Posts for 'Advertising'

Two video ad tech providers, Genesis Media and Altitude Digital, announced they have merged in a deal that is rooted in using data to optimize video publishers’ ad inventory. The new company combines Genesis Media’s technology to analyze publishers’ content, ads and audience with Altitude’s video supply side platform. The merged company will be called Genesis Media and be led by CEO Mark Yakanich, with Altitude’s Joe Grover becoming president and chief marketing officer.

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Video ad tech provider Extreme Reach has released its inaugural Benchmark Report for video advertising for Q2 ’17, finding, among other things, that video ad completion rates, viewability and time spent have all increased over the past year. For everyone in the industry, these numbers are encouraging signs that video ads are maturing and resonating with audiences, which will in turn help drive more spending.

Key highlights of the new report include:

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Videology has released its latest Knowledge Lab research report which is focused on first-party data and how it is being used to help target video ads.  Among the highlights of the report are that 25% of video campaign impressions Videology now serves use first-party targeting. Overall, the percentage of video campaigns using first-party data has increased from 5% in 2015 to 11% in the first half of 2017.

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Video ad tech provider Cadent announced this morning enhancements to its core addressable linear TV solution to enable ad delivery across OTT, network DVR and VOD as well. The entire system connects to multiple third-party ad servers through open standards so that pay-TV operators can fulfill on advertisers’ desires to plan, deliver and measure video campaigns holistically across screens.

In a briefing, Cadent’s CTO and COO, Stephanie Mitchko-Beale told me that a big differentiator for Cadent’s solution is that all ad decisioning is done in the cloud, which reduces the load that set-top boxes must carry and allows operators to dynamically insert ads in appropriate places. Operators can aggregate audiences across the different ways viewers consumer content, in turn giving advertisers a total view of usage.

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Yesterday I posted the recent Video Ad Summit keynote interview with Brian Lesser, CEO of GroupM North America, in which he articulated some of the key challenges facing advertisers today: consumers are harder than ever to reach, data is becoming more valuable, workflows and media buying need to be simplified and agencies need to be more streamlined, among other things.

Video ad tech providers are well aware of these imperatives and this week, 2 new partnerships that were announced (one between YuMe and Mediaocean and the other between DataXu and Teads), along with a new strategic consulting initiative announced by SpotX, all pick up, in one way or another, on the points Brian made.

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We had 2 terrific keynote interviews at our recent 7th annual Online Video Advertising Summit, with Brian Lesser (CEO, GroupM North America), which was conducted by Matt Spiegel (Managing Director, Marketing & Technology Solutions, MediaLink) and with Troy Young (Global President, Hearst Digital Media), who I interviewed.

Taken together they provide invaluable insights from both the buy and sell sides about how to succeed in the rapidly changing video industry.

Each interview is a little over 30 minutes. Links to all of the session videos from the Ad Summit are included at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

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I’m pleased to present the 378th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

First up this week, Colin shares reactions to a presentation he attended by Jennifer Dorian, GM of Turner Classic Movies and FilmStruck about how TCM is focusing on its core fans to build community and strengthen its brand. Colin was very impressed with the range of initiatives TCM is taking as examples of how a traditional cable TV network can deepen its relationships with viewers.  

We then transition to discuss AMC Premiere, the new $4.99 per month service recently launched by AMC and Comcast allowing ad-free viewing of current season programs. I really like the fact that the companies are experimenting with a new business model, but as I wrote, based on other similar services, I’m not super-confident that there is huge pent-up demand to pay extra to avoid ads, especially since the programming available is limited.

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Even as online video advertising booms, questions of trust continue to loom large in the industry. Whether it’s brand safety, misreported and unaudited metrics, viewability or fraud, the industry as a whole is grappling with how to instill a greater sense of trust among all parties.

At our recent Online Video Ad Summit we had a really thoughtful session, “Putting Trust First in Online Video Advertising” in which panelists explored all of the above issues, starting with the most fundamental question, “How do we define brand safety?” It was a really illuminating discussion of all the cross-currents in play and the difficulty of resolving them cohesively, given a multitude of priorities.

The session included Natalie Gabathuler-Scully (VP, Revenue Operations, Vevo), Jonathan Katz (VP of Demand Platforms, Trusted Media Brands), Steve Rubel (Chief Content Strategist, Edelman) and Ben Versh (Director, Media Team, Pfizer), with Eric John (Deputy Director, Video, IAB) moderating.

Watch the video (36 minutes, 41 seconds).

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Programmatic video ad buying - using data and automation - is one of the most critical trends in how video is monetized. But as programmatic video has gained momentum, it has become a much more complicated world for publishers, advertisers, agencies and technology providers.

At our recent Online Video Ad Summit session, “Behind Programmatic Video’s Momentum,” panelists shared insights about how they’re pursuing programmatic and succeeding, along with where key challenges remain.  

The session included Sarah Baehr (EVP, Managing Partner, Digital, Horizon Media), Dvir Doron (Chief Marketing Officer, Cedato) and Sean Holzman (Chief Digital Officer, Bonnier), with Matt Prohaska (CEO and Principal, Prohaska Consulting) moderating.

Watch the video (34 minutes, 48 seconds).

And mark your calendars for Wednesday, November 29th for our 3rd annual SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit in NYC!

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It’s no exaggeration to say there are breakthrough innovations happening in every area of video: advertising, distribution, programming, user experience, multiscreen access and lots more. As viewers, we all benefit from these innovations, which are often behind the scenes, but which hugely contribute to our experiences.

At our recent Online Video Ad Summit, we dedicated a session to understanding innovation and how the industry is continuing to evolve in lots of ways.

The session included Frank Besteiro (Head of Business Development & Partnerships, Vemba), Mike Proulx (Chief Digital Officer, Hill Holliday), Jesse Redniss (Chief Innovation Officer, Turner), Dave Simon (VP, Video Activation, AOL) with Brian Ring (Principal Analyst, Ring Digital) moderating.

Watch the video (38 minutes, 11 seconds).

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Screens are now omnipresent with viewers fluidly shifting their consumption depending on their circumstances. At our recent Online Video Ad Summit session, “Best Practices in a Multiscreen World,” panelists discussed what’s worked well for them in multiscreen, including workflows, measurement, monetization, quality of experience, storytelling, brand safety and much more.

The session included Josh Arensberg (VP, Head of Corporate Development and Strategy, Comcast Technology Solutions), Patricia Betron (SVP, Multimedia Sales, ESPN), Scott Doyne (SVP, Product Strategy, Turner), Julie DeTraglia (VP, Ad Sales Research, Hulu), with Dan Punt (Managing Director, FTI Consulting) moderating.

Watch the video (35 minutes, 52 seconds).

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AMC Premiere, an ad-free version of the popular cable network AMC, will be available for $4.99 per month to Comcast’s Xfinity TV subscribers, the latest initiative by pay-TV incumbents to offer more flexible access to viewers. AMC Premiere provides ad-free access to the network’s current season programs along with a variety of exclusive and first-look content and movies.

However, AMC Premiere does not include past seasons of “The Walking Dead” for example, or any of the iconic programming like “Mad Men” or “Breaking Bad,” which put AMC on the map for high-quality originals. All of those have long been licensed to Netflix. The most recent season of “The Walking Dead,” as well as prior ones, are available on demand from Comcast for $2.99 per episode. Many other shows from other networks are available at no charge on demand from Comcast.

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It’s no secret that Google, Facebook and other social platforms can help video publishers expand their audience reach and monetization. But the downside is they create risks around losing control of the business, exposing valuable viewer insights and reducing margins. All publishers are grappling with how to balance opportunity and risk with respect to their platform strategies.

At our Online Video Ad Summit, we had a really thoughtful panel called “The Playbook for Surviving and Thriving in the Platform Era” which dug into many of these issues and how publishers/agencies are managing the inherent tradeoffs.

The session included Jarrod Dicker (Head of Commercial Product and Technology, Washington Post), Paul Marcum (President, Truffle Pig), Michael Shane (Global Head of Digital Innovation, Bloomberg Media), with Lorne Brown (President, SintecMedia) moderating. All participants offered highly specific examples of their decision-making and what’s working for them.

Watch the video (37 minutes, 27 seconds).

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Mobile video usage is exploding as smartphones proliferate, adoption of unlimited data plans grows and social platforms dominate. In this context, optimizing mobile video monetization is more important than ever. At our recent Online Video Ad Summit, our panel “How to Monetize Mobile Video’s Coming Explosion” explored the various opportunities and challenges mobile video represents. These include the context, measurement, fragmentation, ad formats, ad load, viewers’ expectations and lots more.

The session included Brian Danzis (Head of Global Video Monetization, Spotify), Romain Job (GM, Americas, Smart AdServer), Justin Fadgen (VP, Business Development, Beachfront Media) and Mike Law (EVP, Managing Director of Video Investments, Dentsu Aegis Network U.S.) with Tim Hanlon (CEO, The Vertere Group) moderating.

Watch the video (35 minutes, 30 seconds).

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Although more video is being produced than ever, for advertisers, premium video remains the most sought-after. At last week’s 7th annual VideoNuze Online Video Ad Summit, our opening panel “Exploring Premium Video’s Winning Formula,” dug into why premium video is so valuable and how it can maintain its desirability.

The session included Maureen Bosetti (Chief Partnerships Officer, Initiative), Pooja Midha (SVP, Digital Ad Sales & Operations, Disney ABC Television Group) and Scott Rosenberg (SVP/GM, Advertising, Roku), with James Rooke (GM, Publisher Platform, FreeWheel) moderating.

(Note, I’ll be posting all of the VideoNuze Ad Summit videos over the next couple of weeks)

Watch the video (37 minutes, 44 seconds).

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I’m pleased to present the 375th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

This week we’re excited to have Mike Lawlor, FreeWheel’s SVP of Client Services, join us to dig into the company’s Q1 ’17 Video Monetization Report, which it released on Wednesday at the VideoNuze Ad Summit.

First up, we talk about the meteoric growth in OTT devices, which when coupled with set-top box video, means nearly half of all ad views in premium video now occur on TVs. FreeWheel calls this the “new living room” and Mike describes the drivers of this growth and what it means for programmers and advertisers.

Overall, it was the 25th straight quarter of double digit percentage growth for online video, and we discuss whether this amazing streak will continue. We cover a lot of other ground, including what types of programming viewers are watching, what role programmatic is playing for premium video, the importance of improving the viewers’ ad experiences and much more.

FreeWheel’s VMR continues to be an incredibly valuable piece of research, helping industry analysts and executives better understand how disruption is playing out. The VMR is available as a complimentary download.

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