By Christina Summers, Country Manager, Roku Canada
As more and more Canadian households move their entertainment time to TV streaming, including ad-supported TV (52 per cent) according to Roku Canada’s Video on Demand (VOD) Evolution Study, it opens up greater possibilitiesfor marketers and advertisers to extend their reach, gain deeper insights, better target, attain stronger measurement, and ultimately achieve a solid ROI via TV streaming.
For those looking to engage with Gen Z, who currently hold $360 billion in disposable income, and are set to become the largest cohort of consumers, the opportunities are endless. For one, they’ve been dubbed the “streaming generation.” On average, Gen Z spent five minutes more per day streaming in 2022 than in 2021. Secondly, research shows that Gen Z is an entertainment-driven generation, with bite-sized ads being more effective to capture their attention than longer ads. Gen Z also prefers content that’s relevant to their interests and a lighter-ad load than what’s available on traditional TV. With these insights in mind, here are the top trends, and ways in which marketers and advertisers can better reach this key audience.
Shifting ad consumption preferences
Most TV streamers feel there are too many ads on cable or satellite, and for Gen Zs this is even higher. Often, too many ads result in segmented viewing time or drop-off. For advertisers, that almost always puts a dent in ROI. Advertisers can easily get around this challenge by tapping into ad-supported streaming as viewers are met with a much lighter ad load compared to traditional cable. For example, during a one-hour streamed program on The Roku Channel, a streamer would see eight minutes of ads compared to linear TV’s 12 minutes of ads. This lighter ad load is preferred by many viewers – especially due to the limited, eight-second of Gen Z.
With that, advertisers can re-evaluate their creative, ensuring it’s tight, personalized, and effective within a shorter amount of time. That’s where ad formats come into play.
Ad format considerations to drive engagement
Interactive ad formats such as QR codes, personalized videos, display ads, action ads, and the “OK” button on the Roku remote, for example, make it easier for viewers to get the information they want from an ad. In fact, 76 per centof TV streamers take measurable actions after seeing TV ads. This includes Gen Zs (28 per cent) who grew up with the ease and convenience of online shopping and are more likely than other generations to immediately buy a product through an app while watching TV.
Take QR codes, for example, which made a comeback during the pandemic. They are an effective way for advertisers and marketers to share additional information through TV streaming – and TV streamers are open to it: 21 per cent will consider using QR codes from streaming TV ads in the future, showing the opportunity for advertisers and marketers to offer more information beyond the ad creative, as well as links to online shopping. Unsurprisingly, young consumers are much more open to scanning a QR code on an ad, with 30 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds agreeing that they would consider using a QR code from TV streaming ads in the future – more so than all other age demographics.
Gen Z is also more inclined to pay attention to ads that reflect or are relevant to their mood (51 per cent) and prefer when the tone of a TV ad matches the program it’s in (40 per cent) like a comedy show with funny ads. This opens interesting opportunities for marketers and advertisers to model their creative to the type of show their target audiences are watching to better engage with their Gen Z audiences.
So.., how do we measure it all?
Knowing how to target the Gen Z audience is one thing, but ensuring you have the data to continue targeting this demographic properly is the next step. TV streaming ads offer deeper insights to traditional forms of advertising with access to third-party libraries and thousands of consumer segments across over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
With stronger engagement capabilities, and ads being more engaging to consumers in general – especially tech-savvy Gen Zs – TV streaming audiences are primed to convert more than other forms of advertising. Especially as data shows a steady increase in the number of Canadians “cord cutting” year-over-year.
With more and more Canadians shifting to TV streaming, the future of all TV advertising is streaming. Advertisers and marketers should consider these trends in format and creative when building out future campaigns for this year and beyond, especially when we see how the youngest demographic of digital natives prefers ad features that are unique to TV streaming. The opportunities for TV streaming ads are there for advertisers and marketers, and their audiences are well-prepared for the shift.
Self-serve TV Streaming ad platforms, like Roku’s OneView, enable agencies and marketers to execute full-funnel marketing strategies on the TV screen more efficiently than traditional, linear TV spots, all while reaching an increasing number of consumers through targeted advertising. In 2023, TV streaming will open a world of opportunities for advertisers, and those focused on how to best integrate within their holistic strategies are likely to reap the benefits now and in the future.
To learn more about Roku’s advertising offerings, visit: https://advertising.roku.com/en-ca
Linda Yaccarino Started As Twitter CEO Today…. Start The Clock On How Long She Lasts
Posted in Commentary with tags Twitter on June 12, 2023 by itnerdA reader pointed out to me that Linda Yaccarino has begun her reign as Twitter CEO today. How long she lasts at the helm is anyone’s guess seeing as Twitter is owned by Elon Musk, and to say that he’s unstable is being generous. Anyway, according to The Verge, she sent all employees this email as one of her first acts as CEO:
Building Twitter 2.0 Together
Hello Twitter!
People keep asking me: Why Twitter? So, I’ll tell you.
From space exploration to electric vehicles, Elon knew these industries needed transformation, so he did it. More recently it has become increasingly clear that the global town square needs transformation—to drive civilization forward through the unfiltered exchange of information and open dialogue about the things that matter most to us.
Have you ever been talking with someone particularly insightful and thought, You’re brilliant—everybody should get the chance to hear this. Or, I’m learning so much from you—can we do this again? Or maybe it’s as simple as, You should have the freedom to speak your mind. We all should.
Enter Twitter 2.0.
Twitter is on a mission to become the world’s most accurate real-time information source and a global town square for communication. We’re on the precipice of making history—and that’s not an empty promise. That’s OUR reality.
When you start by wrapping your arms around this powerful vision, literally everything is possible. You have to genuinely believe—and work hard for that belief. And in this moment of complete reinvention, we have the opportunity to reach across aisles, create new partnerships, celebrate new voices, and build something together that can change the world. And from what I can tell so far, you’re built for this.
The success of Twitter 2.0 is all of our responsibility.
We need to think big.
We need to transform.
We need to do it all together.
And we can do it all by starting from first principles – questioning our assumptions and building something new from the ground up. It’s rare to have the chance to put a new future into the hands of every person, partner, and creator on the planet.
That’s exactly why I’m here – with all of YOU.
So, let’s dig our heels in (4 inches or flat!) and build Twitter 2.0 together.
Linda
While I admire her enthusiasm and optimism, she’s got zero chance of making any of that happen. Twitter is a train wreck next to a dumpster fire of right wing nut jobs, racists, homophobes and other less than desirable human beings. All that would have to change for Twitter to be the Twitter 2.0 she wants. And with Elon Musk owning Twitter, that’s not going to happen because those are his kind of people. Which is why I my over/under of how long she stays is 180 days. I don’t see her staying any longer than that. But as always, I am free to be surprised.
1 Comment »