Is This Thing Live?
Can Netflix do live programming?
So far, it’s bungled its attempts, Bloomberg reports. And on Netflix’s latest live show, the cooking competition Dinner Time Live with David Chang, the cooking went … poorly.
Netflix isn’t adept at live TV. In contrast, linear networks put on live talk shows every day without a hiccup. Live cooking competitions are not new.
Netflix needs to grow this muscle, because it will be forced into live events as its advertising revenue grows. Advertisers are willing to pay the most for large concurrent audiences.
Concurrency is not a metric heard much in digital advertising, where the idea is wide reach in a period of days or weeks. But it’s why sports is a powerful advertising tentpole. And concurrency also goes back to the idea of “watercooler talk” and the cultural power of hit cable TV shows.
A YouTube channel or viral video might rack up tens of millions of views in a week. But for an advertiser, there’s a unique payoff in reaching people who all see the same ad at the same time, while watching the same game or show. Even if the numbers are smaller.
This Is Fine
Advertising is at the heart of social vices and public health.
The government wouldn’t outlaw tobacco, so it hampered cigarette brand advertising and later required gnarly anti-marketing photos on cartons.
Nowadays, data-driven advertising is part and parcel of our own physical and mental health crises.
The Guardian, for instance, reports that Australia researchers are advocating for changes at Meta because of the platform’s gambling and alcohol brand advertising. People trying to cut back on alcohol or end a problematic gambling history are plagued by Facebook and Instagram ads, targeted precisely where and when they’re most vulnerable.
In ad platform parlance, these people are all “intenders” and “lookalikes” often tagged with dozens of interests, like “casino” and “lottery,” that funnel ads their way, even when they are trying to cut back or quit their addictions.
Many Meta users were high lifetime value targets for sports gambling apps. Before that, Meta’s user base was booming for crypto and NFT ads. Temu could also fit in this bucket.
If you look at the products that sell best on TikTok, that list is chockablock with collagen supplements, multivitamins, wrinkle and anti-aging creams and other products that, when looked upon as a whole, seem cynical and predatory.
Bye The Hour
Efficiency gains from generative AI are causing some ad agencies to rethink how they bill clients, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Agencies typically charge according to how much time their employees spend producing campaigns; brands often pay more for time spent by employees with fancier job titles.
But AI is helping agencies do more in less time with less manpower. So billing by the hour feels outdated.
Instead, some agencies are shifting to a performance model, where the client pays based on the campaign’s measurable results.
For example, when designing social media campaigns, Monks is now charging for a set number of posts in a given region. WPP is likewise migrating away from billable hours and toward outcome-based and performance-based models.
Agencies that shift to performance-based pricing are exposed to greater market volatility, since many variables can impact performance, and not all outcomes are easily measured.
However, AI’s increasing role in campaign strategy means agencies can bill clients for the maintenance of AI models over time, says WPP CEO Mark Read. “AI is going to enable much more personalization, much more volume of creative work,” he says, which will open up new revenue streams.
But Wait! There’s More!
Amazon has slashed its ad budget by $700 million this year. [Adweek]
Why TV mergers aren’t the solution to streaming’s flaws. [The Information]
A misprint on the packaging for “Wicked” Barbie dolls links to an adult website. [The Verge]
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is developing new anti-AI training bot standards. [Search Engine Journal]
You’re Hired
iSpot taps Nipun Dureja as chief technology officer. [Release]
