Audience Engagement Digital Publishing
3 mins read

Opinion: How publishers can seize the premium video opportunity

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Linear TV and online video viewing are converging, with audiences now watching a blend of live, on-demand, and DVR (digital video recorded) content.

The same is true of advertising, where sophisticated new technologies enable digital-like capabilities and impression-based delivery to be applied to premium video, creating an overlap between traditional linear TV advertising and digital video advertising. With consumers switching between multiple devices to access video content wherever and whenever they want, there is a huge opportunity to monetise video across different screens and platforms, and premium publishers are well placed to make the most if it.

Balancing a positive audience experience with the need to generate revenue through advertising is a constant battle for publishers. But premium video, which features professionally produced TV-like content, delivers high yields and a curated user experience to help them meet this challenge. Many premium publishers already have knowledge and experience in digital advertising and programmatic, as well as advanced targeting and measurement, which will stand them in good stead to explore a more holistic approach to digital video advertising.

Here are five ways publishers can position themselves to seize the premium video opportunity:

Work closely with SSP and buyers     

Buyers increasingly want to work with publishers who have close relationships with both their supply-side and demand-side partners. This enables them to find the ideal mix of media channels for each campaign and to resolve any issues efficiently, in real-time. Close relationships with premium publishers ensure transparency for buyers and reduce risks such as creative defaults and brand safety issues that are unfortunately happening on open exchanges and lesser-quality video sources.

Publishers should consider a truly holistic approach across various transaction modes and channels (programmatic, direct, etc.), to maximise the value of their inventory by enabling a virtuous competition across their different selling channels. For instance, when a publisher’s SSP is set up to compete against direct sold campaigns, buyers have more opportunity to scale their premium supply. Working with programmatic partners also allows publishers to build options where ad formats, placements, sizes, lengths and frequencies can be adapted to viewer context and preferences, significantly increasing audience satisfaction and creating value for buyers. 

Provide data for precise targeting

In conjunction with their programmatic partners, publishers can leverage deal IDs (or PMPs) to provide better access to their audiences to support targeted buys in a seamless way. This can include geo, device, time of day, and channel, as well as custom targeting segments. Publishers are then able to increase addressability through their technology and data partners, opening up the opportunity for cross-device targeting using household, first-party and third-party data, and allowing buyers to access inventory that is precisely matched with target audiences.  

Support measurement and reporting

Measurement of cross-screen video advertising is still somewhat limited but third-party measurement providers are addressing the need for increased capabilities in this area. Publishers must support audience measurement and attribution efforts including providing anonymised viewing and ad exposure data that will enable an understanding of de-duplicated viewing and deterministic reach and frequency.

Enable frequency capping

Cross-screen ad frequency management is attractive to buyers, allowing them to ensure a user is exposed to a campaign often enough to drive the required action without being continually bombarded with the same ad. Frequency capping across devices is becoming a reality as the use of identity management services and device IDs develops, and publishers can assist this goal by implementing dynamic ad pod management which prevents ad repetition and is key to a positive user experience.   

Guarantee brand safety

To make premium video inventory attractive to buyers, publishers must be able to guarantee a secure, brand safe and fraud free environment, that also provides the maximum exposure and ROI. One way to achieve this is to take a holistic approach to monetisation, combining both subscription and advertising models. When users are required to sign in to access content, the additional authentication ensures high quality ad environments and human viewers, and can also create additional targeting opportunities against publisher first-party data. Offering integrated buying can also help meet the growing demand for optimal scale across multiple channels.

As TV evolves and embraces the best of both linear and digital, premium video is emerging as an exciting method publishers can use to increase yields while enhancing their audience experience. By working closely with demand and supply-side partners, making data available for targeting, supporting attribution efforts, enabling frequency capping, and guaranteeing a quality environment through a hybrid monetisation model, premium publishers can make the most of the convergence of TV and digital to capitalise on premium video. 

NicolasMignot, VP, Head of FreeWheel Publishers International