additional business details, such as the website URL, to help those interested take the next step to click.
- Third-party measurement partnerships, will now provide insight into Reels Ads campaigns, adding more assurance for ad partners. Double Verify, IAS, and MOAT will now have direct insight into Reels performance, while Meta’s looking to build on this with more data to confirm Reels promotion data and resonance.
- Improving Creative with Meta Advantage: Advertisers want Reels ads to allow a more frictionless shopping experience. Before, people would only be able to explore a single destination — like an advertiser’s home page or one product page. Now, with new multi-destination product ads for Reels — people can easily swipe through each product image, without even leaving the Reel they’re watching. This makes it easier than ever for them to shop products from your brand.
- New watch and browse feature: Available on Facebook, people can now pause a video ad and preview where you’ll go if you click the link. Pause and browse is designed to make it easier for people to click and interact with Facebook Reels Ads. As a result, businesses may see an increase in click through rate for Reels ads.
- The platform unveiled Pulse Premiere and other TikTok Pulse ecosystem updates. Expanding from last year’s Pulse, which allowed marketers to pair their brand with top 4% content, Pulse Premiere better targets audiences and benefits publishers. Launch partners include BuzzFeed, Conde Nast, DotDash Meredith, Major League Soccer, NBCUniversal, and WWE.
- Pulse Premiere lets brands appear alongside premium publisher content on the platform. Ads are placed after videos from premium partners in various categories, such as lifestyle, sports, entertainment, and education. In theory, Pulse Premiere should generate significant revenue for premium publishers producing engaging TikTok content while simultaneously offering brands control by placing ads after suitable premium publisher TikToks in the For You feed.
- Launching a hybrid linear-streaming service for $20 per month. NOW TV will include Peacock Premium at no additional cost, more than 40 linear channels – including A&E, AMC and Food Network – and over 20 ad-supported FAST channels, including NBC News Now, Sky News and more. “With content and connectivity at the core of our company, we are uniquely positioned to build and deliver streaming entertainment offerings unlike anything else out there today,” said Dave Watson, Comcast Cable president and CEO.
- Global customers – Netflix boasted nearly 5 million ad-tier subscribers during its upfront presentation in an effort to secure advertiser confidence in the offering. The increased focus on its ad-supported tier is a concession of sorts for Netflix, which maintained an entirely subscription-based model for years.
- Something very old, and something very new. Ted Sarandos, the company’s co-CEO, told advertisers that Netflix had already changed the way people watch TV and video, and suggested Netflix would help them do the same with commercials. The executive described one ad format, for example, that would be akin to “a 30 minute commercial” that “plays out over several days” and follows subscribers as they watch different shows on the service. “This isn’t going to happen overnight, and maybe not even next year,” he said. “It’s just one idea.” But he also said he hoped Netflix could pioneer a Madison Avenue breakthrough like putting an ad before a movie that a consumer watches on DVDs or VHS tapes –perhaps one of the most annoying commercial formats ever designed.
- Cause and ‘effect’- Executives played upon the phenomenon known as “The Netflix Effect” time and again during their presentation, enticing marketers with the idea that Netflix has been instrumental in creating new moments and trends in popular culture — and could do the same for them. Netflix staffers played up what the service had done for songs from Kate Bush and Lady Gaga, the concept of binge-watching and even the “Skip Intro” button.
- Snap at this year’s NewFronts doubled down on its potential to advertisers, pointing to stats including the over 750 million monthly active users on Snapchat, who create over 5 billion Snaps each day. The slew of announcements sees the tech firm extending its monetization capabilities as it works to right the ship from a turbulent first quarter, which saw revenue drop 7% year-over-year to $989 million.
- Among new tools, Snap’s new First Story feature allows advertisers to up the odds of making an impression with app users, positioning video ads as the first to be seen between Friend Stories. Similarly, YouTube at its NewFronts presentation this week announced the YouTube Select tool would extend to its TikTok lookalike, Shorts, and allow advertisers to purchase ad slots at the start of a users’ viewing session.
- To further entice advertisers, Snap announced the immediate availability of ads in its Spotlight feature for all advertisers globally. According to the company, more than 350 million users watch Spotlight content every month, and viewership has grown 170% year-over-year. Initial Spotlight ad placements will be served automatically, but advertisers will be able to manage their placements through Snapchat Ads Manager.
- The company also announced it will use major sports sponsorship packages to bring exclusive content across Snapchat’s Stories, Spotlight and Camera features, including moves timed to NBCUniversal’s broadcast of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Women’s World Cup. It will also continue its partnerships with the NFL, NBA and WNBA.
- In addition to generating greater advertiser appeal, Snap is looking to boost its content capabilities, launching Snap Star Collab Studio to offer a streamlined way for brands to find and partner with the platform’s top creators and public figures. Snap also promised to roll out additional tools to foster collaboration, including an expanded API and greater fluidity for paid amplification. Four initial partners for the tool were named, including Studio71, Beeline by Brat TV, Influential and Whalar.
- Snap also used the NewFronts to further flex its plans surrounding artificial intelligence and its chatbot, My AI. Among new endeavors within the tech, the company has begun early testing on sponsored links within My AI conversations to promote businesses who are relevant to the discussion. The company is similarly in early testing for an additional My AI tool, which would provide mobile video powered by conversational intent to Snapchat users.
