Younger people are pulling the plug on cable, with up to 64% of them opting for streaming services. This is not surprising, given the surge in subscriptions to streaming platforms in the last decade. While the industry is shifting into a new streaming format via Connected TVs, human behavior is also changing. Watching a video is very different today, partly due to the influence social media has on our lives. Yet, while mobile devices have accommodated and adapted to this evolution, TV is falling behind.
Bringing the News Feed to TV
Just like the shift from the newspaper to the Internet; the "feed" has also created a digital revolution. Feed-based content, as seen on Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram, is the basis of our current modern Internet economy. Moreover, it is organized in a way that is purposely addictive, making it easy for us to check in at every hour of every day.
With Connected TVs becoming the norm across the majority of US Households (80% having at least one Smart TV), we are now closer than ever to creating personalized streaming experiences. The traditional, channel-based live TV guide is being replaced by instant streaming with play, pause and resume functions. Not only that, but CTV allows us to truly comprehend audiences on a whole other level, tapping into what type of content people love to watch, at what time of day, and how this can shape them as consumers. When paired with a feed-based layout, CTV has the potential to grasp at consumer’s attention, a commodity brands and advertisers are desperately trying to get their hands on.
Bringing news feeds to TV is the future of hyper personalization, as it holds the key to delivering more relative and targeted content to consumers. Imagine scrolling through a TV feed, looking for something to watch, when suddenly the latest episode from your favorite content creator pops up, and all you need to do is press the play button. Introducing feeds to the traditional TV format would completely change the user experience, and for the better. Users could easily scroll through their TV feeds and follow their favorite content creators instead of picking through a generalized list of box office hits. Not only would this facilitate the decision making process, but it would also provide carefully curated profiles of consumers and what they like. Furthermore, feeds would give a voice to smaller content creators as seen on streaming services such as Youtube, where ads could fund their content.
TV right now just isn’t addictive enough – not in the way that modern media has become with auto-refreshed, curated and personalized feeds. It is no surprise that 87% of people use a second screen while watching TV, oftentimes scrolling through social media feeds. Therefore, our primary focus and attention is no longer on the TV itself (as it was several decades ago). Given this shift, ads must adapt to follow the path of primary focus. We must rethink the format of traditional TV to create better, more relevant ways to connect brands to humans through the streaming experience.
How Native Methods Can Be Applied to the Streaming Format
The concept of native advertising is rooted in design decisions that are primarily built around the user experience. When making ads native to the user experience, attention is drawn to them because they naturally fit in the context of their environment. In fact, eye-tracking research shows that native ads receive twice as much focus than standard banners, even when both formats are placed in-feed. This further increases user engagement and attention, making ads perform better.
So what would this look like on TV? Traditional TV broadcasting only allows a set number of channels to create content. You have traditional news, daytime TV or even your go-to soap opera channels. However, rarely do we see indie content creators broadcast on TV screens. Don't fret – this is already happening with Connected TVs. We have seen, with the advent of streaming platforms, the “Netflix Original” or “Amazon Studios” movies or series. Although Netflix and Amazon are reputable companies with billions of dollars to spend, the introduction of feeds could open the door to all types of content creators around the globe. And if regular people can create video content, so can brands. The future of TV advertising should be driven by and focused on the content itself, to better engage users and build more authentic relationships. Take for example Red Bull’s video montage sponsoring Valentin Duluc speedriding at the Avoriaz resort. The brand – in this case, Red Bull – created a very entertaining TV montage and ran pre-roll ads on Youtube. This is clearly an advertising stunt, but it’s also good content. In this sense, applying native advertising concepts to TV advertising would simply mean creating relevant, binge-worthy and interesting content, carefully placed around or inside another movie or episode within the feed.
Holding Attention in a Feed-Based Format
Social media has trained us to manage multiple interactions across many screens, causing a revolution in the digital age. A feed-based layout used by Facebook, Instagram or Tiktok better aligns with natural human tendencies because of the way we consume content online. Yet, with more and more of our attention being split between screens and the infinite amount of information being thrown our way, it is now harder than ever to force your audience to watch your ads. A whopping 90% of people skip pre-roll ads, while 86% fast-forward TV ads. And the reality is, attention is divided: 79% of viewers take out a second screen when a TV ad plays. Additionally, 49% of people open another tab or window when an ad plays. The question of how best we can match the ad experience to user behavior is more prevalent than ever.
What it means to “watch a video” has significantly changed in the last few decades. Historically, watching a video was an interplay between three separate human behaviors: watching, hearing and primary attention. In the 20th century, video ads had all 3. By 2006, attention started to divide. Social and infinite feeds introduced a 4th behavior: reading.
With the rise in auto-captions, reading has become an integral part of “watching a video” to getting someone to even comprehend a video. With attention divided, reading captions in feeds as opposed to bouncing between pages increases user attention. In fact, research shows a 15% lower bounce rate with infinite scroll versus paginated websites.
When it comes to reading, feeds also have an advantage over TVs. Most social feeds include an author, date, number of views and a short description to catch our attention. If we introduce this 4th behavior to the TV format, the concept of “watching a video” will be alot more accurate than it has been in the digital era.
Although traditional TV is having a hard time picking up the pace in the digital era, CTV offers ample possibilities to mirror the digital experiences offered by social media platforms, for example, presenting video content in a feed. If TV is to pass the test of time, it must become highly personalized and mirror our favorite addictive applications. In order for this to become reality, advertisers will need to make sure they are in sync with the consumer, providing them with seamless ad experiences across all streaming platforms, whether that is on mobile, desktop, or TV.
Younger people are pulling the plug on cable, with up to 64% of them opting for streaming services. This is not surprising, given the surge in subscriptions to streaming platforms in the last decade. While the industry is shifting into a new streaming format via Connected TVs, human behavior is also changing. Watching a video is very different today, partly due to the influence social media has on our lives. Yet, while mobile devices have accommodated and adapted to this evolution, TV is falling behind.
Bringing the News Feed to TV
Just like the shift from the newspaper to the Internet; the "feed" has also created a digital revolution. Feed-based content, as seen on Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram, is the basis of our current modern Internet economy. Moreover, it is organized in a way that is purposely addictive, making it easy for us to check in at every hour of every day.
With Connected TVs becoming the norm across the majority of US Households (80% having at least one Smart TV), we are now closer than ever to creating personalized streaming experiences. The traditional, channel-based live TV guide is being replaced by instant streaming with play, pause and resume functions. Not only that, but CTV allows us to truly comprehend audiences on a whole other level, tapping into what type of content people love to watch, at what time of day, and how this can shape them as consumers. When paired with a feed-based layout, CTV has the potential to grasp at consumer’s attention, a commodity brands and advertisers are desperately trying to get their hands on.
Bringing news feeds to TV is the future of hyper personalization, as it holds the key to delivering more relative and targeted content to consumers. Imagine scrolling through a TV feed, looking for something to watch, when suddenly the latest episode from your favorite content creator pops up, and all you need to do is press the play button. Introducing feeds to the traditional TV format would completely change the user experience, and for the better. Users could easily scroll through their TV feeds and follow their favorite content creators instead of picking through a generalized list of box office hits. Not only would this facilitate the decision making process, but it would also provide carefully curated profiles of consumers and what they like. Furthermore, feeds would give a voice to smaller content creators as seen on streaming services such as Youtube, where ads could fund their content.
TV right now just isn’t addictive enough – not in the way that modern media has become with auto-refreshed, curated and personalized feeds. It is no surprise that 87% of people use a second screen while watching TV, oftentimes scrolling through social media feeds. Therefore, our primary focus and attention is no longer on the TV itself (as it was several decades ago). Given this shift, ads must adapt to follow the path of primary focus. We must rethink the format of traditional TV to create better, more relevant ways to connect brands to humans through the streaming experience.
How Native Methods Can Be Applied to the Streaming Format
The concept of native advertising is rooted in design decisions that are primarily built around the user experience. When making ads native to the user experience, attention is drawn to them because they naturally fit in the context of their environment. In fact, eye-tracking research shows that native ads receive twice as much focus than standard banners, even when both formats are placed in-feed. This further increases user engagement and attention, making ads perform better.
So what would this look like on TV? Traditional TV broadcasting only allows a set number of channels to create content. You have traditional news, daytime TV or even your go-to soap opera channels. However, rarely do we see indie content creators broadcast on TV screens. Don't fret – this is already happening with Connected TVs. We have seen, with the advent of streaming platforms, the “Netflix Original” or “Amazon Studios” movies or series. Although Netflix and Amazon are reputable companies with billions of dollars to spend, the introduction of feeds could open the door to all types of content creators around the globe. And if regular people can create video content, so can brands. The future of TV advertising should be driven by and focused on the content itself, to better engage users and build more authentic relationships. Take for example Red Bull’s video montage sponsoring Valentin Duluc speedriding at the Avoriaz resort. The brand – in this case, Red Bull – created a very entertaining TV montage and ran pre-roll ads on Youtube. This is clearly an advertising stunt, but it’s also good content. In this sense, applying native advertising concepts to TV advertising would simply mean creating relevant, binge-worthy and interesting content, carefully placed around or inside another movie or episode within the feed.
Holding Attention in a Feed-Based Format
Social media has trained us to manage multiple interactions across many screens, causing a revolution in the digital age. A feed-based layout used by Facebook, Instagram or Tiktok better aligns with natural human tendencies because of the way we consume content online. Yet, with more and more of our attention being split between screens and the infinite amount of information being thrown our way, it is now harder than ever to force your audience to watch your ads. A whopping 90% of people skip pre-roll ads, while 86% fast-forward TV ads. And the reality is, attention is divided: 79% of viewers take out a second screen when a TV ad plays. Additionally, 49% of people open another tab or window when an ad plays. The question of how best we can match the ad experience to user behavior is more prevalent than ever.
What it means to “watch a video” has significantly changed in the last few decades. Historically, watching a video was an interplay between three separate human behaviors: watching, hearing and primary attention. In the 20th century, video ads had all 3. By 2006, attention started to divide. Social and infinite feeds introduced a 4th behavior: reading.
With the rise in auto-captions, reading has become an integral part of “watching a video” to getting someone to even comprehend a video. With attention divided, reading captions in feeds as opposed to bouncing between pages increases user attention. In fact, research shows a 15% lower bounce rate with infinite scroll versus paginated websites.
When it comes to reading, feeds also have an advantage over TVs. Most social feeds include an author, date, number of views and a short description to catch our attention. If we introduce this 4th behavior to the TV format, the concept of “watching a video” will be alot more accurate than it has been in the digital era.
Although traditional TV is having a hard time picking up the pace in the digital era, CTV offers ample possibilities to mirror the digital experiences offered by social media platforms, for example, presenting video content in a feed. If TV is to pass the test of time, it must become highly personalized and mirror our favorite addictive applications. In order for this to become reality, advertisers will need to make sure they are in sync with the consumer, providing them with seamless ad experiences across all streaming platforms, whether that is on mobile, desktop, or TV.
Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech is a short 3-minute podcast exploring the news in the digital advertising industry. Ad tech is a fast-growing industry with many updates happening daily. As it can be hard for most to keep up with the latest news, the Sharethrough team wanted to create an audio series compiling notable mentions each week.
Younger people are pulling the plug on cable, with up to 64% of them opting for streaming services. This is not surprising, given the surge in subscriptions to streaming platforms in the last decade. While the industry is shifting into a new streaming format via Connected TVs, human behavior is also changing. Watching a video is very different today, partly due to the influence social media has on our lives. Yet, while mobile devices have accommodated and adapted to this evolution, TV is falling behind.
Bringing the News Feed to TV
Just like the shift from the newspaper to the Internet; the "feed" has also created a digital revolution. Feed-based content, as seen on Tiktok, Facebook, and Instagram, is the basis of our current modern Internet economy. Moreover, it is organized in a way that is purposely addictive, making it easy for us to check in at every hour of every day.
With Connected TVs becoming the norm across the majority of US Households (80% having at least one Smart TV), we are now closer than ever to creating personalized streaming experiences. The traditional, channel-based live TV guide is being replaced by instant streaming with play, pause and resume functions. Not only that, but CTV allows us to truly comprehend audiences on a whole other level, tapping into what type of content people love to watch, at what time of day, and how this can shape them as consumers. When paired with a feed-based layout, CTV has the potential to grasp at consumer’s attention, a commodity brands and advertisers are desperately trying to get their hands on.
Bringing news feeds to TV is the future of hyper personalization, as it holds the key to delivering more relative and targeted content to consumers. Imagine scrolling through a TV feed, looking for something to watch, when suddenly the latest episode from your favorite content creator pops up, and all you need to do is press the play button. Introducing feeds to the traditional TV format would completely change the user experience, and for the better. Users could easily scroll through their TV feeds and follow their favorite content creators instead of picking through a generalized list of box office hits. Not only would this facilitate the decision making process, but it would also provide carefully curated profiles of consumers and what they like. Furthermore, feeds would give a voice to smaller content creators as seen on streaming services such as Youtube, where ads could fund their content.
TV right now just isn’t addictive enough – not in the way that modern media has become with auto-refreshed, curated and personalized feeds. It is no surprise that 87% of people use a second screen while watching TV, oftentimes scrolling through social media feeds. Therefore, our primary focus and attention is no longer on the TV itself (as it was several decades ago). Given this shift, ads must adapt to follow the path of primary focus. We must rethink the format of traditional TV to create better, more relevant ways to connect brands to humans through the streaming experience.
How Native Methods Can Be Applied to the Streaming Format
The concept of native advertising is rooted in design decisions that are primarily built around the user experience. When making ads native to the user experience, attention is drawn to them because they naturally fit in the context of their environment. In fact, eye-tracking research shows that native ads receive twice as much focus than standard banners, even when both formats are placed in-feed. This further increases user engagement and attention, making ads perform better.
So what would this look like on TV? Traditional TV broadcasting only allows a set number of channels to create content. You have traditional news, daytime TV or even your go-to soap opera channels. However, rarely do we see indie content creators broadcast on TV screens. Don't fret – this is already happening with Connected TVs. We have seen, with the advent of streaming platforms, the “Netflix Original” or “Amazon Studios” movies or series. Although Netflix and Amazon are reputable companies with billions of dollars to spend, the introduction of feeds could open the door to all types of content creators around the globe. And if regular people can create video content, so can brands. The future of TV advertising should be driven by and focused on the content itself, to better engage users and build more authentic relationships. Take for example Red Bull’s video montage sponsoring Valentin Duluc speedriding at the Avoriaz resort. The brand – in this case, Red Bull – created a very entertaining TV montage and ran pre-roll ads on Youtube. This is clearly an advertising stunt, but it’s also good content. In this sense, applying native advertising concepts to TV advertising would simply mean creating relevant, binge-worthy and interesting content, carefully placed around or inside another movie or episode within the feed.
Holding Attention in a Feed-Based Format
Social media has trained us to manage multiple interactions across many screens, causing a revolution in the digital age. A feed-based layout used by Facebook, Instagram or Tiktok better aligns with natural human tendencies because of the way we consume content online. Yet, with more and more of our attention being split between screens and the infinite amount of information being thrown our way, it is now harder than ever to force your audience to watch your ads. A whopping 90% of people skip pre-roll ads, while 86% fast-forward TV ads. And the reality is, attention is divided: 79% of viewers take out a second screen when a TV ad plays. Additionally, 49% of people open another tab or window when an ad plays. The question of how best we can match the ad experience to user behavior is more prevalent than ever.
What it means to “watch a video” has significantly changed in the last few decades. Historically, watching a video was an interplay between three separate human behaviors: watching, hearing and primary attention. In the 20th century, video ads had all 3. By 2006, attention started to divide. Social and infinite feeds introduced a 4th behavior: reading.
With the rise in auto-captions, reading has become an integral part of “watching a video” to getting someone to even comprehend a video. With attention divided, reading captions in feeds as opposed to bouncing between pages increases user attention. In fact, research shows a 15% lower bounce rate with infinite scroll versus paginated websites.
When it comes to reading, feeds also have an advantage over TVs. Most social feeds include an author, date, number of views and a short description to catch our attention. If we introduce this 4th behavior to the TV format, the concept of “watching a video” will be alot more accurate than it has been in the digital era.
Although traditional TV is having a hard time picking up the pace in the digital era, CTV offers ample possibilities to mirror the digital experiences offered by social media platforms, for example, presenting video content in a feed. If TV is to pass the test of time, it must become highly personalized and mirror our favorite addictive applications. In order for this to become reality, advertisers will need to make sure they are in sync with the consumer, providing them with seamless ad experiences across all streaming platforms, whether that is on mobile, desktop, or TV.
Founded in 2015, Calibrate is a yearly conference for new engineering managers hosted by seasoned engineering managers. The experience level of the speakers ranges from newcomers all the way through senior engineering leaders with over twenty years of experience in the field. Each speaker is greatly concerned about the craft of engineering management. Organized and hosted by Sharethrough, it was conducted yearly in September, from 2015-2019 in San Francisco, California.
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