Will the rise in streaming platforms change their strategies if viewers leave the room when ads appear on traditional TV? Advertisers are doing all they can to keep up with changing viewer behaviors even as the technology around TV keeps advancing and evolving. How about targeted and interactive ads for viewers to engage with rather than ignore? There are companies like BrightLine and true[X] that have tried to solve the problem by creating such ads.
During the 2016 NewFronts presentations, BrightLine announced a major partnership with Hulu, the Walt Disney backed video-on-demand service that is based on subscriptions. BrightLine specializes in creating interactive and targeted advertising for a cable streaming audience that uses Apple TV, Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV, and other smart TV options.
What exactly are targeted ads anyway? A targeted ad will consider a viewer’s location and the prevalent weather conditions there to present the viewer that s/he might be most interested in at that point of time. So, if the weather is hot and sunny the ad will present sunscreen; similarly, if the weather is humid, the ad that pops up could be for a frizz control shampoo. There are also other types of ads that BrightLine has created. For instance, a BMW ad it created was configured for certain smart TVs. Here’s how the spot plays – in the lower part of the screen, viewers have the option to toggle between different colors of a BMW X1.
Advertisers are increasingly opting for this kind of precise communication that adds value to the viewer’s experience rather than walking him up the garden path only to disappoint him with something that he’s least interested in. Peter Naylor, SVP of ad sales for Hulu, has a very clear opinion about viewer experience and how advertisements can enrich it. “One of the great promises of data informed targeting isn’t just increased efficiency for the marketer, but a more relevant experience for the viewer. Whether you’re a streaming service or in the traditional cable business, delivering relevant ads is key. Viewers don’t hate ads, they hate irrelevancy.”