What lies ahead for video advertising in 2021? The drastic shift in audiences’ video viewing behaviors and record growth in connected TV (CTV) advertising have already inspired exciting new developments, which will surely continue throughout this year.
We asked leaders from across the industry — representing some of the top media owners, ad agencies, and ad tech providers — to reflect back on the lessons learned from 2020 and share their perspectives on the key trends that will shape the industry in 2021.
Here are their views on what’s to come:
Esra Bacher, Managing Partner, Programmatic at GroupM
“We know that the role of connected TV advertising is going to become even more important in 2021 and we are expecting more budgets shifting into programmatic pipes. With that, our biggest priority is advanced video planning and cross-screen measurement; working with partners that allow cross-channel allocation across linear and digital and can optimize to a client’s reach and frequency goals. We will continue focusing on our publisher-direct approach to sourcing deals, because while the execution path of linear dollars will shift to advanced TV, the relationship with networks should be maintained for cost efficiency, priority, and access.”
Rika Kajiwara, Executive Staff, PR Manager at CCI
“In June 2020, CCI conducted a “Video Streaming Service Usage Survey” and found that the biggest reason driving viewers to watch AVOD was interesting programs or content. While SVOD remains popular, more consumers are looking for free options. More than 80% of viewers wanted to continue with AVOD because the services were free. We also observed a decrease from 47% to 43% in video viewing on smartphones, and an increase from 20% to 23% in viewing on TVs. We expect OTT and CTV advertising to grow as audiences shift to AVOD streaming platforms offering quality content for free. Original Japanese drama and variety programs have been well-received by audiences, and it’s up to content providers to retain these users with fresh content.”
Sean Buckley, COO at SpotX
“CTV viewership and ad spend grew faster than most expected in 2020. For media owners, enhancing both the viewer and advertiser experiences is becoming a critical differentiator as advertisers look to connect with consumers across an increasing number of content options. Device manufacturers are well-positioned to capture a larger share of ad budgets as they place more focus on shaping a content viewing and discovery experience that keeps audiences watching, while simultaneously investing in their advertising businesses to offer data and advanced targeting to help advertisers reach engaged viewers.”
Craig Chinn, VP, Programmatic at Samsung Ads
“The notion that streaming audiences are unreachable by advertisers is a myth. AVOD services, including Samsung’s owned-and-operated AVOD offering – Samsung TV Plus – have seen significant growth and have outgained SVOD in attracting new viewers, and this will continue to increase in 2021. We have seen more than half of all TV viewing time allocated to streaming (58%) and three-quarters of streamers are watching AVOD. In fact, time spent with AVOD is up 118% since Q3 2019.”
Nev Hasan, Executive Director of Agency Sales at Foxtel
“According to McKinsey, the past six months have accelerated digital transformation by several years. The shift to online spending, and the massive increase in audience for media during the pandemic, has driven a new reality for advertisers…Where consumers go, advertisers follow – with 3 out of 4 Australians (76%) reporting being willing to watch ads in exchange for free streaming video. These figures are backed by the emergence of free streaming services such as Tubi TV, with total view time (TVT) up 242% year-on-year in Australia.”
Evan Adlman, SVP Advanced Advertising & Digital Partnerships at AMC Networks
“We have been working to implement an intelligent, scalable solution to help fuel the growth of addressable TV and it feels like we are finally at a tipping point as an industry. In 2021 and beyond, as advertisers are looking for the most return for their marketing dollars, the demand for targeted, customized opportunities such as the ones that addressable presents, will increase exponentially. At AMC Networks, we are ready to step up and meet that demand, thanks to partners like SpotX.”
Dave Antonelli, Director, SLING TV Ad Strategy and Revenue for DISH Media
“In 2021, we expect deterministic data to fuel the addressable engine, making it easier for marketers to reach their key audiences and optimize programmatic campaigns in the CTV space. This year brought a major boom to CTV and OTT ad spending, going beyond original projections, and as spend continues to accelerate, campaigns can garner ever better results by prioritizing the end user.”
Jon Tabak, GM, Strategic Partnerships at The Trade Desk
“As more linear TV inventory becomes available programmatically on both a local and national basis, the addressable opportunity for 2021 is one of precision at scale. With programmatic advertising, brands can move beyond broad demographics and fuzzy indexing by leveraging first-party data in real time to make their linear TV investment smarter and more effective. It also enables a more accurate link across media channels, ultimately informing brands of their TV investment’s role in driving real business outcomes.”
Ben Mittal, Senior Partner Manager at Acxiom
“As our world becomes more consumer-centric, personal and household media consumption trends evolve, specifically with traditional linear TV buys continuing to shift toward OTT and CTV programmatic strategies. As stewards of data, brands must realize it is essential that consumer privacy is protected to enable data-based strategies with actionable results across the programmatic value chain. That will bring consumers’ demand and publishers’ supply closer together through compliant and strategic data-based partnerships.”
David Dowhan, VP Product & Engineering, Marketing Solutions at TransUnion
“With respect to measurement, the biggest area of opportunity is cross-channel. With OTT we have decent measurement visibility at the household level, but there is a challenge when it comes to merging individual exposure and household exposure. Getting cross-channel measurement right requires a people-based identity approach with a comprehensive understanding of household composition and the ability to understand ownership of many different devices.”
Sunil Naryani, VP, Commercial & Partnerships APAC at dentsu international
“As programmatic continues to grow and encompass more media channels, aspects that will matter the most are direct publisher access for supply transparency, premium brand-safe content for consumer engagement, and audience accuracy for addressability and targeting. Open auctions can’t deliver on these and hence the advertising dollars are rapidly shifting into private marketplaces and more so into programmatic guaranteed (PG) buying. This shift is more evident for premium video supply on OTT and broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) platforms, where content consumption has spiked since COVID-19 and brands are looking to get in front of an engaged viewer base.”
Jill Steinhauser, SVP Ad Sales Revenue and Planning at Discovery
“Discovery expects programmatic guaranteed to further evolve and take shape in 2021, as we look to meet the market demand of more automated buying options, complementing traditional guaranteed IO-based commitments. We expect buyers to push even further into automation and drive addressability through data, and work towards creating more unified measurement and frequency management across inventory supply and screens.”
Andrew Goode, EVP, Head of Biddable Media at Havas Media
“SPO is a key component enabling us to deliver a meaningful media experience in an automated environment. Working with few partners, like SpotX, that enable us to engage with publishers directly means we have a significantly better control on the suitability, context, and content of the media we are buying. In an increasingly complex supply environment, this is critical to achieving success.”
As Content Marketing Manager, Rachel Sullivan leads SpotX’s content strategy. She helps shape the stories, insights, and news that leaders across the advertising ecosystem need to advance the industry. Rachel previously managed B2B content and digital marketing for a range of emerging technology companies and has both agency and in-house experience. Outside of work, you can find her traveling the world or exploring her home of New York City.