Dive Brief:

• Facebook is beta testing a new tool called Audience Direct that gives streaming video publishers access to Facebook user data for targeting and selling video ads on their own sites and apps, according to Ad Age.
• Publishers will have access to Facebook data like age, gender and location and, according to Ad Age, A&E Networks, ESPN, Hearst Television and Scripps Networks Interactive are already testing the automated system. "This is Facebook's attempt to take away traditional TV dollars," an unnamed publisher told Ad Age.
• The program should eventually lead to new advertising revenue opportunities for Facebook because it allows publishers to sell their own inventory directly using their existing ad tech. Audience Direct is compatible with Google's DoubleClick.

Dive Insight:

Facebook is expecting ad load on its main platform to seriously slow down in the second half of 2017 and it's eyeing more premium video content as the linchpin for continued revenue growth. The new Audience Direct tool shows how the social giant is extending that strategy pivot past its own platform to publishers who are also looking to edge into the streaming video space, and in a way that breaks with its usual walled garden approach to marketing. 

The difference between Audience Direct and existing products like Facebook Audience Network (FAN) is, with FAN, publishers allow Facebook to handle their inventory and advertiser relationships whereas the new program takes everything but Facebook's user data out of the transaction process. Because many advertisers are familiar with targeting via Facebook data but are also often frustrated by the barriers its walled garden ecosystem presents, Audience Direct should be both attractive and intuitive to use.

According to Ad Age, Facebook said its data targets ads with 90% accuracy compared to the 50% to 60% accuracy offered by other networks. Another advantage Facebook holds over competitors is its collection of very direct behavior, like location and other data points for logged in users. Ad Age reported that Facebook isn’t earning revenue off the current beta test, but will likely monetize the new tool through transaction fees or other opportunities in the future.