feb march | Page 12

Cover Story

is required to stay one step ahead of the
competition .”
“ Advertisers are looking for more
transparency , better targeting , and highquality
content ,” suggests Operative ’ s
Dembowski . “ Media companies that are able
to deliver performance , offer new and creative
ad units , leverage data to reach audiences , and
share campaign performance details to inform
decision-making will see higher demand and
will be able to charge higher prices .”
“ With the broadcast and media industry
progressively struggling under the tough
economic climate , it has never been more
important to prioritise ad revenue and
consumer demand than right now ,” asserts
Veset ’ s Gailis . “ Many providers , specifically in
the FAST industry , are beginning to explore
new ways of meeting ad revenue that doesn ’ t
break the bank , leading to a spike in ad tech
developments as of recent months . In 2024 ,
although the economic climate will continue
to present challenges - successful in-video
ad insertion and a deeper understanding of
consumer demand will ensure that there is
enough financial stability to hold up the fort
“ For many providers , the future of FAST is looking more promising by the day .” - Gatis Gailis , Veset
across the industry .”
STRAIN . “ It ’ s understandable that both
television subscriptions and advertising
budgets might be under strain ,” admits
Viaccess-Orca ’ s Mangel . “ However , this
situation also drives innovation and efficiency
in advertising strategies . Advertisers are likely
to pivot towards cost-effective advertising
solutions to maximise their reach and impact
within a constrained budget . One particularly
viable option is the use of in-stream and inapp
animated and dynamic short GIFs , which
are far cheaper to produce — in comparison
to traditional video ads — and can be easily
updated and optimised based on performance
metrics , meaning they can consistently capture the attention of viewers .”
“ Another option we expect to see is the application of a segmented CPA model . With this approach , advertisers pay only when a specific action is taken by an enduser , such as a sale or a sign-up , making it a highly cost-effective strategy . The advent of ‘ second screen ’ activation technologies further enhances this model ’ s attractiveness . As viewers watch TV , advertisers can simultaneously engage them on a second device — like a smartphone or tablet — creating a direct pathway to measure and monitor user actions triggered by big screen content .”
“ FAST channels are positioned to benefit from the current environment of organisational cost-cutting amid the global push for corporate profitability ,” says ViewNexa ’ s Morrow . “ Advertisers looking for cost-effective ways to reach audiences will allocate more budget towards FAST platforms because they offer additional reach and targeted and measurable advertising opportunities .” KEY . “ The key is for providers to deliver the best ad product they possibly can ,” states Yospace ’ s Davies . “ They need to deliver ad targeting at scale , a great viewer experience , and transparent , real-time metrics for advertisers . If they do that then they can compete with other digital marketing channels and bring more budget into the CTV marketplace , especially from ecommerce where Amazon Prime has the power to draw advertisers to CTV for the first time . The deprecation of third-party cookies is a factor that could bring more advertisers to CTV . But CTV providers must offer better ad products to compete with other digital channels .”
“ FAST channels are positioned to benefit from the current environment of organisational cost-cutting amid the global push for corporate profitability ,” notes Zixi ’ s Motti . “ Advertisers looking for cost-effective ways to reach audiences will allocate more budget towards FAST platforms because they offer additional reach and targeted and measurable advertising opportunities .”
As to whether the increase in ad avails mean an inevitable decline in CPMs , Smith contends that if ad inventory is managed effectively and demand remains high , especially in premium and targeted segments , then CPMs won ’ t necessarily decline . “ In some cases they will increase especially on audience segments that leverage the promise of CTV , -putting the right ad in front of the right viewer . Like everything else , it ’ s about matching supply with demand . With more sophisticated targeting and programmatic ad sales , platforms can maintain or even increase CPMs by ensuring that ads are relevant to
“ The price in the advertising market , as with any market , is determined by the intersection of supply and demand .” - Dror Mangel , Viaccess-Orca
the viewer , thus providing more value to
advertisers . The key is to avoid oversaturation
and to maintain a high-quality viewing
experience .”
CHALLENGE . “ The challenge with
increasing CPMs is bringing more advertisers
to the space ,” suggests Guille .” Combined with
programmatic CPM ( which involves realtime
automated bidding for ad space , where
CPM rates fluctuate based on demand and
audience desirability ), the CPMs should keep
a floor price and even grow . Streaming brings
additional data and granularity to advertisers ,
enabling them to reach a more targeted
audience . There are a wider number of choices
in terms of CPM , and that may lead to some
creativity on the publishers ’ side to keep the
CPMs high while increasing the inventory .
Some of the innovative options available
include targeted CPM , geographic CPM , and
tiered CPM .”
“ Certainly not ,” asserts Nicholson . “ The
introduction of fresh ad formats and incontent
advertising is producing the opposite
outcome . New ad formats are driving a rise in
CPMs of around 25 per cent for some format
inventory types . Programmatic insertions
based on inventory from less favourable
channels will continue to struggle to achieve
higher fill rates .”
“ The AVoD and FAST markets are still
new , so advertisers , even as they are moving
budgets , are wary of fraud and low quality ,”
warns Dembowski . “ The market still lacks
standards and structure to help advertisers
buy programmatically at scale , so there
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