CHICAGO – Connected TV (CTV) viewing is exploding with audiences, and advertisers want to follow suit.
But where, once, TV was relatively straightforward to buy, how are agencies approaching the proliferating platforms, opportunities and challenges?
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Beth Weeks, VP and director of media at Digitas North America, explains.
Standardization sought
Weeks says she hopes the industry can begin to standardize some fo the many ways that are emerging through which agencies can buy ads in connected TV platforms.
Where, once, TV was a largely self-contained medium, with few operators and few places from which to buy advertising, now there is a plethora of services.
Weeks wants a solution.
“We know, as we like to continue to innovate and layer on, let’s say first or third party data against guaranteed audiences, there really is a unique opportunity to standardise the supply and the CTV space to make that a more unified approach,” she says.
“So we’re really working closely with our SSP and DSP partners to find opportunities to do that.”
Guarantees encourage buyers
Weeks says programmatic-guaranteed, the process through which ad buyers agree to buy a fixed number of impressions for a guaranteed price, can work well in connected TV.
“Whether that be with guaranteed opportunities or non-guaranteed auction based bidding, both really represent a great opportunity for our advertisers to access this premium, big screen inventory in a more automated way,” she says.
“We’ve seen this big sort of AVOD viewing. Fortunately it’s no longer just the Hulus and YouTubes of the world.
“But accessing that inventory really requires a great partnership with the SSPs as well as the DSPs … to be able to transact from a programmatic guaranteed perspective.”
Header bidding opens new opportunities
Weeks thinks header bidding, a software technique which sees ad auction systems able to entertain bids from multiple demand sources simultaneously, thereby increasing publishers’ yield, can also work for ad buyers.
Header Bidding Can Redefine OTT Ad Sales: PubMatic’s Berlingo
“We’re eager and open from a buying perspective to see how header bidding will enhance CTV,” she says.
“We think it will help with monetizing that ad that full ad pod, which can open up that supply, which is especially beneficial as we look to continue to layer on first or third party and different data sources.
“But one thing to be cautious of is we know that the CTV space certainly has some technological limitations that are different than desktop and display. So it will be really interesting to see how header bidding will be able to navigate some of those challenges of the CTV space.”
Watching fraud concerns
Despite the opportunities, Digitas’ Weeks is keeping a watching brief on the possibility that ad fraud, which has so plagued the display and even digital video advertising environments, could yet manifest on TVs in the living room.
DoubleVerify, an ad fraud detector, recently told Beet.TV it had noted a 161% increase in fraudulent impressions on connected TV from January to April of this year versus last year.
Three Ways Connected TV Ad Fraud Is ‘Swelling’: DoubleVerify’s Ross
That’s after a study for the ANA last year pegged the problem at $5.8 billion globally.
“Where money flows, fraudsters tend to like to try and capture on that inventory,” Weeks warns.
“So I think it’ll be critical for us to work with our brand safety verification partners to really continue to figure out ways to be monitoring and identifying and preventing that fraud from happening.”
This is from a Beet.TV series titled “The Accelerated Evolution of Programmatic OTT” presented by PubMatic. For more videos please visit this page.
