Innovations In Advertising: Beyond The Super Bowl
Companies and brands will spend millions of dollars to air commercials during this year’s Super Bowl—the high price to reach a tuned-in, engaged audience. But recent advancements in advertising technologies provide a wide range of ad offerings that are both effective and affordable. The ad tech market has exploded with new innovations for advertisers to buy and deliver ads to customers. In particular:
— Companies are creating new platforms for advertisers to reach their audiences.
— Platforms are rolling out new ad tools that better appeal to customers.
— Startups are using traditional ad formats to complement their digital campaigns.
Companies are creating new platforms for advertisers to reach their audiences.
Walmart’s in-store, offline information can be translated to inform its digital, online ad offerings. “‘You’re going to see Walmart telling the story of how their digital ads influence offline purchasing behavior,’ [said Nick Weinheimer, general manager of e-commerce at Kenshoo, one of Walmart’s third-party ad vendors]. That will surely grab the attention of packaged goods advertisers, as their digital marketing challenge is often the inability to tinker with their digital ad spend based on tying it back to actual sale.”
— Walmart’s innovative connection between online and offline insights could advance the entire advertising industry. “‘If Walmart’s advertising platform can help close the gap between digital advertising and conversion for the biggest retailer in the country it would be a big step forward for the industry,’ [chief marketing officer at digital agency The Shipyard Lance] Porigow says.”
NBCUniversal’s One Platform will allow marketers to streamline their ad campaigns across TV and digital, helping companies make their advertising dollars go further. “[One Platform] will combine existing and new tools for advertisers to plan, schedule, optimize and measure video ad campaigns. Previously, NBCUniversal had separate tools for traditional linear TV and digital advertising, which forced it and its advertisers to combine orders manually.”
Platforms are rolling out new ad tools that better appeal to customers.
With Spotify’s new “Streaming Ad Insertion” offering, podcast listeners will hear ads meant specifically for them and read by the hosts themselves. The flexibility of Streaming Ad Insertion means that listeners will hear ads tailored to their interests, and “two people listening to the same podcast will more than likely hear different ads.”
Hulu is unveiling new ad types designed specifically for binge watches that feel less intrusive than regular TV commercials and are better aligned with modern TV viewers’ habits. “There are two types of new binge ad formats:
— Ad-free episode: These ads offer an ad-free episode courtesy of an advertiser. The ads appear for 10 seconds with a customized message to let the user know that they’ve unlocked an ad-free episode, sponsored by an advertiser.
— Promotion ads: These ads allow advertisers to peddle promotions, courtesy of Hulu. For example, Cheez-its, one of Hulu’s commercial launch partners for binge ads, will be offering consumers $1 off of their product for watching the ad.”
Hulu’s Ad Selector is a win-win for viewers and advertisers. In addition to its binge-ads, Hulu offers Ad Selector, which gives viewers control over their ad experience. Users are presented with two or three video options and can choose their preference. This is a win-win situation: viewers enjoy a better, more non-invasive ad experience, and advertisers are assured that the viewers are receptive to their content.
Startups are using traditional ad formats to complement their digital campaigns.
Traditional outdoor advertising is set to overtake newspaper ad sales in 2020 for the first time, as spending on “out of home” segments gets a boost from digital interactions. “The sector’s recent growth has come from embracing digital technology in big cities and airports, allowing more eye-catching adverts to be rotated within minutes or hours, rather than the weeks or months it took for physical posters to be replaced.”
— William Eccleshare, CEO of Clear Channel, describes outdoor media as “the last true mass-reach medium” as other ad varieties are geared toward specific audience fragments.
Advertising in subways—”the poor startup’s answer to a Super Bowl ad”—has been revitalized by startups looking to reach a mass audience. “In the last two years, more than 200 such businesses started advertising in the subway system, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.”
— “If you want to be in Vogue or Cosmo, so many of those writers and editors ride the New York City subway,” says Alexandra Fine, co-founder and CEO of Dame Products, about the broad reach of subway ads beyond consumers, including influencers, investors, and potential future employees.