Sneak Preview: Going, Going, Gone: Can Biddable Advertising Fix CTV’s Fill Rate Slump?
On Thursday, May 22, Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect May panel “Going, Going, Gone: Can Biddable Advertising Fix CTV’s Fill Rate Slump?” With FAST and CTV fill rates slipping throughout 2024 (except for a brief election bump), content owners and their partners are casting about for new and different ways to fill inventory. By clearing the way for advertisers to buy in just before show time rather than having to lock in their campaigns months in advance, so-called “real-time” biddable CTV opens up late-breaking, flexible opportunities to unload unclaimed inventory on an auction basis before it goes to waste. But as bidding on audiences reportedly surges for sports, is auction-based advertising really suitable for other premium content? Is it likely to change the way brands approach media-buying, or is it just another transitory trend?
Confirmed panelists include:
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Chris Pfaff is a leading new media and technology producer and strategist: He was the first to use IRC for an interactive corporate webcast; he produced one of the first DVDs; he produced the first HD animated logo; he led numerous multipoint broadband events in the late 1990s; he produced some of the first mobile short films (2002–2003); and he produced the first Twitter Wall in 2011. His company, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, has provided strategy and marketing services for leading technology service providers, technology firms, and new media companies worldwide since 2002. Pfaff was also one of the founders of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) New Media Council East and a founder of the New York chapter of the VR/AR Association.
“There is a dynamic quality to biddable CTV; marketers can optimize against real-time engagement and align spend with actual audiences, and not mere projections,” Pfaff explains. “Biddable delivers an unmatched level of agility. It allows marketers to optimize campaigns in real time, respond to cultural moments as they unfold, and maximize ROI. This shift is also being accelerated by evolving brand safety concerns and regulatory changes.”
Laura Florence brings nearly 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry to her current position as SVP of Global Channels at Fremantle. In this role, Florence oversees the Fremantle flagship U.S. game show network BUZZR, in addition to all channel offerings across major streaming platforms globally featuring classic Fremantle series such as The Price Is Right, Family Feud, and Baywatch and series featuring chef Jamie Oliver.
“Fill rates are at historic lows, as are CPMs. Finding engaging formats that aren’t just adding more ads to an ad pod is important. Whatever the platforms and all of us can decide on, if we can make it a standard, we can automate it much more efficiently,” Florence said at the last Streaming Media Connect.
Christina Chung serves as VP, Business Operations, for Estrella MediaCo, overseeing digital operating infrastructure and ensuring both process efficiencies and revenue generation effectiveness. She has been instrumental in launching the ad and product tech stack solutions, establishing data-driven business intelligence, and selecting and curating numerous vendor integrations critical for monetizing a rapidly growing multi-platform business. Chung previously held leadership account and solutions engineering positions at Freewheel. She also has a background in private equity and investment banking. Chung was named to NYC TV Week’s 40 Under 40 list in 2023.
At a Streaming Media conference in 2024, Chung emphasized the need for collaboration when planning CTV ad strategy, saying, “We need to make sure we share information and data across many different systems. Right now, a lot of technology is behind walled gardens. And so I think that if we were to open up these walled gardens, it would allow for a lot more of this data and the experts in each of the respective fields to really take a play at what is important, what are these outcomes, and how do we make sure we provide them to our end user.”
Tim Ware is a multimedia sales veteran who has spent the last decade selling Connected TV advertising through utilization of programmatic advertising technology. Ware has worked on groundbreaking media initiatives throughout his career at a wide array of news, sports, and entertainment brands including Crackle/Redbox/Sony Pictures, The Wall Street Journal, WWE, Yardbarker, ESPN, NFL, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, and InterZine Productions. He is currently VP of Future Today Marketplace. Future Today “is a leading streaming technology provider specializing in OTT and CTV ad-supported solutions for content creators and advertisers.” Ware was previously SVP of Programmatic Sales and Revenue at Crackle Connex.
“Real time bidding is the future and based on my experience is a consistent and effective way whereby the buy side and sell side can mutually benefit and leverage the promise of Connected TV advertising that can be used to impact all levels of the purchase funnel,” Ware says. “Future Today’s CTV marketplace consists of premium, primarily AVOD supply, which typically drives greater attention metrics [and] is intended to allow buyers to leverage new contextual and predictive audience targeting that tend to drive better results, are privacy compliant, leverage ML AI features, and can be measured through a variety of ways.”
Ware believes, “As the CTV ad marketplace matures, advertisers will continue to seek out premium audiences, [and] target those viewers who are most likely to purchase brands that are aligned with this viewing behavior. As qualified demand pursues quality supply with advanced capabilities and transparency, biddable buying should allow programmers to grow their CTV shares and brands to drive outcomes.”
Jack Perry, a pioneer in the media technology industry, is known for developing groundbreaking solutions for broadcasters and electronics manufacturers throughout his career. He founded Syncbak (now Zeam Media) in 2009. “[W]e continue to lead the industry in effective OTT and advertising solutions, powered by innovation and proprietary technology, creating unprecedented connections in the new media landscape for broadcasters, advertisers, creators, and viewers,” he states in his bio. In February 2024, Perry launched Zeam, a direct-to-consumer streaming platform whose mission is to connect every broadcaster and content creator to every viewer, fostering a sense of connection and community with local news, sports, and cultural events. To date, more than 300 local broadcasters are using it.
“An interesting area to watch in the advertising landscape is local news,” Perry says. “While there is always a significant bump in local news advertising around peak moments like an election season, local is an area that can’t be overlooked, no matter the season, and there is a real opportunity for the industry to educate itself on the power of local this Upfronts season. At Zeam, we have seen a majority of our users turn to local to watch news happenings that have faded from the national news cycle, or were never covered by national news in the first place, even if they’re tuning in out of market. This presents a major advertising opportunity for local across CTV. The question is, What is the best way to take advantage of this opportunity?”
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