Dive Brief:
- Hulu has partnered with Strata, an ad buying and selling marketplace, for an ad platform geared toward streaming video, according to a Strata press release.
- The platform will bring an experience akin to what advertisers expect when they buy local linear TV ads, and will include ad spots on Hulu content across living room devices, desktops and mobile.
- Peter Naylor, SVP of sales at Hulu, said the partnership illustrates how the local broadcast market should move beyond conventional TV buying options to meet client’s TV ad objectives.
Dive Insight:
Hulu's move to offer an ad buying platform for its streaming service comes as consumers, especially younger demographic groups, migrate from traditional TV to digital streaming services.
Strata’s software is used by 99% of broadcast stations as well as over 1,000 ad agencies, indicating that Hulu's reach via the platform could be pretty big. But it remains to be seen whether advertisers accustomed to more traditional local linear TV programming will move budgets to reach Hulu’s ad-supported, entry-level subscription tier.
There are some convincing reasons to do so.
Strata’s software will be able to circumvent ad skipping and viewability issues, and Hulu itself claims a 92% viewability rate — 60% higher than the industry benchmark, according to Ad Week. The streaming service also includes non-skippable ads that only charge marketers for 100% completion of the ad unit.
Strata will be able to target Hulu users by Nielsen DMA, as well as state or local zip codes. Hulu converts impressions to TV ratings, meaning local broadcast buyers can just add Hulu spots to overall TV ad buying plans.
One aspect of Hulu that might make the service attractive to linear TV buyers is its large pool of popular shows — including content from four of the five biggest broadcast networks — which position Hulu as a way for advertisers to reach viewers who no longer engage with those programs on broadcast networks.
