SEATTLE – The COVID-19 pandemic threw everything up in the air. Now Nicole Whitesel is trying to put the pieces back together.
The EVP of advanced TV at Publicis Media has seen an explosion in video viewing and, as a result, ad opportunities.
But, in this video interview with Beet.TV, she says that can cause as many headaches as solutions.
VOD boom
“We saw a hockey stick rise in streaming services, both AVOD and SVOD, more than we expected,” Whitesel says.
“That fragmentation has continued to disrupt … in a period that was more condensed, which has added to the challenges that we have already seen over the last four to five years within the ecosystem.
“From a video standpoint, that makes the challenges that we deal with on a day-to-day basis just more pronounced. The aggressiveness with which we need to attack it both from a client side and agency side (is) all the more important and more pronounced today than they were probably a year, 18 months ago.”
Growing consumption
EMarketer forecasts US digital video consumption among adults rising from an average 133 minutes per day in 2020 to 145 by 2022.
After Roku Channel, Tubi and Pluto TV are amongst the leading suppliers of ad-supported options.
But Publicis’ Whitesel says brands need to think calmly about where to place their money.
Keep calm
“Everyone is excited about everything, which is probably part of the problem,” she says.
“There’s only a limited amount of funds to invest. And there are unknown amount of quantity of things that we know that work.
“For many of our clients, it’s about ‘What is the opportunity cost and what can they afford to risk in test?’
“Leaning into everything everywhere can make for a lot of excitement and a lot of anticipation for results, but can also make for a lot of chaos where you don’t necessarily know what’s working and what’s not.”
You are watching “What’s Next For Advertisers? Key Changes That Will Drive The Industry Forward,” a Beet.TV leadership series presented by Comcast Technology Solutions. For more videos, please visit this page. For Comcast Technology Solutions’ paper on these topics, please visit this link.
