B etween advancements in automation and hyper-personalisation, advertising technology, or ad tech, is currently in the middle of a makeover. Shoppable ads, dynamic insertion, split screens and real-time overlays are just a few of the ways in which advertisers are capitalising on our collective digital consumption. The state of ad tech today is “marked by industry consolidation and rapid technological shifts,” begins Mike Shaw, director of EMEA ad sales at Roku. He believes artificial intelligence is arguably the biggest disruptive force of all, poised to streamline workflows, solve problems, increase opportunities for personalisation and aid in data collection and analysis. Meanwhile, Jean-Louis Lods, VP of media and monetisation at Ateme, touts the significance of ad- tech evolutions like server-guided ad insertion (SGAI), which can ‘improve underlying costs’, reduce interruptions (if executed well) and increase monetisation opportunities, particularly during live events. He has also witnessed a shift towards ‘standards-based approaches that allow broadcasters and platforms to scale monetisation across devices and formats’, which is essential to making the most of our modern viewing habits. Adaptive ads, at scale Compared to what appeared on traditional, linear television, today’s ads look very different. Streaming has become the dominant method of consuming video content, whether it’s a TV series, a sporting event or even a live news segment. While the streaming services themselves – Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, for example – were initially ad-free, they now offer subscriptions with ads, though at a lower cost. This has opened the door for interactive advertisements that make use of both large and small devices. Similarly, there is an abundance of FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels, such as those under Roku’s umbrella. Dynamic
ad insertion (DAI) is one of the biggest innovations in this arena, allowing “specific ads to be delivered at precise moments,” adds Shaw. “Its complexity comes from timing and making sure there is smooth playback without interrupting the viewer experience.” According to Shaw, “DAI involves stitching personalised ads into high- volume live streams without latency, making the process high risk and challenging. Any issues can lead to a poor user experience and under- monetisation of premium assets.” Typically handled on the server side, Lods explains that “DAI places ads directly into the content stream before it reaches the user’s device, so the viewer experiences one seamless video rather than a jarring transition.” He goes on to mention: “The biggest hurdles are preserving video quality and a seamless user experience, managing latency for live streams, scaling to large audiences and also ensuring consistent behaviour over a fragmented device ecosystem.” While DAI can be high risk, it can also be high reward. “DAI has given streaming platforms broadcast- quality ad delivery, with the key difference being personalisation,” explains Lods. “Two households watching the same show can see different ads, which makes the load feel far less repetitive than linear TV.” Shaw adds that ‘streaming ad loads are still significantly lighter than linear TV’ – despite adopting many of the same strategies – and ‘TV-style sponsorships and first-in-break video are included’. “The next challenge,” argues Lods, “is to leverage the flexibility of the user experience.” He suggests that deploying less distracting or all- encompassing ads, such as ‘overlay and side-by-side ad presentations’, will keep the consumer focused on the video’s content – but not so engaged that monetisation opportunities are missed entirely. Dynamic ad insertion is not just exclusive to video. Radio stations and podcast providers, such as SiriusXM, can also place ads based on genre, the listener’s location and even the weather where they are – rather than sticking them with an embedded,
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