Tremor Video said it launched a Programmatic TV Marketplace that will allow advertisers to create ad campaigns across connected TV and all screen video.

“With such a complex and convoluted TV media ecosystem, simplifying the ad buying process is key,” said Karim Rayes, chief product officer, Tremor International. “Our TV Marketplace helps advertisers streamline the buying process by giving them the flexibility and the confidence to know their brand messages will be seen in contextually relevant, brand-safe environments.”

Also Read: Tremor Video To Launch New CTV Offering

The marketplace gives brands the ability to plan, execute and optimize campaigns using curated TV inventory that includes live sports. Campaigns can be audience based, contextual or based on the same metrics at traditional TV, Tremor video said.

Also Read: Tremor Video Volume Jumps on Self-Service Platform

The marketplace includes inventory from publishers including Philo, Xumo and Pluto TV. 

“As CTV grows as a pillar of the marketplace, Tremor Video is evolving alongside to make those campaigns easier to plan, execute and measure,” said Andrew Becks, co-founder and COO, 301 Digital Media. “The new TV Marketplace is a key example of Tremor Video’s offering that gives 301 Digital Media and our clients greater confidence that the dollars we’re investing in CTV are delivering on strategic campaign goals and client objectives.”

Even with the pandemic receding, consumers said they plan to keep streaming, or even stream more TV, according to a new study by Tremor Video and Unruly.

The study found that 88% of respondents plan to watch the same or higher amounts of TV via paid streaming video on demand services (subscription VOD).

Increased engagement with both paid and free TV streaming will be most pronounced among younger age demos and higher income groups, Tremor Video said.

At the same time, 81% said they plan to watch the same or more TV over free, ad supported streaming services (AVOD).

The survey found that 61% of respondents said they were watching more TV than before the COVID-19 pandemic and 86% said the plan to watch live TV at the same or increased rates.

“After a long period of being homebound, consumers are feeling positive about the future, as they look to resume activities like dining out, traveling and in-store shopping, all of which should give advertisers a renewed sense of confidence in the months ahead,” said Terence Scroope, VP of Media Insights and Analytics, Tremor Video. “In parallel, our study suggests that consumers plan to increase their time with CTV content, reinforcing just how essential the medium will continue to be for advertisers as they look to fine-tune their 2021 media strategies.”

Tremor and Unruly surveyed 893 U.S. consumers in March.

Tremor Video said it plans to launch a new data-driven offering that will enable advertisers to reach consumers at scale via connected TV and other devices.

“For years, Tremor has been a trusted source of innovation within TV and cross-screen video advertising, and this announcement represents the next phase of our leadership within this ever-evolving space,” said Ofer Druker, CEO, Tremor International. “We’re excited that our enhanced offerings will empower our clients to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to reaching modern TV audiences in impactful and measurable ways.”

Also Read: Tremor Video Volume Jumps on Self-Service Platform

Components of the new offering include:

• Precision-Based Audience Reach based on blended ACR and set-top box data across a nationally representative U.S. TV viewing footprint comprised of more than 12 million households and 100 million addressable devices.
• A wide breadth and depth of predictive, granular audience data via Tremor Video’s DMP can be coupled with TV viewing data— including program-level CTV data segments— to reach relevant and responsive consumers.
• Programmatic Execution, as a managed service, self-service or a hybrid, provides efficiency, speed, and precision of campaign delivery.
• Customizable analytics can actively inform campaign planning and optimization coupled with an ability to track campaign performance across the full spectrum of KPIs, from top-funnel to bottom-funnel.
• An experienced client service team can assist in developing campaign strategies unique to the objectives and needs of individual clients.
• A high-performance infrastructure, with agile, high-bandwidth technology can scale and optimize campaign delivery. The infrastructure is managed by cross-functional product operations, systems engineering, IT, analytics and client success teams.

The company said it plans to expand staffing to meet client demand in 2021.

Tremor Video acquired RhythmOne in 2019 and Unruly in 2020, bolstering its TV operations.

Programmatic platform Tremor Video said that business has skyrocketed on its self-service platform.

The company said that self-service ad spending has increased by 650% since the third quarter of 2019 and that the number of clients choosing to use the self-serve option has more than doubled.

“Tremor Video’s self-service DSP allows us to be an even stronger partner for our brand clients by ensuring their ad campaigns reach the most highly-targeted audience possible,” said Tim Lathrop, digital director at Mediassociates. “It affords us a greater sense of ownership over these campaigns, while helping us execute more efficiently and providing key insights we can use to optimize performance, all in an easy-to-use platform.”

Digital video has been growing as consumers turn increasingly to streaming for entertainment. Tremor Video said its self-service platform gives buyers easy activation, flexibility, access to audience data and access to high-quality supply. 

Tremor Video said it has seen an increase in retailer and direct-to-consumer brands using the platform to take advantage of the popularity of online commerce as the pandemic discourages in-store shopping.

“The growth of our self-service DSP is the direct result of our ongoing strategy to expand our video advertising capabilities in the areas that will most benefit our clients including CTV and private marketplaces (PMPs),” said Karim Rayes, chief product officer, Tremor Video. “Advertisers are increasingly seeking control and transparency -- a trend that the anxiety brought on by the pandemic is only spurring on more. Tremor Video continues to invest in our self-service DSP to allow advertisers to keep responsibility for their businesses in their hands.”

Not only are more viewers watching connected TV, but the advertising on CTV is more effective, according to a survey by video advertising platform Unruly, part of Tremor International.

In the survey 71% of respondents said they were more likely to tell a friend about a brand after seeing a commercial on ad-supported CTV compared to linear TV and 52% said they were more likely to buy that product.

They were also more likely to search for a brand.

Unruly said that the reason why consumers are more likely to respond positively to ads on CTV was CTV’s targeting capabilities.

“More relevant targeting and more personalized creative means CTV viewers are more likely than linear TV viewers to have an improved opinion of the brand, more likely to buy a product and more likely to visit a store or website after being exposed to an ad,” Unruly said in its report.

Consumers said the ads were more memorable because they are more likely to match the topic and the tone of the TV content they’re watching.

Use of CTV to watch ad-supported streaming programming is likely to increase, making it even more critical for brands to understand CTV.

In the survey, more than a third (35%) of U.S. consumers have tried a new ad-supported streaming service since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of those, 79% said they will continue to do so.

The survey also found that 64% of consumers in the U.S. plan to reduce the amount they pay for TV services, with 44% planning to do so by reducing the number of paid for subscription services they use, and 42% planning to cancel cable TV.

Ad supported services are cheaper, if not free, and 73% of U.S. consumers said they would prefer to watch their favorite TV program free of charge with ads rather than pay to watch ad-free. Two thirds said they actively seek ways to watch TV programs and films free of charge.

“U.S. consumers’ pivot to CTV is an opportunity for brands to reach audiences at scale in a highly targeted, personalized way that has, until now, not been possible,” said Terence Scroope, VP of Insights and Solutions at Unruly. “Following our acquisition by Tremor International, Unruly has shifted from an outstream video specialist to become one of the biggest video platforms in the world. From this unique position, we are able to help advertisers seize on the opportunities CTV presents like never before. Together, Unruly and sister brand Tremor Video, offer advertisers the most cutting-edge CTV advertising solutions.”

The survey, conducted for Unruly and corporate sibling Tremor Media, was part of a global study of 2,562 consumers in the U.S. and U.K. during July.

Programmatic platform Tremor Video said it is offering its connected-TV ad clients dynamic video storytelling so that they can deliver personalized messages to targeted consumers.

The data-driven creative creates more engagement with consumers, making the ad campaign more effective, the company said. By leveraging data and machine learning-driven insights, Tremor Video can take a single piece of traditional creative and ad or adjust the offer, product model and other aspects of a commercial to fit what the customer is looking for.

“Now more than ever, brands find themselves having to quickly adapt their campaigns in order to ensure their messaging speaks directly and compassionately to consumers dealing with change and uncertainty,” said Les Seifer, VP and head of creative at Tremor Video. “While the behind-the-scenes production and execution is intricate and complex, we enable brands to connect with their consumers efficiently and effectively, with a minimal amount of work on the brand’s part.”

A survey by Tremor Video and Toluna found that a majority of consumers are comfortable with ads that are customized and increasingly expect tailored experiences. However, according to Gartner, 27% of marketers name data as a key obstacle to achieving personalization.

Seifer said that while a great deal of effort goes into using data to define and reach target audiences, in about 99% of cases, the advertiser is using the same commercial message with all consumers.

“Why not put that kind of effort into the creative side as well so that you're telling a great relevant story to every single user that you're targeting,” he said.

Tremor Video uses “data triggers” as part of how it determines which ads to show to which consumers on which days. Those triggers can include behaviors, geolocation, the time of day or even the weather.

At the same time Tremor Video’s creative capabilities can change just about anything that’s in the original commercial, given a couple of weeks and the right assets to prepare. In one campaign for an automaker, 80,000 distinct pieces of creative were created. Some had regional messages, in some markets, certain models were more popular, and there were different offers being made.

In addition to making the spots more effective, the brand gets insights as it finds out which offers are popular with various groups of consumers.

“We’re giving them back data and they’re learning from it and then they can make those kinds of changes down the road,” Seifer said.

Seifer warns that advertisers don’t want ads to get too personalized. If an ad on one channel says “Hey Jon,” and you haven’t given permission to that channel, there’s a creepiness factor and it could be a negative experience.

The Tremor Video creative capabilities are already up and running. “We’re seeing a 10% to 20% lift,” he said.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest, companies are wary about how to connect to people. This kind of data-driven messaging can help make ads more relevant to these times, he said.

“We’re starting to see people planning these campaigns going to Q4 and even the beginning of next year," Seifer said. “This is the future of digital marketing.”

Tremor urges companies looking to implement data-driven content to spend a minimum of between $100,000 and $150,000 for a campaign. The company adds $2 to the CPM in return for creative services.

“It’s well worth it when you see how much you get in return,” Seifer said.

While some states have postponed primaries, federal and state elections are still set to take place in November. This means political advertisers must forge ahead despite the newfound complexities the world has been forced to confront. Candidates aren’t going to get a chance to shake voters’ hands anytime soon, so connecting with them virtually via video and advanced TV is more important than ever.

It goes without saying that the pandemic presents new challenges for marketers. For starters, they are collaborating across decentralized teams and adjusting to working from home. Many feel stuck in reactive mode, which makes planning for the future even more difficult. Obviously, recent events have turned political strategies upside down, and candidates are scrambling to find ways to connect with voters from a social distance. President Donald Trump, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and many other candidates vying for votes this fall have been forced to adapt their approach to voter outreach and engagement. Trump is conducting streaming events in lieu of rallies and Biden is also leaning into virtual options.

For all candidates, well-executed online events are a means to maintaining connections and rallying voters. Since most people are home, candidates may be able to drum up decent levels of participation. Virtual rallies are also a chance to demonstrate leadership, build trust, inspire and comfort Americans during these unprecedented times.

Understand Consumption Changes

In terms of paid advertising, political advertisers need to understand how media consumption has shifted in the past month. Out-of-home (OOH) advertising and print have taken a backseat as consumers turn to television to stay informed and combat boredom. Recent events that have forced Americans to stay home caused TV usage to increase by nearly 60%, according to Nielsen historical data. 

Today, “TV” doesn’t just mean linear. During recent extraordinary circumstances — Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017 and a severe blizzard in New York City in 2016 — streaming increased in the affected areas by 61%. In multiple regions impacted by COVID-19, live-streaming and Netflix usage increased, and Comcast reported a 38% increase in streaming and web-video consumption at the end of March, compared to earlier in the month.

Traditionally, linear TV has earned the lion’s share of political ad dollars. This year, eMarketer predicts traditional TV will account for 66% of the projected $6.89 billion in political ad spending. Granted, that record-breaking figure was released before the pandemic, but for political candidates, the show must go on. To supplement traditional TV campaigns, reach cord-cutters and leverage sophisticated targeting and measurement capabilities, political advertisers must lean into advanced TV.

By the end of 2020, 44.3 million U.S. households will be cord-cutters or cord-nevers, according to eMarketer. As for right now, there’s been an 85% increase in streaming TV consumption over the first three weeks of March. Therefore, advertisers should approach advanced TV as a strategy for reaching a vast majority of people from all ages and use audience segmentation to customize messaging for each target group.

Targeting is key to reaching precise audiences and spending campaign dollars effectively. Efficiency will be particularly important as the potential economic downturn could affect campaign fundraising. Using advanced TV, political candidates can reach registered voters and layer demographic or geolocation data targeting to personalize messaging. Other strategies include segmenting audiences based on their stance on key issues; targeting voters who have not seen their linear TV ads; targeting voters who have been exposed to their TV spot with a complementary message on mobile or connected TV/over-the-top (CTV/OTT); and/or targeting viewers who have been exposed to competitors’ ads.

Digital Marketing Is Key

Digital marketing, particularly on mobile, is also important. eMarketer predicts digital spending will account for 19.4% of political advertising, an increase of 203% compared to the 2015/16 presidential election. Google, YouTube and Facebook are the most popular digital channels, but candidates should consider other digital platforms to stand out from competitors and strike competitive deals. Facebook reports record-breaking usage as COVID-19 continues on, but many advertisers are pulling back or canceling their campaigns, and political advertisers may follow suit It is also possible that people will purposefully distance themselves from social media to keep their anxiety levels down, making the platform less desirable.  

In addition to reaching people in a fragmented media landscape, political advertisers need to be sure their messaging reflects people’s shifting priorities and mindsets. No matter how they are advertising, candidates must strike the right tone or risk turning off voters.

It is a tricky time for advertisers, but, unlike other marketing categories, political advertisers have no choice but to market amid the prevailing narrative. By deploying virtual events and adopting a mix of advanced-TV and digital strategies, candidates will reach voters with messages that resonate — even in these uncertain times.

Now more than ever, brands find themselves having to quickly adapt their campaigns in order to ensure their messaging is timely and relevant for consumers dealing with ever-evolving change and uncertainty during COVID-19.

Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) allows brands to use data to serve more personalized, relevant creative. In display campaigns, doing so can boost click-through rates (CTR) by more than 70%.

While brands may not be able to recreate those stats in every video campaign, using data to execute real-time personalization at scale will indubitably improve performance while allowing brands to tap into video’s intrinsic benefits, such as the immersive and memorable storytelling power of sight, sound and motion.

But data-driven video is not the same as display DCO. It requires strategic upfront planning with a partner that has the technical and creative expertise needed to execute intricate campaigns, often involving tens of thousands of video versions. Here’s what marketers need to know—and may not know—about data-driven video to get the most from creative optimization.

The benefits of data-driven video

The benefits of video are well-documented. It’s the most powerful way to tell a story and connect with an audience. When you layer video with DCO technology, you combine immersive storytelling with data—unlocking further benefits and making your story more relevant to the viewer. By updating your creative in real time based on relevant triggers, you improve your ability to measure and optimize your campaign and increase key performance indicators (KPIs).

Unlike display DCO, data-driven video is still an upper-to-middle funnel strategy—not a pure performance-play. But data and personalization allow you to improve campaign efficiency and glean valuable insights, if you look for bigger-picture learnings that are unique to data-driven video campaigns. For example, a retailer dynamically changing its video creative based on weather and location might discover that CTR increases 60% on rainy days in the Northwest. Learnings like this can even help inform future marketing decisions.

How to execute a data-driven video campaign

Too often, marketers who have worked with display DCO approach data-driven video with the same expectations, not only for performance and insights, but also for campaign execution. But display and video are two different animals.

Display is a turnkey, conversion-based strategy, in which much of the creative optimization can be automated or done quickly. Video is more challenging, from both a creative and technology standpoint. You need the means to create and execute dynamic video edits in real time—which not all display DCO partners have. Additionally, each change to the original video needs to look elegant and polished, as if the brand's creative team produced and edited it personally. When you're producing tens of thousands of versions, this takes a great deal of creative planning and design to pull off.

There are two components to consider when planning a data-driven video campaign: data triggers and the elements of the creative you want to dynamically change based on these triggers.

Be sure to start with a core concept for your default creative, then choose data triggers that will help you connect with audiences in the most relevant and meaningful way. Some of the most common and effective data triggers are:

• Geo-location
• Time
• Weather
• Audience Segment

Once you determine the data triggers for your campaign, decide which video elements you would like to change based on the various triggers. Some common elements that can change dynamically are:

• CTAs: How they're worded and where they drive to
• Messaging: Special offers, language, location-specific references, legal copy, etc.
• Imagery: Highlighted features, product versions, end card backgrounds, etc.

While it can be tempting to create myriad combinations of triggers and dynamic changes, it's best to align them with your media goals and budget. The more triggers you add, the more versions required, which in turn requires more budget to support effective delivery.

Understand from the get-go that video DCO budgets should be higher than display.

Throughout the campaign, measure performance and be prepared to adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, you may determine it makes sense to add or remove a trigger or update creative during the campaign’s lifecycle. Staying flexible will help you get the most from your spend—as long as you have the production support to make changes on the fly.

Word to the wise on creative customization

Although the ad tech ecosystem had some trepidation about GDPR and CCPA’s impact on DCO, the vast majority (90%) of EU domain site visitors have opted to share their data with GDPR-compliant sites, according to research from Quantcast.

Another major industry shift on the horizon is Google Chrome's plans to phase out third-party cookies within the next two years. This will cause a shift away from third-party data to first-party data when developing digital campaign strategies. The shift will happen slowly, but brands should look for partners who are already planning for the change, and who are prepared for a future in which they make data-driven video campaign decisions based on different data pipelines.

As brands leverage first-party data, they should always be mindful of user privacy and preferences. In Q4 2019, Tremor Video did a comprehensive survey of American consumers and discovered that 81% of the population is familiar with the concept of customized ads, and 61% of consumers ages 18-54 are comfortable with them—as long as the ads don’t include their personal information outside the walled garden environments in which they shared the info. That caveat is important. A video ad on a publisher site should not explicitly reference personal info a viewer shared on Facebook. This can feel invasive and reflect badly on the brand.

So, focus on providing relevant value that reflects your understanding of the viewer, without crossing the line. If you can do this, you will create videos that resonate with viewers—ads they will remember and act upon. Then, the extra effort that video DCO requires will prove well worth it.

Programmatic platform Tremor Video said it expanded its agreement that makes DoubleVerify its brand-safety monitor and fraud fighter.

The new two-year deal includes connected TV, where fraudulent activity is on the rise. Financial terms were not disclosed.

DoubleVerify tracked a 120% increase in fraudulent CTV and mobile apps, with more than 500,000 fake CTV devices detected each day.

“At a time when CTV is our main focus, DoubleVerify’s proven reputation among our clients, coupled with their comprehensive CTV fraud filtering solution, gives us confidence that this partnership will provide brands with the safest environment for reaching and engaging consumers,” said Amy Guenel, VP of product marketing at Tremor Video.

Under the new deal, Tremor Video an assure brands and agencies their video ads are delivered in brand-safe environments, regardless of device or format.

“We applaud Tremor Video’s continued commitment to a high-quality, fraud-free marketplace,” said Steven Woolway, executive VP of business development at DoubleVerify. “By leveraging DoubleVerify’s omni-channel fraud prevention solution, Tremor Video will ensure its advertisers reach real consumers across its growing supply footprint.”

Hindsight may be 20/20, but with data and in-depth knowledge, we can make some pretty solid predictions about the future of Advanced TV in the coming year.

Let’s start with the obvious and follow the money. Advanced TV ad spend will continue to grow as more audiences shift from linear TV to over-the-top and connected TV — and advertisers will adjust their media spend accordingly. Whereas TV ad spend has peaked, digital video is growing at a fast clip. According to eMarketer, U.S. digital video ad spend will grow by 82% from 2018 to 2022, compared to a decline of 2.5% for U.S. TV ad spend over the same time period. But what’s the story behind the numbers?

For advertisers, the growing Advanced TV market will continue to reap benefits in terms of new tools, capabilities and strategies. Custom creative, precision targeting, advanced measurement and attribution solutions will all improve in the coming year as advertisers become more familiar with Advanced TV. In fact, advertisers will unlock new use cases for the medium in 2020. Brands will increasingly support lower-funnel ad campaigns that link Advanced TV advertising to business metrics such as lifts in sales, foot traffic, website visits and signups. As a result, advertisers will now embrace Advanced TV as a full-funnel medium.

Advertisers will also leverage Advanced TV as an increasingly viable option for regional and local engagement. According to a recent survey, half of local ad buyers allocated budget toward Advanced TV this year, and we expect this to continually increase due to the location-based targeting options available through Advanced TV.

Seas of Change

Of course, 2020 will also see rapid changes on the consumer side of the television business — thanks to an explosion in streaming options. As The New York Times recently pointed out, there are 271 online video services available in the U.S. Meanwhile, new quality streaming services like Disney+, Apple TV+ and Peacock will rival traditional broadcasters and established streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and YouTube TV. On one hand, consumers have never had so many choices. On the other hand, the mounting costs of various OTT subscriptions will make it harder to justify cable and, in all likelihood, further contribute to cord-cutting. But as a recent eMarketer study points out, the future of television won’t be about pitting a subscription model against an ad-supported one — it’ll see robust growth for both models.

Naturally, this mixed model environment will also present challenges for advertisers. One obvious challenge is that audiences will continue to fragment. As fragmentation accelerates, Advanced TV will play an increasingly important role for advertisers looking to locate hard-to-reach audiences. An IAB report revealed that delivering hard-to-reach audiences is the No. 1 reason advertisers are turning to Advanced TV, ahead of campaign optimization and increased ad relevance. So, while Advanced TV might have been optional in previous years, it’ll be imperative for advertisers going forward. Because even if the objective is simply to address the gaps in linear buying, advertisers will need to dig into Advanced TV tactics such as using actual 1:1 linear TV viewership data to qualify audiences as well as automatic content recognition (ACR) and retargeting to drive incremental reach.

At the same time, advertisers also have to overcome a different fragmentation challenge. Because there are so many platforms that aren’t talking to each other, advertisers continue to struggle to measure true reach and understand effectiveness. This isn’t likely to go away in 2020. In fact, it’s akin to the challenges we saw early on in digital and mobile. Hopefully, advertisers will use the pain points of 2020 to push for greater standardization across the platforms.

Fraud Is a Stumbling Block

Another challenge on the horizon is fraud. Earlier this year, AdLedger, a nonprofit consortium that uses blockchain and cryptography to fight fraud, found that 18% of ad requests for OTT inventory are fraudulent. AdLedger executive director Christiana Cacciapuoti told The Drum, “The mechanisms for buying OTT are very different than the mechanisms you would use to buy linear, and they much more closely mirror digital than linear. A lot of the same fraud schemes are present in OTT that there are in digital, but with a slightly different twist to accommodate for the differences in platform.”

Advertisers should combat fraud in the Advanced TV space in the same way they fight digital fraud. A good place to start is to talk with your partners in order to learn about what they’re doing to combat fraud. Equally important, advertisers should look for partners and verification firms that let them look under the hood of their tech. Because if the tech isn’t purpose-built for the TV environment, it won’t be effective.

Despite the challenges of fraud and fragmentation, 2020 promises to be a successful year for Advanced TV. The question is no longer whether or not advertisers will use Advanced TV, but how will they use it. One day, we may look back on 2020 as the year Advanced TV came into its own and if that’s the case, it’ll be because advertisers leaned into the opportunities of Advanced TV and asked good questions about new capabilities, tools and strategies.

Tremor Video said Hulu has selected its sell-side platform to power an advanced TV advertising system that will span PCs as well as mobile and TV-connected OTT devices.

Tremor said the deal will enable Hulu to provide advertisers with a library of premium, long-form video inventory using a private, and automated marketplace.

RELATED: Hulu to Launch Programmatic Ad Buying

Hulu currently offers an SVOD service with limited ads for $7.99 per month, as well as an ad-free version that runs $11.99 per month. Hulu’s also nearing the debut of a live TV service that will include the ad-supported SVOD offering.

“After a thorough marketplace review, we selected Tremor Video to help Hulu bring digital automation across screens. Tremor Video not only understood our Advanced TV vision, but customized their supply-side technology to meet our specific marketplace requirements,” Doug Fleming, head of advanced TV at Hulu, said in a statement. “Tremor Video is an important component of Hulu’s Advanced TV offering, providing advertisers with the choice to leverage more automation to deliver the ad experience viewers prefer."