SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – In an era when ads can target individuals’ attributes, what is it going to take for more of them to appeal to minority characteristics?
In this video interview with Beet.TV at Beet Retreat San Juan, one executive bemoaned insufficient diversity in the advanced TV workplace – and said things need to change.
Tr.ly VP creative solutions Gabriela Maestre describes some solutions.
Attribute priorities
Maestre told interviewer Jon Watts many buyers don’t see how they can reach cohorts they haven’t thought about – overlaps of cultural, identity- and interest-based criteria.
“Where the missed opportunity is is that we’re still thinking (about an ad strategy of) one-to-many,” she says.
“(When advertisers say) ‘we can only produce one or two spots’, you really miss the mark on Hispanic parents, Hispanic tech enthusiasts, and so on and so forth.
“The intention is there. I just think it really needs to be more nuanced.”
Linear thinking
By means of example, Maestre describes herself as “30s, gender-nonconforming, Hispanic”.
But she says ad buyers are more likely to target some of her other attributes – soon-to-be dog owner, potential homeowner and keen traveler.
“You see more dollar signs in the latter and, I think, because you still have folks who come from the classic traditional thinking,” Maestre explains.
“My goal is to get people to think many-to-many … How do you actually speak to a tech intender who is Hispanic? How do you really fit in the nuances?”
Dynamic diversity
Maestre thinks her own company can help, including through the enablement of dynamic creative optimization (DCO), software-powered ad executions that can reassembly almost-custom ad creatives for distinct audiences.
Tr.ly was launched almost a year ago by Tremor International’s Unruly and Tremor Video units as a bespoke creative studio, offering video creation, optimization and optimization for emotional resonance.
Tr.ly is helping brands including those that are commissioning their first video ads and those that were already buying display media but need to adapt to CTV screens.
Shake it up
Maestre complained that not enough companies are trying DCO, saying they should try by testing and optimizing.
But diversity in advertising, of course, is broader than that.
Maestre suggested hiring staff from outside roles’ core competencies is one way to inject fresh ideas into a team.
And she hopes for consolidation in the current fragmented ecosystem of connected TV operating systems.
“The moment you start streamlining and speaking the same language across these different, biggest TV or biggest screen in the house, that’s why you’re really going to get the type of diversification within audiences,” she says.
You are watching coverage from Beet Retreat San Juan 2022, presented by AppScience, Infillion, MadHive, SpringServe, Univision & VideoAmp. For more videos, please visit this page.
