Streaming has been the ultimate game changer for how viewers consume their favorite content. From watching what you want when you want to getting served personalized content that piques your interest, it’s no wonder that streaming has taken off over the last few years.
In the U.S. alone, streaming service consumption reached a record high in July 2023, with streaming comprising almost 39% of all TV viewing. CTV advertising will jump from 14.9% this year in North America, up from 9.4% in 2023, according to GroupM’s This Year, Next Year 2023 End-of-Year Forecast.
And where viewer attention goes, advertising dollars flow. From January to October 2023, streaming ad spend ballooned to $1 billion.
“Brands advertising in ad-supported streaming environments have an incredible opportunity to engage with attentive consumers, but the rapidly evolving media landscape makes it difficult for advertisers to efficiently and resourcefully launch interactive advertising campaigns,” said Mike Fisher, Executive Director, Investment Innovation, GroupM North America.
From finite audience attention spans to a need for industry standards around measurement, advertisers have to be innovative to overcome these challenges or risk alienating their audiences by settling for the status quo. Mercer-Mettl Co-founder Ketan Kapoor said, “Innovation takes birth in sync with the evolution of customer’s expectations and demands or vice versa. Either way, organizations around the world have to continually innovate themselves and keep up with the people’s wants.”
Going beyond the here and now will differentiate our industry champions from laggards. Looking to drive our industry forward and empower their advertising clients to deliver an unmatched viewer experience, GroupM recently launched a new program anchored around innovation and collaboration.
Forging a New Future for Advertisers & Streaming Viewers
Change rarely happens in a silo. GroupM is bringing together industry stakeholders— Disney, NBCUniversal, Roku, Google, BrightLine, Telly, and us here at KERV—to take part in their GroupM Ad Innovation Accelerator. This first-to-market program aims to reimagine how advertisers engage with streaming audiences. GroupM Ad Innovation Accelerator participants will strategize and develop scalable ad formats for advertisers in ad-supported streaming environments including Disney+, Hulu, Peacock, The Roku Channel, and YouTube.
Along with our GroupM Ad Innovation Accelerator partners, we’re working to evolve the traditional 30-second ad spot by integrating advanced digital technologies. The end goal? Enhance the viewer experience and drive results for advertisers.
Our Chief Revenue Officer Jay Wolff said this partnership will create a “bright future for the living room,” specifically with how AI will elevate the viewer experience. “AI’s improved targeting and automated dynamic creative optimizations create a more seamless and scalable CTV experience,” Wolff added. “The GroupM Ad Innovation Accelerator is dedicated to evolving the video advertising landscape by using AI to help brands optimize their CTV investments.”
Bringing Together Industry Stakeholders
Looking to start 2024 on a strong note, the newly-formed group will find ways to collaborate with GroupM advertisers who have vocalized interest in testing new formats and processes to optimize the time they spend building creatives that can scale beyond their platforms.“With our vantage point across media investment, it’s our responsibility to centralize innovation and give our brand partners more of a say in opportunities,” said Fisher. “Advertisers want to go beyond the standard 30-second ad with ease and speed, and sellers, buyers and technology providers all want to be a part of the journey.”
GroupM’s Ad Innovation Accelerator partners will collaborate to:
- Develop goals and outputs for newly created advertising models and methods during recurring innovation sessions and quarterly meetings
- Use test-and-learn findings to co-develop advertising formats for agnostic use across the media landscape
- Analyze media campaigns’ efficiency and efficacy with newly implemented standards and practices
It’s one thing for one company or team to ideate on ways to enact substantial change. It’s entirely another to bring together the brightest minds from our industry’s top leaders to share their varied perspectives to drive something transformative forward.
“We’re encouraged by our partners’ collective commitments to impactful advertising and their leadership in advancing new ad formats, specifically for streaming video,” said Matt Sweeney, Chief Investment Officer, GroupM US. “Uniting partners with varying objectives to streamline ad development will have a multitude of benefits for our advertisers, ultimately allowing for quick iteration and better interoperability across platforms. That’s a win-win for our industry.”
GroupM is wrapping up benchmark testing by the start of the year to align with the 2024-2025 Upfront planning season. Learn more about the initiative and how you can get involved here.