Streaming Platforms Could Be Your First-Party Data Solution

Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Columnist Network series, which explores the tactical thoughts and actions from Adweek’s community of high-level experts. 2022 is a year of exciting opportunities and innovation in the media and ad-tech space. Looking ahead, there are many trends and tools that brands can leverage to keep up with consumers and maximize their advertising opportunity. The biggest challenge and opportunity in 2022 and beyond will be how a brand deploys their data strategy. A trend that has built over time is the need to ensure that brands are focused on strategic partners with first-party relationships with consumers that are based on connection and trust. We’re seeing a push to move away from platforms or partners that lack these direct relationships with consumers because they are limited in the data and measurement they can offer, which can limit a brands' effectiveness. This year, transparency in data collection will become even more important, and the good news for brands is that it can also yield more accurate ad measurement. Brands will also think more about how these signals allow for more effective targeting and measurement, which in turn allows them to strengthen the identity graphs they’re newly trying to build in-house or in partnership with their agency counterparts. Due to the added focus on first-party relationships, we’re also seeing the market show more interest in taking that first-party data and deploying it on traditional TV through offerings like dynamic linear advertising. Streaming platforms will allow brands to bring the benefits of TV streaming—targeting, optimization, attribution—to linear, and TV programmers can replace traditional TV ads with targeted ads in real-time, which can minimize over-frequency in live linear TV plans, a growing pain point over the past couple of years. NBCUniversal Creates Cookie-Free, First-Party Identity Platform for Marketers In addition to maximizing reach and frequency, brands have proven that they want to improve ROI with data on the front end and attribution on the back end to ensure they’re maximizing their media spend. As the market demand for this type of offering increases, TV OS platforms are uniquely positioned to bring a truly scalable option to market because of the direct consumer relationship within their OneView tech stack. We expect 2022 to be the year that brands lean more heavily into their measurement strategy. When the pandemic started, brands needed to make more with less and used the opportunity to test and learn various measurement offerings. As an output of the past two years, the focus is on holistic, real-time measurement and optionality in terms of measurement offerings. Platforms can give marketers the tools to see across their entire buy to get the most accurate read on real-time performance. Through a platform like Roku’s measurement alliance with Nielsen, advertisers are able to measure all four screens: streaming, traditional linear TV, desktop and mobile. In addition, advertisers can lean on a variety of best-in-class third-party partners. Coming out of the past two years, all brands want to make sure to measure both the top of the funnel, such as reach, frequency and brand awareness, all the way down to attribution—and optionality in measurement offerings easily allows for that. Brand safety has been another critically important trend that has emerged and will continue to be very important this year and beyond. Once only seen as a focus for desktop and mobile, we now expect to see it become a bigger part of the conversation in streaming—platforms that heard this early on from advertisers worked to address transparency by implementing ads.txt. Looking forward, we also expect brands to lean into unique and innovative creative executions. A new trend we’ve been seeing is the need for new ad experiences and new ways to integrate brands into the content experience above and beyond the typical 30-second ad. Brands have the unique opportunity now to leverage the digital infrastructure of streaming for shoppable ads, branded content, interactive and more to make their creative stand out and drive results. Brands that focus on first-party consumer relationships, holistic full-funnel measurement solutions and best-in-class creative opportunities will be the trendsetters in this ever-evolving advertising ecosystem. Federal Privacy Laws, Big Tech Regulation and Other Questions Shaping the Year Ahead