ElementalTV, a Pasadena-based advertising company, has launched an AI-powered ads platform called 1Audience. The platform, which was announced last week, targets ads for connected TV, otherwise known as CTV – internet-connected television sets that work with streaming services rather than cable or satellite.
Through 1Audience, publishers that sell ad space and display them can sell audiences directly to advertisers without intermediaries. The platform sifts through billions of data points to fuel audience segmentation, by which marketers can target subgroups and deliver more precise and relevant ads to various groups of consumers.
You may have encountered connected TV ads while streaming a show or movie. They’re the ads displayed when you pause a TV show or the ads in between scenes if your streaming service tier isn’t ad-free. They’re a hotbed of revenue for advertisers, and digital video ad spend (which include CTV) is expected to grow 80% faster than spending in the entire media according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau. CTV spend specifically is projected to grow 32% faster than the rest of media.
Big companies are taking note. The Walt Disney Co. unveiled a slate of new streaming ad content in June, including trivia games and shoppable ads, that were “developed with the consumer experience in mind to ultimately deliver a more engaging commercial break with brand’s content at the forefront,” the company said in a statement.
FuboTV Inc., which bundles popular channels without the need for cable, welcomes viewers who open the app on their television with a literal carousel of customized content and branded videos as well as a bar at the top of the screen that acts as an advertisement.
“Traditional 15 and 30 second ad spots have long been staples in TV advertising but CTV has made it possible to expand standard TV ad formats to command more attention and engagement,” Dina Roman, senior vice president of global ad sales and operations at Fubo, said in a statement. “By offering premium bespoke ad opportunities, we are creating even more ways brands can authentically reach their target audiences.”
Fremantle, a production company that owns popular game shows like “America’s Got Talent,” “Family Feud” and “The Price is Right,” is partnering with ElementalTV to allow advertisers to buy and place specific ads for viewers as they stream those shows.
“The ability to align AI-powered audience curation with programmatic delivery creates a powerful connection between content and audience,” Matt Katrosar, the senior vice president of global advertising sales and strategy at Fremantle, said in a statement.
ElementalTV, which was founded in 2020, is part of a growing market of companies trying to better utilize all the ways streamers are wringing ad space out of their products. tvScientific, a Torrance-based advertising startup, raised $9.4 million in February to create an advertising buying and selling marketplace dedicated to CTV. There’s also OpenX Technologies Inc., a Pasadena-based company that works with direct-to-publisher ad inventory through its platform. The company expanded further into Europe, Asia and Australia in June.
