Volume 7 Issue 16

The DL: It’s no doubt that Netflix has been a forefather in introducing streaming services to the cinematic industry. Though they now face many on-demand competitors today, Netflix continues to push for original content to help keep and attract new subscribers. However, new and exciting content may not be enough to compete with the opposing providers, who profit from a low-cost ad serving tier, unlike Netflix. After announcing a small subscription price hike earlier this year, the all-inclusive platform is re-thinking its ad-free reputation, now open to the idea of offering a lower-tiered membership with ads. As viewers shift from broadcast to digital, this offering could benefit both Netflix and advertisers, opening up another platform to capture light TV viewers. Would advertising on Netflix be right for you? At HM we can provide consumption data relating to your target audience and their use of Netflix, determining if the investment is right for your campaign.

The DL: After what feels like a long winter, spring is finally here, and with that comes America’s favorite pastime, baseball. When we think of baseball, we often associate hot dogs, beer, summer days, peanuts, and Cracker Jack. Well, this year Cracker Jack created packaging to promote women’s love and inclusion in the game of baseball with Cracker Jill packaging. This comes on the heels of many women becoming involved with baseball and the on-field product. This year alone we had the first woman director of player development, as well as the first woman coach to join an MLB team. Cracker Jack is helping to raise women’s involvement in baseball as well as give their brand a nice lift. Whether it's Cracker Jack or Cracker Jill, I still think it’s a staple of baseball for years to come.

Following up on its announcement late last month that all users would soon be able to use product tags in their feed posts.

The DL: This feature was originally only available to approved creators on the platform, but now everyone can directly link to products or brands that are featured in their posts. This is yet another shopping feature that Instagram has added to encourage users to purchase products without leaving their platforms, such as Shops, the shop tab, and live-stream shopping. This could deter some users as they may feel they are constantly being sold things, but product tags are a great way for users to share products organically and allow brands to get more exposure for their products.

The DL: This week, Roku talked about data cleanrooms that will offer brands and agencies a way to work together using first-party data. This news was announced Tuesday and will enable brands to load their data into a safe environment. This is mainly built for streaming and intended to make the planning process and measuring campaigns easier with the cookie fading away. “This is in the early stages, but we are actively running campaigns through the cleanroom,” Louqman Parampath who is the vice president of product management of advertising at Roku said. Roku has even mentioned that eventually, this will be the way that first-party data will be used for CTV. Using the cleanroom works directly with OneView, which is Roku’s ad platform. This cleanroom will also be available to measurement providers in the Roku Measurement Partner Program. 

YouTube has introduced a new feature on its Trending page that will highlight the best performing shorts videos from around the world at any given time.

The DL: The new feature, which is called a "shorts shelf", will filter out the most popular videos from the trending results and will surface them by location. It's designed to improve the overall user experience on the site. It will also help you in your research efforts by providing you with a deeper understanding of what people are watching on YouTube's short videos. With the growing popularity of the platform, this feature could be a great way to develop your strategy for targeting specific audiences.

Hoffmann Murtaugh Founder Shea Murtaugh talks about the importance of having first-party data and what your company should be doing to get ready for the demise of the internet cookie. Listen here: https://www.pghtech.org/podcasts/Shea_Murtaugh.