With so much recent attention on the rise of ad-supported subscription streamers, it can be easy to forget that free, ad-supported TV (FAST) channels are growing, too.
It takes a lot of legwork (and finger-crossing) to stand out amid scores of streaming services and FAST channels.
To help address that challenge, the CTV ad platform Wurl (acquired by AppLovin in 2022) created a product last May to help programmers reach new viewers who are more likely to watch their content. And after a few months of trying the product, called ContentDiscovery, programmers say the results seem promising.
Take Tastemade, a programmer with content related to food, lifestyle and home improvement via an on-demand app in addition to FAST channels. It uses ContentDiscovery specifically for performance marketing campaigns that direct viewers to its FAST channels while lowering customer acquisition costs, said Evan Bregman, the publisher’s general manager of streaming. So far, it reports 153% return on ad spend from a recent campaign.
But advertising for FAST channels comes with its own hurdles compared to paid subscription services, said Wurl CEO Ron Gutman.
While it’s easier to get consumers to try out free channels, FAST programmers need to win more viewership to make up for the customer lifetime value that other streamers would get with subscriptions.
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For Wurl, the solution to the discovery and attention bottleneck is to plan campaigns only for audiences that it determines are most likely to convert based on what else they watch and for how long.
Specifically, Wurl considers viewing hours and number of channels watched for a particular content category, such as food or home improvement, when planning a target audience for campaigns promoting channels or shows in that category.
Wurl hits target viewers with a CTV ad for a channel or show they might like based on what they’ve watched, then retargets the same viewers with mobile ads based on IP addresses and device IDs. It accesses inventory programmatically through CTV programmers or parent company AppLovin’s mobile network.
CTV is a good place to begin customer acquisition campaigns because TV ads generally have a higher impact on brand awareness, Gutman said. But mobile banner ads are more suitable for retargeting – not just because they’re cheaper but because viewers often use a mobile device while they’re watching TV, he said.
Staying on target
Still, just targeting the right viewers isn’t enough to get them to watch something. The ads also need some level of personalization.
Wurl can serve custom ad creative that calls out specific apps or platforms available in a particular household. If a viewer has a Samsung TV, for example, they might see an ad for Tastemade titles available on Samsung devices.
Personalization is partially how ContentDiscovery helps drive conversions, Bregman said. The less legwork consumers have to do to watch a show (such as downloading a new app), the more likely they are to watch.
Still, as an ad tech company, Wurl needs some level of neutrality in the streaming wars, Gutman said, so it avoids positioning its ads as a competitive play to poach viewers from a rival service.
If someone is watching “Top Chef” on Netflix, for example, that wouldn’t be the best time to serve an ad for competing shows available on Tastemade. But because Wurl knows the viewer likes cooking content, it could serve an ad for cooking shows on Tastemade once the viewer starts watching something unrelated (like news or sports).
Cavorting with conversions
To tell whether the ads worked, Tastemade tracks viewership and conversions weekly.
Specifically, it tracks how many people within its target audience watched Tastemade after seeing an ad. Tastemade then tracks engagement and retention of new viewers weekly to calculate cost per conversion, Bregman said.
Managing FAST content discovery and customer lifetime value costs is a tricky balance.
For example, a streamer or studio might find better long-term customer value in advertising a FAST channel as having an array of titles that person might enjoy. However, advertising a specific show that someone is probably interested in could be more likely to get the person to click the ad and, perhaps, to watch the specified show, although that person may not stick around once they’re done watching that title.
Maintaining this balance is one reason why Gutman said Wurl advises its clients to run “as many creatives as possible” for the best chance of checking the box on both customer acquisition and retention.
Standing out from the crowd sure ain’t easy.
