George P. Olexa

Gamer motivations and desired gaming experience may be shifting among today's gamers. This report from Quantic Foundry found a substantial decline related to strategy games involving complex problem-solving. Historically, we expect gamers to appreciate immersive experiences but research I've led related to gaming experiences recently revealed a stronger interest in heightened social interactions and a prevalence of multi-tasking in-game. I'm curious if these observations are related... thoughts? #gamers #gaming #mrx #marketresearch You can read about Quantic Foundry's study here: https://lnkd.in/euMiD46n

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A recent Wall Street Journal article by Isabella Simonetti (gifted link below) reveals that TV networks are embracing their aging viewership and challenging the notion that younger demographics are the most valuable targets for advertisers. With the median age of viewers now in their 50s and 60s (MTV viewers average 51 years old!) for many networks, executives argue that reaching consumers based on their purchasing habits, rather than age, is the key to effective advertising. Older viewers often have more disposable income, are less sensitive to price increases, and are still making brand decisions. By focusing on the mass-market reach of TV and targeting people likely to buy a product, regardless of age, media buyers are adapting to the changing landscape of television viewership. As media and entertainment professionals, it's crucial to recognize the importance of this demographic shift and adapt our approaches accordingly. What do you think about this? #advertising #consumerhabits #mediastrategies #mediaproduction

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Food for thought - AI WILL impact your brand reputation. "To protect and strengthen brand reputation in an AI world, corporate and brand communications leaders need to start monitoring and influencing AI-powered answer engines and the large language models that underpin them." My colleague Brian Snyder authored this piece discussing AI reputation management and what brands should consider in the new AI era. Give it a read - you won't be disappointed. If you have questions or would like to discuss further, DM me! #AI #technology #brand #reputation

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"The most important thing is direct connections, because in live, milliseconds matter." — FreeWheel GM Mark McKee sat down with Beet.TV at hashtag#CannesLions2024 to discuss our new programmatic suite geared toward live delivery. Watch the full interview: https://bit.ly/4cOnQrX Download FreeWheel's new report focused on the latest live TV trends in the streaming environment, and how to capture audiences in the moment: https://bit.ly/3y1pxCV #EffectvEmp

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As Seb Joseph points out in this latest piece in Digiday, the same publishers purchased through TRUSTX are 50% more environmentally friendly than they would be if purchased through other supply-side platforms, as audited by Scope3. But it's not because we have less carbon-heavy MFA inventory than other SSPs. It's because we don't have any. Never have. Never will. Zero MFA, ever. It's not easy being green. But it is worth it.

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See below what happened in #BloombergTech in SF yesterday! Learn all about the latest in Tech, AI and even Space! Excited for #BloombergTech London that is coming up this October :) Get in touch! #techsummit #BloombergTechsummit #AI #tech

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The rise of NVIDIA as reported by CNBC, with insights from Kantar: In a ranking of the 100 most valuable global brands published this month by Kantar BrandZ, Nvidia landed at No. 6, leaping 18 places from its prior survey. The brand’s overall valued jumped 178% in a year to an estimate of about $202 billion. Kantar surveys enterprise buyers to evaluate brands that primarily sell to other businesses to come up with a total estimate of brand value. “Nvidia is pound for pound as relevant and meaningful to that B2B buyer that’s looking to make big, large purchases in-house for their company as Apple is to the consumer who’s buying an iPad or a Mac,” Marc Glovsky, senior brand strategist at Kantar, told CNBC. https://lnkd.in/gGDksRR6

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✅🖥️ WSJ (4/25): “Interest is high in the league’s next round of packages, which kick in after the 2024-2025 season. Disney, which pays around $1.6B a year for TV rights, and Warner, which pays about $1.2B a year, are in discussions to pay substantial increases under a new pact while airing fewer games than they do now, say people familiar with the conversations. The robust pricing expected in the deals shows how valuable live sports are to traditional media companies at a time when cord-cutting is shrinking overall TV viewership. Many households maintain cable subscriptions because it is the only way to watch their favorite teams’ games. Under their current deals, Disney and Warner carry roughly 165 games combined. Games taken from those incumbents would help the NBA create a new package for a streaming player with nationally televised regular-season games and some playoff contests. The league also could draw on a catalog of locally aired games. Amazon’s Prime Video, which airs NFL games, has been aggressive in pursuing the streaming package and is viewed by league and media executives as the front-runner. YouTube is also in the mix, those executives say. The streaming package would give a tech giant the right to show games in markets around the world.” ⬇️🏀 #livesports #streamingtv #ctvadvertising https://lnkd.in/eYK3qmFY

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✅🖥️ Fast Company (4/21): “Tom Ryan, CEO of Paramount Streaming, was one of the first pioneers in FAST when he cofounded Pluto TV back in April of 2014. Ten years later, Pluto TV—which Ryan sold to Paramount (then ViacomCBS) in 2019—has become a billion-dollar business. It has 425 global media partners and has expanded into an international brand that spans four continents and more than 35 markets. *FC: Why do you think FAST is really taking off now? *TR: “I think it’s a universally and globally appealing product. Free television, who doesn’t want that? Sure, you pay with a little bit of your time for watching advertising, but even in paid streaming for most services, there’s an ad-supported tier of paid streaming. But here, you get a product that feels familiar, is easy to use, if not better, frankly, than traditional TV in terms of its UX and its usability. You get to dive right into great well-known content all for free, so it’s just a highly appealing product. And it’s complementary to paid services. We’ve seen that the average Pluto TV user has several paid services based on our research, so this is not substitutional; this is complementary. They go to their paid services for certain content, and Pluto TV is a complementary product that they use for their overall entertainment usage; and the same is true with cable TV. About half of our Pluto TV users have a cable TV subscription, but they find interesting channels and lots of great content that is easy to access all for free. So why wouldn’t you add that to your streaming diet? It’s a great way to enhance your entertainment offering at home and . . . at no incremental cost.” ⬇️ #fast #streamingtv #ctvadvertising #newfronts #iabnewfronts https://lnkd.in/eTTtBB_P

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Interested in understanding the intricacies of Attention in advertising? Curious about its correlation with clicks, memories, and driving sales? 🤔 Check out this insightful video where the CEO of Lumen Research Ltd delves into their attention model, a framework that we at Teads also heavily leverage. #Advertising #Attention #Marketing #Sales #Teads #LumenResearch

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How Adelaide is helping publishes like the NYT realize the value of their inventory.

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A welcome reminder on the limitations of programmatic advertising despite its incredibly widespread use. The lack of transparency regarding where ads are displayed and the quality of placements remains a significant issue. Also, programmatic platforms may not always ensure brand safety, with ads appearing alongside inappropriate or harmful content. On top of that, relying solely on programmatic channels can limit the control advertisers have over ad placements and targeting parameters. And this is before we get to the demise of the 3rd party cookie. Interesting article to read and not surprised Bloomberg switched to a clean, direct-sold model. #DigitalAdvertising #Programmatic #Monetisation #OnlineAdvertising

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✅🖥️ NextTV (7/9): “The pause ad format has proved popular on streaming services such as Hulu, Peacock, Roku and Amazon Prime Video. Dish Media said that pause ads give advertisers an opportunity to engage with audiences in a clutter-free environment with 100% share of voice. Pause ads appear 10 seconds after a viewer-initiated pause and disappear when content is resumed, ensuring a seamless and non-intrusive viewing experience. Sling TV's version of the pause ads gives advertisers the flexibility to use video content or static graphics in their creative executions. Advertisers can also insert a QR code, making it easy for viewers to access more information or buy the product.” ⬇️ #streamingtv #adtech #ott #ictv #cordcutting #upfronts #advertising https://lnkd.in/em9zkDkj

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With more businesses branching into FAST experiences, it's clear that this trend is only growing. One of the key outcomes of this is the TV-like experience being offered as part of a device service. This channel is accessible to all customers who purchased Roku’s low barrier-to-entry devices. The advantages of cable advertising are now in the domain of tech. #FASTTV #Innovation #AdTech

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From early adoption to ethical applications, three of WE’s leaders - Nitin Mantri, Laura Gillen and Tiffany Cook – unpack our latest #WEBrandsinMotion research, on how brands must bridge the AI expectation gap, with PRWeek.

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Many media buying teams *want* to support more diverse media suppliers—but it’s easier said than done. According to the latest research, ad buyers cite 4 major road blocks: (1) a lack of top-down support, (2) unclear investment opportunities, (3) trouble linking diverse supplier investment to ROI, and (4) budget constraints. (Interested in partnering with your org or clients to launch successful diverse media supplier programs using tech, people, and processes? https://lnkd.in/gjpehskr)

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This #DMSBYLUMA State of Digital in '24 is well worth 32m of your time. Bookmark it. Notably for #CreativeEffectiveness & DAIVID 🦩, pointing out that, "we're at an inflection point. Media optimisation is great but software that understands creative drives EFFECTIVENESS and we think these are better outcomes". That's our bag, baby. https://lnkd.in/eXfkMPyq

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✅🖥️ CNBC (6/26): “YouTube made up 9.7% of all viewership on connected and traditional TVs in the U.S. in May — the largest share of TV for a streaming platform ever reported by Nielsen’s monthly “The Gauge” report. Netflix ranked second, claiming 7.6% of viewership. Among streamers only, YouTube’s total viewership was close to 25% market share. “We’re not talking about your mobile phone, your laptop, that I’m sure you see your kids using all the time, but on the biggest screen in the house, the TV,” said LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield. “Every [media] executive has to be paying attention.” But media companies such as Netflix, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery aren’t sure whether YouTube is friend or foe. Some media executives see YouTube as a companion platform to subscription streaming services and cable TV — an unwieldy behemoth of non-narrative, creator-led content with a social media slant that doesn’t really fit the New York-Hollywood nexus of professional media. Others — even at times the same executives — view YouTube as an existential threat to the entertainment industry, stealing viewership from subscription streaming services and, with it, the cultural center of American youth. Those competing truths have led media and entertainment companies to concoct a wide array of strategies to combat the growing threat.” ⬇️ #streamingtv #ott #ctvadvertising #avod #mobile #smarttv

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🌟 Huge thanks to Dan Gallagher, WSJ Heard on the Street, for joining our latest 'Meet the Media' session with Brands2Life! 🌟 It was great to have Dan share his thoughts on the evolving #AI industry and the future of #streaming, exploring topics such as AI's gradual real-world impact and media consumption trends. Thanks again Dan for a fantastic session! #AI #Media #Technology #WSJ #Investment #Streaming #MeetTheMedia

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