LOS ANGELES — The theory: the new-look TV ad business can look a lot like digital, significantly automated.
The reality: so many Excel sheets still pushed between buyers and sellers.
In this video interview with Furious Corp CEO Ashley J. Swartz for Beet.TV’s Beet Retreat Santa Monica, Richard Nunn, VP & GM, Advertising Suite, Comcast Technology Solutions, says that contextual targeting is the future – but that automation is still being developed to make the opportunity scale.
The trouble with scale
“The realities are, what we’re seeing is there is a lot of manual processes,” Nunn says. “My concern is, are they scalable?”
Comcast’s footprint includes NBC and Sky, a cable division and ad-tech including FreeWheel.
The division offers a host of solutions to bring infrastructure to the digital TV world.
The context machine
“What we’re really focusing on is how to make an ad more intelligent,” Nunn explains. “Ad-ID are obviously doing a big push around metadata behind it.
“We’re using AI and ML to look at real-time scanning of ads and understanding what’s going on within the ads.
“It’s not just a brand auto car ad. What car marque is it? What type of people are in it? Is it a couple, is it a family? Is it a landscape? Is it urban? All those types of stuff.
“We think that, both from a sell- and a buy-side, there’s a lot of value in that.
“Bringing the triumvirate of those three things together and making ads more intelligent through technology, I think is going to move the needle a lot.”
Separate Systems Aren’t Fit To Manage TV Ad Tsunami: Comcast Technology Solutions’ Nunn
Come together for measurement
Comcast Technology Solutions recently published a report, What’s Next For TV Advertising?, detailing four changes that will happen in the next five years:
- Addressable becomes a reality
- Workflows get automated
- Standards are helped to scale
- Data will differentiate measurement abilities
Nunn thinks number four, measurement, is a problem that needs to be solved.
He says chat at Beet Retreat around the idea of an independent regulatory body for advanced TV measurement hits the nail on the head.
“I think it is going to be a critical step forward for the industry,” he says. “Whether it happens or not, we’ll see, but I think that’s something we should tackle together.”
You are watching coverage from Beet Retreat Santa Monica 2021, presented by FreeWheel, IRIS.TV, Samba TV, TransUnion & Warner Music Group. For more videos, please visit this page.
