cTV to save Ad-tech?
Why won’t ad-tech die? It is because it has nine lives and run by hustling, smart operators who always find the next idea to make money. Let’s hope they don’t defraud marketers this time.
At its heart, it is not the trader’s mentality that is controversial, advertising technology is controversial because of the advertising model and its often fraudulent participants. Period.
Generally, an ad-supported model allows internet content to be monetarily free. But the social and human costs of this model are now very vivid and real. Add this to the dominance of walled-gardens, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of oxygen for ad-tech companies to breathe. Advertising also has a business model that is “ad”dictive to society and generally is not a beehive to attract venture dollar or new talent with only 533 angel.co tracked ad-tech start-ups as of Q2 2020
<stage left> Enter Connected TV or cTV. Connected TV pumps new oxygen into the advertising room, and voilà, all traditional advertising companies are now in their descriptions connected TV companies. Whereas in mid-2012 most ad-based internet companies pivoted to mobile, then to programmatic advertising, they are now pivoting hard to a model which just describes them as monetizing advertising television advertising that is spent digitally.
Recent seismic shifts due to COVID, have given large audiences to up and coming platforms like Tubi and Pluto, while energizing companies with large cTV capabilities like Trade Desk and Magnite — 2020 (YTD Dec 2020) stock performance of both v. NASDAQ!
But beyond looking like the next big thing, what is really needed for cTV to gain confidence with large digital advertising marketing budgets? IMHO it is a fit with addressable and traditional television. And
to also take a direct, transparent stance on inventory fraud in the digital cTV ecosystem.
Early data points to cTV committing sins of the past by following in the footprints of digital banner companies with several layers of fraud adding to an ad-tech “tax” to marketers and by proxy consumers. Even if fraud follows the money, can’t we have an ad ecosystem with interesting ads, seen by humans, which prompt people to make a purchase? Otherwise, cTV risks the ire of global marketers…again.
