PANEL SNAPSHOTS
Joe Prusz, Head of Mobile for the Rubicon Project, on “Seizing the Mobile Moment: Engaging Premium Audiences at Scale”:
“There is no question that location-targeted mobile video and mobile native content are the future of advertising…eMarketer estimates that 105 million U.S. smartphone users are expected to watch video at least once a month on their mobile devices this year, a 14% increase from 2014.”

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
“The power to automate all advertising, obviously… Well, that and flight. Flying would be nice.”

Chris Wilson, President, National Television, Rentrak, on “Content in the New Age of Distribution”:
“Consumers now have the ability to watch when and where they want, and advertisers need to understand how viewing habits have changed. The old way of doing things is quickly become obsolete.”

Superpower?
“X-ray Vision, to get a detailed scope of what the future really holds.”

What makes this an important topic in today’s media environment?
“Consumers have more choice than ever and are gravitating toward over-the-top services as device proliferation grows and bandwidth becomes faster, allowing for higher quality streaming.

“For advertisers, OTT means a greater ability to target consumers and have direct 1:1 relationships with them. This is a very early industry; Hulu is really only seven years old, so we expect a lot of growth in the space very quickly.

“The industry and landscape are evolving quickly and steadily and marketers must be able to adapt in order to reach their target consumers. Also, consumers don’t hate ads, they hate irrelevancy.”

What do you think is the biggest misconception about this topic?
“Given that we are in the OTT ecosystem, we hear a lot about cord cutters and the demise of pay TV. However, at Hulu we really see ourselves as a complement to the traditional TV bundle. About 4/5 of Hulu customers also subscribe to pay TV, so we aren’t seeing a decline there.”

What are some of the key advertising/media trends you see in today’s marketplace?
“A huge trend we are seeing is the shift in viewing habits. Just seven years ago, nearly all of our viewing was on PC, and now that accounts for about 20 percent. Viewership in the living room is on the rise.More than 60% of our active Hulu subscribers stream exclusively on devices and off the PC. We know that consumers want to watch their long-form premium entertainment on the best screen possible.”

LOCAL NEWS, NATIONAL REACH
NewsOn, the cross-screen initiative formed by the ABC Owned Television Station Group, Cox Media Group, Hearst Television, Media General, and Raycom Media, hopes to cover 75 percent of the U.S. marketplace when it launches this fall, CEO Lewis Gump announced at Advertising Week on Monday. The free, ad-supported app, which will provide a nationwide lineup and live streams of news content from local stations, currently covers 66 percent of the country, with 112 stations in 84 markets.

“They’re millennial, multicultural, and mobile,” said Jacqueline Hernandez, Chief Marketing Officer, Hispanic Group, NBCUniversal, at the “Leading Generation M” panel.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
“TV is not dying, it’s just having babies”  Gerri Wang, President, ABC Sales, quoting an industry watchword

TOMORROW AT AW
A Q&A with David Poltrack, Chief Research Officer, CBS; A look at the Journey of Data-Driven Marketing; ABC’s "Videobiquity Insights,” and more!!

By Rod Granger

Roberta Caploe: Associate Publisher @robertacaploe
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

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