It’s safe to say we’re currently in peak ‘cuffing season.’
If you haven’t heard the term before, ‘cuffing season’ defines the phenomenon of people looking for partners during the fall and winter. The trend is discernible enough to be recognized by relationship therapists, dating apps and Merriam-Webster but it’s the resulting behaviours of ‘cuffing season’ that digital advertisers should take advantage of. Namely, an increased volume of couples cuddling up on the couch.
Thermoregulation is tied to our evolution, so it’s natural for humans to cuddle more during cold weather – and what goes perfectly with a cold day, cuddled up on the couch? Streaming comfort TV content like rom-coms, sitcoms, holiday and rewatching old favourites.
In fact, according to a recent Roku survey, 45 per cent of TV streamers love spending time watching shows and movies they’ve watched before. Moreover, while Canadians watch almost 22 hours of television a week, overall streaming begins to spike at this time of year, and weekend streaming increases by 10 per cent across October and November in comparison to an average day.
With increased streaming time comes increased watching of advertising video on demand (AVOD). In general, an average of 4 in 10 (41 per cent) Canadians are watching AVOD or broadcaster video on-demand (BVOD) services every month.
Nowadays, we have extraordinary technology at our disposal to reach audiences during an under-the-radar period like cuffing season. Not only that, but with ad tech tools available via streaming, there are opportunities to reach viewers in much more unique and personalized ways with messages that appeal to them (and their loved ones’) needs.
Consider the call-to-action for greater engagement
TV streamers are more likely to engage with ads compared to non-streamers (70 per cent of TV streamers vs. 54 per cent of non-TV streamers). For instance, after seeing an ad, TV streamers are more likely to visit a brand’s website or online shop (38 per cent), search for more information on a product (36 per cent), or place items in an online basket to buy later (25 per cent) – all while continuing to stream their favourite shows and movies.
Given this, call-to-actions that are reflective of the cuffing season trend, such as demonstrating where a person can pick up their cozy movie-night in essentials, are the key to making the most of the TV streaming environment. It is also a great environment for food delivery and QSR clients to be top of mind and make it easy for consumers to order in and enjoy at home, further enhancing the at home experience.
Rethinking the ad formats to drive audience engagement
To capitalize on more streaming time during ‘cuffing season,’ I recommend advertisers and marketers explore and experiment with new ad formats and creative.
Video Action Ads, for example, are a form of interactive video ad tech that are rising in popularity and becoming more commonplace in Canada. These ads allow consumers to engage directly with campaigns through their remote. Streamers can opt to download an app, receive a coupon, or sign up for more information via their remote, making the user experience for an audience already primed to engage with ads much simpler.
For brands, they can also measure engagement on their campaigns – not just reach – which is quickly becoming a key measurement in the digital ad and marketing space.
Leveraging ad-tech for deeper insights
When it comes to cuffing season, the content consumers are viewing shifts. It may not be exclusively holiday content (at least maybe not in November), but it could be rewatching favourite movies or TV shows while bundled up and escaping the cold, which, in general, is the way in which streamers spend 18 per cent of their viewing time.
With shifting viewing habits comes the need for ad tech targeting capabilities that capitalize on content, not just demographics or psychographics. That’s where Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology comes in – a key benefit of the TV streaming ecosystem.
ACR identifies TV content played on smart devices and matches it with metadata, such as genre and TV channels, to help advertisers optimize their screen investments. Content can be anything from linear to streamed TV, to gaming content and even advertisements themselves.
ACR enables advertisers to analyze content consumption behaviours through video ‘fingerprints’ (with an explicit consumer opt-in, of course), which are then matched to an extensive catalogue of linear channels, advertisements, and games. On a second-by-second basis, ACR tech gives advertisers and marketers unprecedented insight into the type of content audiences watched on linear TV, or what ads they saw, and how much of that ad they watched. Overall, with the ability to control reach, optimize frequency of display, and enhanced targeting based on time frames, ACR tech is a key measurement tool advertisers and marketers can leverage to maximize ROI in TV streaming during ‘cuffing season,’ to get the most bang for their buck, and ensure it all plays nicely into omnichannel campaigns.
Cuffing season may have begun as a light-hearted, internet trend, but thanks to ad tech, we’re seeing that this ‘meme,’ is more grounded in tangible data than we may have thought. For advertisers and marketers, leveraging creative, interactive ad formats and ad tech tools that come with streaming platforms, like Roku, is a great way to extend reach during this untraditional advertising period, and maximize ROI to audiences just before the crowded holiday advertising season.
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This entry was posted on November 22, 2023 at 9:00 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Roku. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Guest Post: It’s cuffing season: how advertisers can leverage connected TV to take advantage of Canadians coupling up & comfort watching TV
It’s safe to say we’re currently in peak ‘cuffing season.’
If you haven’t heard the term before, ‘cuffing season’ defines the phenomenon of people looking for partners during the fall and winter. The trend is discernible enough to be recognized by relationship therapists, dating apps and Merriam-Webster but it’s the resulting behaviours of ‘cuffing season’ that digital advertisers should take advantage of. Namely, an increased volume of couples cuddling up on the couch.
Thermoregulation is tied to our evolution, so it’s natural for humans to cuddle more during cold weather – and what goes perfectly with a cold day, cuddled up on the couch? Streaming comfort TV content like rom-coms, sitcoms, holiday and rewatching old favourites.
In fact, according to a recent Roku survey, 45 per cent of TV streamers love spending time watching shows and movies they’ve watched before. Moreover, while Canadians watch almost 22 hours of television a week, overall streaming begins to spike at this time of year, and weekend streaming increases by 10 per cent across October and November in comparison to an average day.
With increased streaming time comes increased watching of advertising video on demand (AVOD). In general, an average of 4 in 10 (41 per cent) Canadians are watching AVOD or broadcaster video on-demand (BVOD) services every month.
Nowadays, we have extraordinary technology at our disposal to reach audiences during an under-the-radar period like cuffing season. Not only that, but with ad tech tools available via streaming, there are opportunities to reach viewers in much more unique and personalized ways with messages that appeal to them (and their loved ones’) needs.
Consider the call-to-action for greater engagement
TV streamers are more likely to engage with ads compared to non-streamers (70 per cent of TV streamers vs. 54 per cent of non-TV streamers). For instance, after seeing an ad, TV streamers are more likely to visit a brand’s website or online shop (38 per cent), search for more information on a product (36 per cent), or place items in an online basket to buy later (25 per cent) – all while continuing to stream their favourite shows and movies.
Given this, call-to-actions that are reflective of the cuffing season trend, such as demonstrating where a person can pick up their cozy movie-night in essentials, are the key to making the most of the TV streaming environment. It is also a great environment for food delivery and QSR clients to be top of mind and make it easy for consumers to order in and enjoy at home, further enhancing the at home experience.
Rethinking the ad formats to drive audience engagement
To capitalize on more streaming time during ‘cuffing season,’ I recommend advertisers and marketers explore and experiment with new ad formats and creative.
Video Action Ads, for example, are a form of interactive video ad tech that are rising in popularity and becoming more commonplace in Canada. These ads allow consumers to engage directly with campaigns through their remote. Streamers can opt to download an app, receive a coupon, or sign up for more information via their remote, making the user experience for an audience already primed to engage with ads much simpler.
For brands, they can also measure engagement on their campaigns – not just reach – which is quickly becoming a key measurement in the digital ad and marketing space.
Leveraging ad-tech for deeper insights
When it comes to cuffing season, the content consumers are viewing shifts. It may not be exclusively holiday content (at least maybe not in November), but it could be rewatching favourite movies or TV shows while bundled up and escaping the cold, which, in general, is the way in which streamers spend 18 per cent of their viewing time.
With shifting viewing habits comes the need for ad tech targeting capabilities that capitalize on content, not just demographics or psychographics. That’s where Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology comes in – a key benefit of the TV streaming ecosystem.
ACR identifies TV content played on smart devices and matches it with metadata, such as genre and TV channels, to help advertisers optimize their screen investments. Content can be anything from linear to streamed TV, to gaming content and even advertisements themselves.
ACR enables advertisers to analyze content consumption behaviours through video ‘fingerprints’ (with an explicit consumer opt-in, of course), which are then matched to an extensive catalogue of linear channels, advertisements, and games. On a second-by-second basis, ACR tech gives advertisers and marketers unprecedented insight into the type of content audiences watched on linear TV, or what ads they saw, and how much of that ad they watched. Overall, with the ability to control reach, optimize frequency of display, and enhanced targeting based on time frames, ACR tech is a key measurement tool advertisers and marketers can leverage to maximize ROI in TV streaming during ‘cuffing season,’ to get the most bang for their buck, and ensure it all plays nicely into omnichannel campaigns.
Cuffing season may have begun as a light-hearted, internet trend, but thanks to ad tech, we’re seeing that this ‘meme,’ is more grounded in tangible data than we may have thought. For advertisers and marketers, leveraging creative, interactive ad formats and ad tech tools that come with streaming platforms, like Roku, is a great way to extend reach during this untraditional advertising period, and maximize ROI to audiences just before the crowded holiday advertising season.
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This entry was posted on November 22, 2023 at 9:00 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Roku. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.