The streaming TV space is so saturated that some tech and distribution companies are looking elsewhere for scale: like out of home.
Loop Media is one such company.
After launching in 2016 with B2C streaming offerings, including free ad-supported TV channels and a mobile app with short-form content like music videos, the company pivoted. In 2021, Loop Media decided to go fully B2B with ad tech for out-of-home streaming TV.
Today, the company focuses only on out-of-home streaming “because we think it’s still a largely untouched and misunderstood area [for media buyers],” said Co-Founder and CEO Jon Niermann. OOH streaming inventory often gets labeled as CTV, which advertisers understand to mean TV screens in a household.
Loop Media installs TV players in an array of public venues, from bars and restaurants to barber shops and nail salons, that play short-form content with ads. It has a media library with content across genres that it licenses from media companies, including music videos and action sports.
In 2019, the company expanded its library of short-form video content with the acquisition of ScreenPlay, a video streaming company that has licensing rights to more than 200,000 music videos and trailers.
In the public eye
On the B2B side, venues like bars and restaurants readily partner with OOH streaming companies to generate new revenue from advertising, which explains the recent emergence of startups such as Atmosphere and Taiv.
But convincing advertisers to invest in OOH streaming can be challenging, in part, because they’re wary about ad viewability and the quality of the inventory and the audience.
Which is why Loop Media pitches agencies and brands on the notion of broad yet targetable audience reach, including the chance to get in front of viewers who only watch ad-free streaming and, therefore, aren’t accessible through more traditional streaming campaigns.
Captive audiences are also part of the sales pitch: People don’t typically get up during TV commercials in a bar or restaurant the way they would when they’re sitting at home. Although there’s no guarantee that customers don’t use commercial breaks to order something else at the bar.
Advertisers can target audiences based on content and venue type, geolocation, behaviors or interests, said CRO Bob Gruters. If an automotive brand wants to reach people who are in the market for a pickup truck, for example, Loop can determine which ZIP codes or designated market areas have a higher concentration of that audience, he said.
Loop Media creates its segments with data acquired from third-party providers, although Gruters declined to name them.
The company is also trying to attract new advertisers by making it easier to buy its ads. In October, it launched a self-serve ad platform in beta testing to woo small and midsize businesses that want to tap into geotargeting for local advertising.
Currently, Loop Media works with thousands of brands across numerous verticals, including consumer-packaged goods, automotive, financial services, entertainment and consumer electronics. The company declined to name brand clients.
Keep me in the loop
But multiple targeting options aren’t necessarily enough to persuade TV advertisers to add OOH to their streaming campaigns. They also need to know exactly what they’re buying – and proof it works.
Loop Media encourages most of its advertisers to consider CTV OOH inventory as an extension of their existing CTV ad buys, Gruters said. “It’s much easier for buyers to fund a CTV campaign extension through an existing budget,” he said, rather than having to carve out a new spot on their media plans.
Loop Media is careful to label its inventory as a streaming extension – as opposed to just streaming inventory – so that buyers never feel duped. (Loop has supply relationships with supply-side platforms such as Magnite and PubMatic for CTV campaign extension, whereas DOOH buys are done through The Trade Desk, which accesses supply through Vistar Media.)
Measure me this
But although the ad buying process can vary, the measurement is consistent.
Loop Media taps Comscore for demographic-based audience measurement and incremental reach. It also conducts brand lift studies to measure the impact of its media on awareness and purchase intent.
Next up, Loop plans to continue inking partnerships with data providers so as to be able to include more information about campaign outcomes in planning and measurement, Gruters said. More data would help brands with their performance-oriented tactics, such as mobile retargeting.
Because, after all, the point of most advertising is to get people to take action.
Which is why performance marketing has been front and center in recent discussions about CTV ad strategy, whether inside or out of home.
