LONDON, UK — Getting your taxonomy metadata in order may not sound like the sexiest topic in media – but it does have the potential to significantly improve results.

In this video interview with Beet.TV, Lori Goode, Chief Marketing Officer at Index Exchange, says the quality of some content taxonomies (metadata for describing shows and the inventory around them) is “holding back” the growth of programmatically-traded streaming TV ad spend.

But, speaking to me at The Future of Television Advertising Global conference, Goode suggests a way to improve that picture and, with it, the planet.

Consistency and Transparency are Non-Negotiable

Goode contends that a significant hindrance to the growth of programmatic streaming lies in the inconsistent adoption of signal taxonomies.

She explains: “If someone were to pass a content signal, like a consent signal, but not everyone has adopted all of this consistently in the taxonomies, then the consent signal is missed. And so you miss out on a number of impressions that could have taken place.”

She believes that, if the industry works together to adopt these signals, it will increase transparency, a crucial factor for buyers. “Not being able to understand what you’re bidding on, what inventory and media owner is offering – show-level content, genre, channel, things like that… I think that provides some hesitation from buyers,” she says.

The Challenges and Opportunities in Streaming TV

Despite the challenges, Goode is optimistic about the future of streaming TV. “We’ve definitely done a much better job at increasing transparency and programmatic web display, but I think there’s a long way to go in streaming TV for us to really fully realize the adoption of all of these signals in a consistent way,” she states.

She acknowledges the challenge of transitioning from the traditional “handshake” model of linear TV to a more programmatic approach, but she sees the potential in this shift.

“When done programmatically, we’re seeing the majority of spend going through deals still, even though that’s done programmatically and less in the open market,” Goode explains.

Reducing Carbon Output in Advertising

As advertising becomes more programmatic-powers, it also hits data centers – and that risks hitting the climate.

Goode highlights the focus on consumption and the power used to make those data signals.

“It’s all hitting the data centers. It’s hitting a lot of where we see most of the energy expended from a programmatic perspective,” she says.

But she further elaborates on a feature that came out as part of OpenRTB 2.6, support for ad podding. “We launched a test earlier this year in combination with Publica, The Trade Desk and Scope3, and saw that there was an 84% reduction in carbon emissions when using the new way of ad podding versus using the old spec,” she shares.

OpenRTB 2.6 Can Scale Streaming & Cut Carbon: Index Exchange’s Goode

You’re watching Beet.TV coverage of The Future of TV Advertising Global 2023, presented by Index Exchange. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.

By Robert Andrews on @robertandrews