hen I was a lad, ‘being spoilt for choice’ was considered a good thing. Not any more. “Today’s consumers are drowning in a sea of content, whether that’s from linear TV, streaming or social media, and there’s only more to come,” says Gabriel Cosgrave, EMEA general manager at Xperi. “Without personalisation technologies to guide them, you’ll find people aimlessly scrolling through their televisions. And when you throw non-targeted ads into the mix, it’s easy to see why many develop a case of content fatigue and simply disengage.” According to a Harris Poll survey for Google Cloud, two-fifths of viewers don’t have a specific programme in mind when they turn on the TV. Searching for something to watch can take them an average of 24 minutes per session – do this daily and that’s three hours of your life every week you’re not going to get back. Not surprisingly, almost half of respondents were willing to cancel a subscription if they failed to find something to watch – if they had a subscription at all. The cost-of-living crisis, as well as perceived value issues, have pushed many viewers towards pay- per-view and FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels. US research from the Video Advertising Bureau found two-thirds of 18- to 34-year- olds now prefer streaming video
content with commercials to ad- free subscriptions. If viewers don’t like the idea of wallowing in an endless ocean of undifferentiated content, neither do advertisers. “The reason advertisers are shifting investment from live broadcast to social media and OTT providers is because they know they’re going to reach their target audience, instead of casting their line into an incredibly wide pool and hoping it’ll hook the right fish,” explains Helen Matthews, senior market analyst at Futuresource. “Companies have milliseconds to catch consumers’ attention before they swipe to the next video or change app, so content needs to be targeted to the right people to maintain engagement, otherwise advertisers aren’t going to see any conversion from ad to purchase.” What most people seem to want is personalisation. Four-fifths of viewers from the Google Cloud/ Harris Poll survey said they expect streaming services to provide a
highly personalised experience, for example. Personalisation is equally important to advertisers, as Paul Davies, head of marketing at Yospace, details. “Digital advertisers expect accurate and real-time data on ad views. A bar has been set by other digital platforms, such as social media, that broadcasters must match in order to grow advertising revenues in the streaming age. The power of personalisation is in one-to- one session measurement: knowing exactly how many people watched each ad and for how long.” Personalisation today spans user interfaces, advertising and content, each driven by AI and data analytics. “Platforms like Netflix and YouTube refine recommendations based on viewing habits, while social media algorithms – such as TikTok’s For You page – deliver individualised experiences,” highlights Ian Blaine, SVP of innovation and insights at Brightcove. “Advertising has evolved, with platforms like Hulu and Disney+ offering dynamically inserted ads
» Companies have mere milliseconds to catch consumers’ attention before they swipe to the next video, so content needs to be targeted to the right people to maintain engagement «
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