A curated view of what’s happening in the world of Digital Monetisation, Audience Development, and Measurement.

This week we explore advertising at the Super Bowl, Google’s ‘Topics,’ Sky’s ‘Smart Sponsorships,’ and more!

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Monetisation

YouTube’s Ad Business Delivered $8.63 Billion in Q4, Leaving Netflix in Its Wake
Ads on YouTube generated more income than Netflix's global network for the final quarter of 2021, bringing in $8.63 billion compared to Netflix's $7.71 billion. Notably, this figure does not include revenue from YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, or YouTube TV. Despite this, both platforms experienced growth during this period.

These eye-watering numbers will inevitably stimulate the AVOD vs. SVOD debate for studios, content creators, and rights holders. More importantly, it’s a sign of advertiser trust being reinvested back into YouTube after a turbulent period.

So what should media companies make of this news? Traditional production companies continue to seek broadcast’s new golden fleece: a Netflix commission. Adding a YouTube distribution strategy can deliver both engagement and audience metrics used to validate the commission while delivering a new source of revenue.

What the numbers don’t tell us is what type of content is driving YouTube’s advertising revenue. We know that YouTube favours long-form, and advertisers prefer brand-suitable content.

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Production companies and creators have choices:

Become a micro-media company on YouTube and rent audiences to provide additional advertising services.

Take the payday from Netflix and move on to the next production.
Implement a hybrid strategy of AVOD and SVOD to sustain short-term and long-term revenue growth.

Full article on Variety

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Audience Development

Sky's 'Smart Sponsorships' Brings Programmatic Targeting to TV

Sky Media has announced a new innovation, bringing its addressable AdSmart technology into the realm of sponsorships. Available in the latter half of 2022, 'Smart Sponsorships' will enable brand sponsorships to utilise different creatives to address audiences—something sponsorships were previously unable to do. This means creatives can be swapped out depending on the household that is watching. For example, depending on a household's income or life stage, they could be shown a different model of car. Sky anticipates that this will improve engagement rates and overall campaign performance, based on the uplifts in performance seen after they introduced AdSmart in 2014.

The UK market has been slow to embrace Addressable TV, but products like these could start to grip advertisers’ interests. Sponsorships have historically been modelled on the reach and frequency angle, with the same ad being repeated multiple times by owning the real estate directly before and after programs.

This innovation enables brands to deliver that reach and frequency in a personalised manner based on the household’s viewing preferences. While targeting capabilities like this have been prevalent in programmatic advertising for years, bringing them to high-value TV programmes could be a game-changer for Sky.

Full article on Sky Media

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Measurement

Monday.com Invests in a Super Bowl Ad Campaign
B2B company Monday.com bought a Super Bowl ad placement as part of a large campaign that will be supplemented by social media and OOH advertising. It is a significant investment, with Monday.com spending ten times more on this campaign than on any they’ve run before.

Super Bowl ads have become as famous as the game itself, with companies paying millions for a slot. Viewers worldwide tune in to watch the latest trailers for upcoming blockbuster movies, and it’s one of the few occasions where people genuinely pay attention to advertisements. There’s even a YouTube channel dedicated to showcasing these ads outside of the game, called YouTube AdBlitz.

It’s rare for a performance-driven B2B advertiser to commit to such a massive linear buy. In a world where advertisers pour money into attribution and new modelling techniques, linear buys are typically reserved for brands looking to stay top of mind.

So why do advertisers continue to spend significant ad dollars on the Super Bowl, and what value do B2B performance marketers see in this investment?

It all comes down to the idea that not all ads are built equal. You can buy the same format on the same platform at the same time of day, but the impact on recall, favourability, and consideration will always differ. The Super Bowl’s key ingredient is that audiences are more receptive to being entertained during the game and the ad breaks. The post-event discussions around the ads create a huge earned media impact. However, like the game itself, there are always winners and losers.

One advertiser can achieve a larger slice of the social discussion pie, drowning out the impact of the other ads shown during the game. Coinbase, for example, won the battle with the simplest yet most innovative ad this year.

It’s a massive risk, but the potential payout is huge. Measuring success follows the same approach as any other TV ad: brands will look at sentiment lift and social listening. It’s also likely that Monday.com has maxed out its reach on YouTube, so expanding onto a new platform could be a strategic way to increase brand awareness.

Full article on AdExchanger

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Google's ‘Topics’ Solution to Cookies - Can It Deliver?

Google has announced its new solution for ad targeting on Chrome when third-party cookies retire. The new plan, dubbed ‘Topics,’ follows Google’s failed attempt with ‘FLOC,’ which was poorly received by the industry.

Topics will replace cookies by using over 300 different categories that define user interests—such as food, travel, or sports—and displaying three of these to a website whenever a user visits. Sensitive identity categories will not be included, and users will have the option to opt out.

This approach aims to protect user privacy and operate with user consent, making Topics a step in the right direction. It is also a far simpler concept to explain compared to FLOC, making it easier for users to understand what they are consenting to and how their data is used.

However, Topics has some substantial faults. While its simplicity benefits user consent, it significantly reduces ad targeting capabilities, which is a concern for marketers and advertisers. The limited view of user behaviour—only tracking data from Chrome—could deter publishers from using Google’s offering, leading them to develop their own first-party solutions instead.

Although it’s easy to be pessimistic about Topics, we are yet to see it fully realised. It may yet surprise us. If Google takes industry feedback on board, Topics could evolve into a more beneficial solution for all.

Full article on Advertising Age