Brands are trying to figure out how they can leverage the TV screen effectively for the future

There is no denying the power of TV. But with most viewers for top shows in an older demographic and audience attention shifting to a variety of platforms, brands are trying to figure out how they can leverage the TV screen effectively for the future. The rise of smart TVs looks like it’s the answer.

More than 46.0 million U.S. households use a smart TV every month, and the rapid growth of OTT apps like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video are providing viewers with an on-demand catalog of content. For advertisers, completion rates on ad-supported apps are in the 90th percentile and, most importantly, OTT has the power to adopt the precise consumer targeting of the digital industry.

Sure, the current digital advertising ecosystem is plagued with problems like fraud, transparency, and brand safety. But the targeting capabilities of digital are undeniably superior compared to other platforms. While most parts of the marketing mix develop creative to be blanketed across a broad segment of people, digital can specifically tailor ads for individuals and deliver in an addressable fashion.

With positives and pain points for both of the dominant advertising mediums, the real question becomes: how can we take the best from both the TV and digital worlds for a fresh start on OTT?

To start, we have to learn from our mistakes. For years the digital advertising industry ignored the fact that fraud was running rampant throughout a murky supply chain, and now the programmatic system is so broken and fragmented that brands had to put their foot down. The entire ecosystem is forced to desperately play catch-up, while redesigning the programmatic pipes from the ground up. And this is proving to be expensive.

Instead of being reactive, the advertising industry must be proactive and search for solutions to the problems that have presented themselves on other mediums. Because something tells me the fraudsters are going to look to their bread-and-butter from their digital days, and see how they can leverage it in the $28B+ OTT landscape. But if we can stay one step ahead of scammers, while leveraging the positive aspects of digital and adapting them for a bigger screen, there is no doubt that we can revolutionize the way TV advertising works.