INTRODUCTION OF ADS ON OTT PLATFORMS

 

 

“Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos confirmed on Thursday that the company would begin testing an ad-supported, lower-priced subscription tier. The streaming company is speaking to multiple potential partners to help ease its entrance into the ad world, Sarandos said while speaking at the international ad festival Cannes Lions. Those partners reportedly include Comcast, NBCUniversal, and Google.”

 

How are ads inserted on OTTs?

 

Ads are inserted on client side or server side of OTT box. Client side addition is an old technique but is susceptible to ad blockers. Since most of the ads are from client side(outside) they could be blocked.

Server side ads integrate in to the content. Also this is added into live broadcasts. Many advantages compared to client side as : solution to ad blocking, eliminates buffering, latency, better experience and implementation.

 

Parties involved are:

• Advertiser — The advertiser is a brand or company looking to get its brand in front of OTT
• Agency — Agency is often an intermediary party that handles ad creation
  
• Demand-Side Platform (DSP) — A DSP is a platform that enables advertisers (or their partner agencies) to buy ad inventory
• Publisher — Publishers are content providers looking for ad demand to monetize
• Supply-Side Platform (SSP) — An SSP is a platform that enables publishers to sell ad inventory
• Ad Server — An ad server is a technology that publishers, advertisers, and video ad networks use to serve ads across various OTT channels.
• Analytics & Optimization — This part of the OTT advertising ecosystem comprises various tools that collect and analyze viewership data.

 

As you can see, the OTT market’s massive potential is only going to keep growing. That is why getting a foothold in the market early on can prove imperative to your success.

 

 

 

Why Oktoberfest needs to revamp their website

 I recently visited Oktoberfest as part of CBS International Seminar week. Considering my past experiences at American Oktoberfest festivals, my bar for the logistics, customer service, and cleanliness was set very low. Once on the fairgrounds, Oktoberfest provided a high-quality brand experience that was reinforced by every touchpoint from the moment of arrival. The punctuality of our reservation, the visually appealing spread of delicious Bavarian food staples waiting for us at our tables, and the timeliness of our servers in taking our orders cannot help but make you feel important as the customer. Every interaction with the staff at Oktoberfest reinforced their customer-oriented service that made the event that more delightful. What impressed me the most was the overall cleanliness of the tent and its public facilities. The crowd’s energy, the free-spiritedness of dancing on the benches, the picturesque Bavarian food, the taste of the beer, the sound of the live band, the spatial environment and its grand décor appealed to all the senses. Before attending Oktoberfest, I was unaware of the details of this two week-long event. My perception was that it was a highly exclusive sloppy international all day drinking fest. However, the opposite was true. Oktoberfest is a two-week celebration where Germany proudly showcases their culture and tradition to the world. Oktoberfest could do a better job through their website and social media platforms, of sharing their story with the rest of the world and capture emotional engagement. They could also do a better job of sharing how accessible Oktoberfest is and that there is more to take advantage of besides the tents. It was not until I returned the following night that I learned of all the amazing food that was sold throughout the festival grounds. I also would have never imagined that it was family friendly. Had I known how well put together, spectacular, and fun Oktoberfest was, I would have not waited until I was 32 to make the trek to Munich for this unforgettable brand experience. 

 

Extending Customer Captivity into Seller Captivity

Amazon’s principle of “customer obsession” has fueled its growth and entrenched itself in the lives of consumers. By setting the standard for speed of delivery and continuing to add value with adjacent services, Prime memberships have become ubiquitous with 60% of U.S. adults using Amazon Prime (160M US prime users in 2021, 258M US adult population per the 2020 Census). Now, with the advent of Amazon Tailored Audiences, they are extending their suite of seller services to bring additional value to retailers. The new capabilities provide digital marketing tools to drive repeat customers and increase customer lifetime value. As Amazon continues to protect its moat in ecommerce, maintaining captivity on both sides of the platform is critical. The Tailored Audiences at first glance, appears to be a smart move leveraging industry proven practices to drive engagement and conversion, but its impact will be an interesting storyline to follow. If vendors abuse the tooling and degrade the customer experience, Amazon can be expected to swiftly tighten the guard rails and protect their first principles. And in the continued trend of increased data privacy, Tailored Audiences may provide an added stickiness for vendors to continue prioritizing the Amazon ecosystem.

 

1.     https://www.inc.com/rebecca-deczynski/amazon-sellers-email-marketing-tools.html

2.     https://press.aboutamazon.com/news-releases/news-release-details/amazon-launches-free-email-marketing-capabilities-sellers-reach?tag=wwwinccom-20

3.     https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/united-states-adult-population-grew-faster-than-nations-total-population-from-2010-to-2020.html

 

Digital marketing performance

A recent survey by the CMO indicates that approximately 30% of digital marketer participants are experiencing average-to-no returns on their marketing investments.  There is a risk of not being able to get additional funding if they are not able to move the needle on their investments in the future. 

The reasons for the digital marketing performance gap and low returns is for the following reasons:

• Digital marketing is not fully integrated across companies since most companies are still in either the visualizing design transformation or emerging stages. 

• While companies have increased their investment in data analytics, it’s a complex marketing tech stack with a learning curve. It will take time before companies start seeing returns on these enhanced data analytics investments. In addition, marketing departments are struggling to convert raw data into actionable metrics that will improve business growth.

• In today’s landscape, there are multiple digital touch points (apps, social media, websites, etc.), that make it difficult to map out the customer journey. Only 40% of marketers report having systems in place to track customer engagement in a way that informs their marketing roadmaps. Without being able to track the end-to-end journey, companies are unable to attribute sales to touch points and quantify digital-specific contributions.

• With the evolving privacy rules about third-party data, companies are searching for other ways to learn about customers in order to segment and target customers effectively. 

• A significant amount of companies still outsource their digital marketing activities which makes it challenging to maintain and build out an integrated brand strategy if it’s being driven by an external agency. 

By focusing on strategic experimentation and building a culture of rapid learning, investing in AI and machine learning, and leveraging first-party data, marketing leaders can help close the digital marketing gap and achieve greater revenue. 

Screen Time = Ad Time

 https://www.ft.com/content/accf6e75-65b4-4be3-93df-7b3dfb3ef06f

 

The ubiquity of smart devices in almost every facet of our lives – smartphones in our pockets, ads on gasoline pumps while we fuel up, smart TVs in our hotel rooms, tablets in airport restaurants – has made it possible for businesses to target us with digital ads wherever and whenever. Realizing this, a number of consumer facing businesses have entered the ad sales business. 

 

The latest to do so is Uber. The company announced that it will launch an in house advertising division and create targeted digital ads in its ride-hailing app (it already does so in the Eats app). The average Uber ride lasts 20 minutes and Uber executives believe that this time presents marketers with a captive opportunity to present its riders with digital ads. According to Mark Grether, who will lead the new division, “While these consumers are making purchase decisions and waiting for their destination or delivery we can engage them with messages from brands that are relevant to their purchase journeys.”

 

Companies like Meta and Google, who use the data they collect to target ads, have built lucrative businesses around digital advertising. Traditional retail businesses that wouldn’t necessarily fit the “tech” business model (eg, Dollar General, Home Depot and Walmart) have all tried to get in on the trend and launched their own ad-sales businesses to generate revenue. By utilizing the data generated by foot traffic in their stores and clicks on their websites, these retailers are able to generate data that is valuable to marketers. As more and more businesses realize the value in being able to harness the data they gather on the customers, targeted ad revenue will only grow. Privacy issues aside, there might come a time when the only ads a person comes across in a day are targeted and highly customized to him or her. 

A Cookieless Future...

 

Since the 90’s cookies have remained a staple for brands who wanted to learn more about their consumers behavior. However, today we are more likely to question if cookies are continuing to do their job of helping us become better digital marketers. According to this study, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3203131, targeting a standalone variable behavior could be 15% less accurate than targeting no parameters at all.

So, are we being efficient with the data and insights from cookies? Ultimately, misusing cookies can impact our ability to optimize our ad spend and other digital marketing budgets. Additionally, with more of a focus on privacy and third-party sharing services – ecommerce sites are starting to pull back from requiring site visitors to ‘allow cookies’ in order to continue browsing or accessing content. 

Now we are left with how do we know what type of content to deliver to the visitor without cookie data? In this case, it would be intent-based advertising. By strategically moving forward with intent-based advertising, we, as marketers would be able to feed the visitor with exactly what they initially came to the site for. This could be as simple as adding a search bar and displaying ads that are “tagged” on the backend that relate to the visitors search/ preferences. In a way, this is future proofing the privacy crackdown with data tracking and cookies. Read more about privacy regulations here: https://newprogrammatic.com/blog/cookieless-advertising-strategies/

What is your solution to advertising in a cookieless future?

Musk's Halloween Purchase

Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter is back on track and set to finalize no later than Friday, October 28th. While shareholders rejoice, the sale brings concerns not only for the employment prospects of current staff but also the media industry as a whole. Musk is known as an eccentric leader who's vision to take the company private, bring in more "free speech," and allow former President Trump back on the platform will foster in a new era at the organization. What kind of trickle down impacts will this have on Twitter's partners and users? This is no longer just a debate around the usage of an edit button but the redirection of a $38B company that could have huge implications on the way we share and market ideas. Personally, I have a hard time deciding whether or not Musk's purchase of Twitter is a good or bad thing, however Musks vision and ability to execute on innovative ideas does demonstrate some promise given Twitter's stagnation over the last decade. I'm eager to see how this will play out and what the impacts will be to media partners over the coming months. 

Sources: 

- Pivot podcast 

- NYT 

The replacement of Email marketing in China – WeChat “private domain” marketing

During the lecture today, we covered key concepts and strategies of email marketing. Coming from China, I couldn’t help thinking about the unique environment in China – where use of personal email is common. Almost every Chinese communicate with their friends and sometimes colleagues and business partners on WeChat – the well-known super app. Therefore, WeChat “private domain” marketing was born, essentially replacing email marketing seen in other countries. 

WeChat “private domain” marketing seems not drastically different from traditional email marketing – they are free to use, delivered privately (one on one) and can be delivered anytime and multiple times. The only difference is that the push notification is sent as a WeChat message, instead of an email. 

Like email marketing, the customer sign-up process for WeChat “private domain” advertising is commonly involuntary or somehow forced. When registering for a platform or application, a WeChat account is typically required, just like an email is required for such sign-on process in the US, giving advertisers access to reach the consumers privately. Promotional coupons are often given out if a consumer willing to share WeChat account info with advertisers/sellers. 

However, there are several advantages of WeChat marketing when compared to email marketing. First, most Chinese only has one WeChat account, as it is linked to the national ID number. But one can have unlimited numbers of email addresses. As a result, WeChat marketing is more likely to reach the customer who are bound to be on WeChat every single day. Second, WeChat marketing does not need consider compatibility issue like an email campaign. The message will only be received and displayed on WeChat. 

Real-world challenges in the gaming industry and shifts in advertising technology

Real-world challenges

Given the enormous new supply and the slow-down in user population and user spending growth, competition are becoming fierce. Gaming sector in past years was highly lucrative, yet newcomers are actively entering as they see the business as profitable. The past blue sea market is transforming into a red sea market, requiring gaming companies to adopt different online marketing strategy.

Real Environment Landscape 

In 2022, the gaming market has shown the following characteristics:

• Existing market with limited user growth, due to the decline in user time and budget
• Fierce competition in gaming products across game genres, topics etc.
• Traffic competition arises across different verticals, such as financial, education, local life, e-commerce. Different products are competing over the same group of traffic, and also developing their user segmentation and product differentiation strategy
• More alternative products for users' spiritual needs, such as short videos. Users are increasingly picky about the game contents, and the life cycle of "freshness" is getting shorter.
• Awareness of privacy and security has been increasing, making targeted user acquisition more difficult.

Therefore, the priority of advertising technology has shifted from user acquisition ability to user management ability. In a market with limited user growth, retaining the existing user has been more important than before. The key differentiation factor is to truly know the user and understand the real spiritual needs: why is gaming different from the short video, how to increase its interactive level and quality, how to increase user’s willingness to pay.. In each user’s life cycle, advertising technology need to monitor the retention rate and understand how to keep the user active and satisfied.

Swifty 4 Life

https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/news/taylor-swift-reveals-first-midnights-song-title-mastermind-22914

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2022/10/20/taylor-swift-midnights-easter-eggs/

If one ever needed an example of a marketing machine, you can quickly search the dictionary for the illustrative example of Taylor Swift. This AMAZING human being and artist, supported by an even more amazing (re: scary) marketing machine is coming at you on all frequencies, all bandwidths, all mediums - hell, it's coming at you from inside your head. It's that wonderful soundtrack to your own life. (assuming you identify as a 32 year old woman who exclusively dates super hot, super famous dudes - well, aside from that John Mayer escapade, but his music kinda makes him hot, go YT some live shows if you don't trust me)

So, with 91.4M (and counting) Twitter followers, that TikTok reel(?), snippet(?), je ne sais quois, (I honestly don't know, because I don't use TikTok, but whatever they call video records on there) had racked up 5M views in the first 24 hours, and at time of blogging is sitting at (only) 10.4M views. And, her most recent TikTok thingy is at 8.2M views 18 hours after release, https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorswift/video/7156835730919066922 (your welcome!)

Oh, and we have to remember her appearance here in NY at NYU's graduation (come on, CU, get your act together!) back in May 2022, when she was awarded an honorary doctorate, and proceeded to tease the Midnights album, "Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out" - which people only figured out after connecting the dots with random Spotify branded billboards simultaneously across the world - Sao Paolo, NYC, London, etc, of course Nashville. We all know about Spotify's long game to differentiate in a crowded space, but goodness, when all those marketing power combined, they are totally Captain Unstoppable.

But, in the end, true wisdom and love deserves to be shared far and wide, and I'm thankful I'm able to do it for just a moment here: "Just be yourself, there is no one better." - Taylor Swift

Click Here to Automatically Receive $1,000,000 💰

In the spirit of today's discussion in class about catchy subject lines, I thought it would be fitting to see how many people I could get to open this post by going with the most absurd subject line that came to mind. My hypothesis: this will be one of the most viewed articles of the semester, yet one of the least enjoyable reads for most of my classmates (sorry!). 

So the actual topic that I wanted to write about today is Oktoberfest -- specifically their lack of digital marketing presence. I recently attended Oktoberfest as part of the CBS Munich International Seminar and it was an incredible experience that I will remember for a lifetime. On the way back, I was looking online at some of the social media and press media coverage of the event and came upon this article: "Oktoberfest 2022 was no record year". It got me thinking about why they had a weak turnout, especially after a 2 year hiatus due to the Pandemic. 

After just a few moments of browsing, I realized that Oktoberfest (as a brand/company) has almost no digital presence whatsoever. Perhaps they have relied too heavily on word-of-mouth marketing in the past and need to evolve their strategy to focus further on digital. 

To give you an idea, the official Oktoberfest Instagram account has less than 150k followers, which is shockingly low considering (a) millions of people attend their event every year and (b) the highly "Instagrammable" nature of the event. To increase their digital presence, they could easily partner with influencers, do sponsored ad campaigns or leverage their many co-sponsorships.

As a reward for clicking this post, here's a photo of us at Oktoberfest... "Prost!"

Lessons to learn from K-Pop-s dominance during fashion month

 https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/from-k-pop-stars-to-viral-moments-who-won-fashion-month-on-social-media

As fashion month across major hubs like London, Paris, New York, and Milan have wrapped - publications have already started to analyze the winners and losers across many different dimensions. From an earned media perspective, Dior seems to have been dubbed the undisputed winner with an estimated $46MM in earned media value and a whopping 45% of that total EMV being credited to its brand ambassador, Jisoo of the K-Pop super-group Blackpink. 

With 65.4MM followers on Instagram, Jisoo is by no means a micro-influencer - but compared to the likes of someone like Kylie Jenner, who has over 350MM and was also in attendance at Paris Fashion Week - Jisoo's ranking as the number 1 influencer of fashion month is worth examining. 

Despite not having the largest following, Jisoo's ability to generate over $20MM in earned media can most likely be credited to the nature of her relationship with Dior (longstanding and consistent) and the incredibly high engagement K-Pop stars like Jisoo inspire from their loyal fans (Jisoo's content recorded engagement rates upwards of 7% vs. Kylie Jenner's average of 1.16%). 

This example presents valuable lessons for other brands who too often treat engagements with creators and ambassadors as short one-off stints and often times put too much emphasis on follower count. Examining the unique success of these kinds of partnerships with K-Pop stars, it's clear that brands need to prioritize creating long-term relationships with unique talents with engaged communities. This reliance on high-engagement talent does not come without its own unique set of risks though, as evidenced by Louis Vuitton's poor media showing this Fall as its own Korean ambassador, Jung Ho-Yeon of the popular Netflix show "Squid Game", was noticeably absent - resulting in a 50% YoY decline in EMV for the mega-brand. 

Is targeted advertising responsible for the polarized dystopia we live in?

Google recently launched My Ad Center, which allows people to indicate their ad preferences across Discover, Search, YouTube. It allows them to exclude certain product categories that they might be trying to avoid (alcohol, weight loss, etc.), other sensitive content, or to turn off personalization altogether.

There are serious revenue implications for Google, Digiday notes:

“Speaking about the launch of My Ad Center controls, such as the ability to block ad serving from alcohol and gambling brands, Ruben Schreurs, chief product officer at Ebiquity, noted how its rollout could have a financial impact on Google.

“Google needs to follow through and show their commitment on this but it’s also a really dangerous area for them to go to,” he said. “They don’t break down their [advertiser] sector revenues but betting and gambling [brands] are huge [spenders] in digital display and video.”

Schreurs concluded: “If the user control of this module is so good, then everyone could turn everything off, and it’s a dangerous game for Google.”

While I think this is a positive move that puts more choice in the hands of consumers, it also highlights how little control we’ve had thus far. The advertising we receive is so hyper-targeted, fueled by the cookies that are nearly impossible to turn off (at best, annoying to turn off, thanks to the efforts of regulators).

In effect, every time I open my Google app on my phone, it is just that: mine. The ads I receive are a reflection of what I searched for the night before, even what I spoke about with friends and with my phone, the omnipresent silent observer, her mic-ears always listening, serving me ads for an emerald green wedding guest dress, event tickets on the Upper West Side, Bib Gourmand restaurant reservations. It’s a portal to my most recent thoughts.

 This article led me to reflect on the impact that personalization has had on us – not as individuals, but as a society.

What are the consequences of these siloed experiences that digital advertising has created? As a society, we have fewer collective experiences. Rather, we might observe the same events collectively, but our experiences and the information we receive is no longer collective; a group of 10 sitting in a room might be fed different versions of the same story based on their income level, their location, their political leanings, their gender.

Increasingly rare is the Budweiser commercial that everyone sees together, for the first time, and experiences the emotion of a Dalmatian puppy being reunited with his horse friend.

 Now, we opt out – I only see red wine, full bodied and dry, Italian. My experiences with ads are more limited. More polarized.

 I can’t help but think that this hyper-individualization is partly responsible for the echo chambers we’ve created as a society: islands of small communities who reinforces the same ideas, rather than reaching across to understand and connect with people who are different than they are.

Maybe Google’s new feature will solve this problem, assuming we all go in and turn off personalization. Fat chance.

Millennials vs. Gen Z and the eventual merging of digital vs. in person?

I recently saw a poll on Instagram asking how Millennials vs. Gen Z might respond in a specific situation, and the resulting answers got me thinking about other ways these two groups might differ. Coincidentally, I came across this article in AdWeek about how Millennials and Gen Z, who are often bucketed together as “under the age of 41”, are actually pretty different in a lot of ways that can result in advertisements aimed at both not reaching half their intended audience. That makes sense and isn’t that surprising in and of itself, but what I found interesting was the ways in which they differ – illustrating somewhat of a reversal in the seemingly ubiquitous trend toward online/digital-first experiences. Some examples:

	Millennials	Gen Z
Escape	Technology provides an “escape”	Looking for an escape from technology
Connection	Social media as a one-way consumptive feed	Social media as a way to connect with people
Money	More likely to invest in a pricey experience/item	More likely to save money or spend on loved ones
Brand value	Accustomed to aspirational, elite brands	Interested in practical, authentic, impact-oriented brands
Online vs. in person	Prefer online shopping	Enjoy browsing in physical stores

Given that Gen Z is really the first digitally native generation, I would’ve expected them to lean more into digital experiences (vs. in person) and be more swayed by influencers (i.e. less authentic advertising strategies), so it was surprising to see this trend toward authentic, social, in person experiences. As technology advances in areas such as AR/VR and AI, I’m curious if this trend will persist or if eventually digital and real-world experiences will become so blended that it’ll be hard to distinguish one from another – e.g. if your VR/AR-enabled avatar is shopping in a simulated world representing real products and interacting with real people (albeit in avatar form as well), is the only difference between that experience an an “in person” one whether you’re burning calories physically moving around? And what are the implications for advertising?

Article: https://www.adweek.com/performance-marketing/dont-blur-the-lines-when-marketing-to-gens-y-and-z/

Influencer Marketing as a Digital Marketing Channe

 

Influencer Marketing as a Digital Marketing Channel

 

Influencer marketing has been a fast-growing segment, particularly in the beauty and skin care sector. There have been many stories of influencers who have grown their follower base exponentially, and in turn have become seven-figure earners in a very short amount of time. It’s really fantastic for the creator market and for marketers alike. However, a very interesting problem is emerging. Surprisingly, consumer engagement with the channel is dropping. Why? It appears to be a trust issue. Anyone can start a channel and offer skin care advice. It is unclear what is opinion, own experience, and scientifically researched fact. Influencers are often not well-educated or professionally educated to offer advice. As well, the advent of paid advertising using this channel has helped to create mistrust, especially toward celebrity influencers who are often paid hefty fees for their participation.

Consumers are beginning to lose trust just when marketers are pouring big dollars into this channel. Can this be fixed? Well one group is trying. An alliance between Walgreen’s No. 7 beauty and a public council in Great Britain is doing just that. They are offering “training” through a certificate program. Influencers would be taught how to discern and differentiate between fact and opinion. They would also receive some level of education on the topics they seek to cover. This would be offered both in person and virtually. This could be an interesting step in a good direction. Hopefully, it will help to rebuild some level of trust with consumers.

Characteristics of the gaming industry and advertising in it

 The gaming industry in the past decade

From 2016~2021, gaming industry increased rapidly at a 30%+ YoY rate. The mobile gaming market, a huge blue ocean market, was a key driver of the market growth. Advertising technology in mobile gaming has focused on the speed and efficiency acquire users. Therefore, the key purpose of advertising technology focused on improving the top-line of customer LTV, by leveraging technical methods such as direct media docking, providing automated mass advertising creation and optimization tools. These methods mainly focused on user scales and user value utilization.

External environment in past years

• Incremental market: massive new users entering the market
• Excessive media traffic: users are more willing to play games and view advertisements than pay in games
• Content quality: limited games supply of high qualities

Priority of online advertising activities in gaming industry

In this market, advertising activities focus on following functions:

• Media traffic overflow: Knowledge of the online traffic and the business operating rationale behind it, such as ranking and filtering mechanism and algorithm, the prediction model of click rate and conversion rate under eCPM model, etc.
• Data management platforms: The platform where the data is being collected, analyzed, managed and activated. Using the platform to finding the right person, talking and bidding the right price to find accurate users; use the insights of user segments, produce creative material and conduct data analysis, therefore maximize revenue through pricing and ROI estimation，
• Data efficiency tools: technical solutions that satisfy basic requirements and provide stable services, and extend rapidly to facilitate the user acquisition process
• Data attribution tools: clarify how each user from exposure to conversion process, track where the user comes from (from what media, which banner/position on the page, from what type of advertising material, how they enter the game and how they behave in the game).