MultiScreenAdvertising- The Evolution

Multiscreen video advertising is evolving rapidly. Uptil now the major issues facing Multiscreen deployments in general were basic technical hurdles in allowing content to become available on Multiscreen devices such as tablets, smartphones as well as the web. In addition there are three major formats that need to be supported (and host of others) such as Apples HLS, Adobe HDS and Micorsoft Smooth Streaming.

The model below shows the evolution of Multiscreen advertising.

ReTransminssion
The first basic step was the ability to take content that was linear, catchup TV or Video on demand and make that available on all the devices in all the formats that are listed above. At this point this is a solved problem. In the past year the number of content distributors that were retransmitting has increased from 5 in 2010 to 55 in 2011 (quote article and link) in the United States.

For example the SuperBowl this year in the US was available on traditional TV's. It was also available from NBC from their website and finally it was available on smartphones from Verizon. (this is not an exhaustive list these are the ones that I was viewing. If you are interested in the comparison look at my previous blog post here SuperBowl ads Three Screen style)

Replacement Ads

The next step is in taking the retransmitted content and replacing the ads that are in the payload in the case of linear TV or putting in a different ad payload in the case of catchup TV and Video on Demand. This step has the natural advantage of allowing the content distributor or content creator the ability to monetize the multiscreen retransmissions that they have already undertaken
There are two different ways that the ads can be monetized:

1. A new ad opportunity that can be sold. This is the traditional ad model for a scheduled ad that can be sold by the content provider and/or the content distributor - just on a new medium 
2. A coordinated ad that can complement the ad that is being aired on the big screen. This could be the same exact ad or it could be a different ad but emphasizing the same content. 

For example the NBC OTT ( Over the Top) web feed for the SuperBowl had examples of both of these types of ads. They had completely different ads as compared to the TV feed. At times the same ad was played but at a different time. An interesting study was published here study-online video ads complement tv ads that showed contary to popular belief online MSV ads can actually reinforce tv ads and not be a takeaweay from eyeballs on the TV screen.

Targeted/Adressability
VOD advertising and Catchup TV have always been targetable based on the fact that each individual user is delivered an individual IP stream for the content they are viewing EVEN on traditional TV's. However VOD advertising has been coming of age for a long time (Future blog post on why this year is the point where this will take off due to a confluence of a number of different factors).
However traditional linear TV has been limited to targeting that is based on the local region that the ad's being replaced in. This is due to a number of constraints (cost and cost actually - cost of doing the ad insertion as well as cost of network as linear streams are distributed in multicast form to conserve bandwith).

MultiScreen video distribution is different. Regardless of whether it is linear tv, catchup tv, or Video on demand each end user is provided a separate stream.

This creates a major opportunity to target the ads in many ways that go well beyond the local region or zone that the end user is located in. Traditional marketing demographics can be used. User behavior analysis can be used. Category preferences can be used. And the key is that the ads that are served can be more relevant to the audience that they are offered to.

Side rant and future blog post. Many people have expressed the view that the new screens and technologies are going to end up reducing the value of traditional tv ads as people will skip them.
For example, I have 2 DVR's (don't ask why - just try to get your wife to stop using a Tivo!). However, I often stop fast forwarding to watch an ad. Why? In my case I want to see the movie trailers....why can't the ad system figure that out for me so I don't have to fast forward in the first place?)

I would postulate that such a targeted ad is more valuable than a traditional linear ad as it is more targeted offering the advertiser the segment that they would offer the ad to and the end user the possibility of relevant ads.

Coordinated Multiscreen ads
There are a number of opportunities to further increase the value of the ads that are being offered to the end user. First and foremost the reality is that most people are using their smartdevices (tablets, smartphones et al) in conjunction with traditional TV. For example here is a wonderful study Mobile device owners multitasking while watching TV  that shows how many people are already multitasking.
There is plenty of data out there and many example apps that were used during the Superbowl such as Shazam that worked in conjunction with the Superbowl. Although all of these examples are with linear TV broadcast events there is also a lot of data on the number of tweets associated with serial TV content such as Desperate Housewives. I won't even bother to say that there will be blog posts for this area!!

To categorize the opportunities there are:

1. Companion ads - (smart device in conjunction with tv viewership)
2. Coordinated ads - smart device is the destination for video and there are coordinated banners etc
3. And more ......future blogs