Dive Brief:

• GroupM launched the Ad Innovation Accelerator, a program meant to enhance the traditional 30-second TV ad spot for streaming services through the integration of digital technologies, according to information shared with Marketing Dive. The working group so far includes BrightLine, Disney, KERV, NBCUniversal, Roku, Telly, and YouTube.
• The group will look to co-create ad formats that are agnostic across the media ecosystem and plans to launch a pilot in the first quarter of 2024 with the goal enhancing consumer-brand connections in a measurable way.
• The media investment firm, which is part of WPP, and participating partners seek to streamline advertising for brands that want to reach viewers of the growing number of streaming services with ad-supported tiers.

Dive Insight:

Connected TV (CTV) advertising is predicted to increase 14.9% in North America, up from the 9.4% in 2023, according to a recent GroupM forecast. Its accelerator program looks to address this growing market and the challenges that come with it, like complexity, cross-platform measurement and the fact that ad formats may not be interoperable across platforms. 

Rolling out first in North America for GroupM clients at Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom, the program will look to create ad formats that are scalable across ad-supported streaming services like Peacock, Telly, The Roku Channel and YouTube.

“Uniting partners with varying objectives to streamline ad development will have a multitude of benefits for our advertisers, ultimately allowing for quick iteration and better interoperability across platforms. That’s a win-win for our industry,” said Matt Sweeney, chief investment officer of GroupM U.S., in a statement.

In addition to interoperability, the group will also focus on improving measurement through new practices and standards. Benchmark testing is set to be complete in early 2024 in order to be ready for upfront planning. The program will roll out to other markets throughout the year.