The television landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, with the pandemic accelerating the adoption of streaming services.
On that platform, Tony Marlow believes that 2024 will be the year of shoppable TV and political spending.
In this video interview with Beet.TV editorial Lisa Granatstein, he opens up on the dynamics in the year ahead.
Swing The Election
Marlow, CMO, LG Ad Solutions, says the upcoming presidential election will mark the first time CTV plays a significant role in campaign promotion.
“Political will go to connected tv, and it’s really easy to forget four years ago at the last presidential election, there was not really any CTV inventory,” Marlow points out.
“The bull case is CTV could even sway the election because of its addressability, the ability to target ads to certain geo, whether it’s a voting electoral district, certain messages.”
Stoppable Lights-Up
Marlow notes that about seven in 10 people now prefer free, ad-supported streaming television, marking a significant change from the subscription-dominated landscape of the past.
The progress in the connected TV (CTV) space has been rapid, with improvements in content offerings, discoverability, and advertising. Viewers now have more choice than ever before, with options ranging from ad-free subscriptions to free, ad-supported content and subsidized subscriptions with lower ad loads.
LG is focusing on enhancing existing ad units and introducing new formats, such as pause ads, screensaver ads, and shoppable TV. “The technology to be able to either shop directly from your TV or bring that shoppable experience to the phone in your hand, that’s kind of existed for a while,” Marlow explains. “What’s different right now is that people are ready to shop and ready to shop in that way.”
Personalized Recommendations and Targeted Advertising
LG is also working on improving content discoverability by making the TV’s home screen a recommendation engine. By analyzing viewing habits across various subscriptions and free, ad-supported services, the system can provide personalized recommendations within the viewer’s accessible universe of content.
Advertising has also become more sophisticated, with CTV minimizing the wastage associated with traditional linear TV advertising.
“With linear TV, it used to be the spray and pray scenario where there’s an incredible amount of wastage in a given media plan,” Marlow says. “With CTV, that wastage is minimized to a pretty extraordinary degree.”
Sports content remains a critical driver of viewership, and streaming platforms are increasingly securing rights to major sports leagues. While the NFL has been slower to embrace streaming, Marlow believes that once the league fully commits, it will have a significant impact on the streaming landscape.
“Sports is critical for viewership and in the US I think that there’s a wide level of acceptance of sports and streaming formats,” Marlow concludes, highlighting the potential for growth in this area.
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