OSN Rebrands Its Streaming Service With OSN+
Prominent Dubai-based satellite pay-TV and streaming service Orbit Showtime Network (OSN) is launching OSN+, a new premium streaming service that replaces its streaming app. The app’s design overhauls the traditional iconic red OSN logo to take on a more youthful and colorful aesthetic. This app marks OSN’s full-fledged entry into the MENA region’s increasingly crowded SVOD landscape.
With this , OSN is very clearly reaching out to a younger, youthful demographic. In the MENA region, over half of the population is under the age of 25. MENA has a young market, and OSN+ is a leading provider of premium international entertainment. It is committed to offering the most compelling content of an SVOD service in the region through exclusive and longstanding partnerships with leading studios.
Exclusive International Partnerships
OSN renewed its long-term exclusive partnership with HBO in January and expanded its relationship with NBCU to include additional premium content from Peacock and Sky Studios. Furthermore, Endeavor Content and All3Media now offer premium content, complementing existing partnerships with Paramount, Warner Media, Sony, Discovery, MGM, and Lionsgate.
OSN recently lost the SVOD leverage it had through its exclusive arrangement with Disney. Disney Plus will launch this summer in the region and will no longer offer the SVOD component of that deal.
The OSN+ launch is headlined by the much-anticipated Paramount+ blockbuster series Halo. It will be available exclusively on OSN+ on the same day as its global premiere from March 25.
OSN’s Arabic Originals
In addition to international content, OSN+ will feature Arabic original content created locally by the region’s top creative talent. To start with, the first OSN+ Original series would be an Arabic adaptation of the smash-hit series Suits, which will premiere at the beginning of Ramadan. OSN+ is significantly investing in regional premium series and features, with more titles, set to be announced in the coming weeks.
The surge in streaming growth worldwide and in the region presents the company with a tremendous opportunity to expand beyond its leadership in premium TV.
And That’s What They Said
Sangeeta Desai, CEO of OSN Group, expressed her excitement and said,
“The OSN Group is on a mission to consistently deliver outstanding entertainment on every screen and OSN+ is the cornerstone of our new business proposition. Building on our rich legacy in world-class entertainment, OSN+ will lead the next phase of our journey to deliver the best of global and local content to our viewers anytime, anywhere at an accessible price point. “
Nick Forward, managing director OSN+, and the chief content officer is delighted to lead the launch and said,
“Drawing on my prior experience of building a leading regional streaming service, I see a fantastic opportunity to grow OSN+ into the leading SVOD offering in MENA, buoyed by a brilliant offering of world-beating content reflecting the best of global, locally curated for our audiences.”
OSN+ is available anytime, anywhere, and on any device. The service costs USD 9.50 per month. Know more here.
Interesting read: Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
Facebook On TikTok With Verified Account
Social platforms setting up shop on other social platforms and the latest example is Facebook is on TikTok. Astonished? Is this your next thought – what’s Facebook doing on TikTok? Buying ads or just another social account on TikTok?
We’ll know soon enough because the social networking company has set up its own TikTok account. The account is verified and had roughly more than 15,000 followers at the time of this post, but it had not shared any videos or other content, save for a link to the Facebook application on Google Play.
Image Credit: Tech Crunch
A Meta spokesperson said,
“Brands leverage a variety of channels, including some of our social media platforms, to reach and engage with the people using their products and services every day. “Our intent with establishing a brand presence and cultivating community on platforms like TikTok or others is no different.”
Don’t be surprised!
The different social platforms often have accounts on each other’s sites and apps. For example, Meta on Twitter provides regular news and updates. A Pinterest account on Facebook promotes its ads in several languages. Well, TikTok also has an Instagram account with 26million followers to promote the content.
Likewise, Facebook may be looking to boost its Gen Z user base by leveraging TikTok (or its ad platform) after recently reporting flat growth in monthly active users in its last quarter. With the decline in Facebook’s popularity, they might be building a content strategy, especially for the younger generation.
Another likely factor is Facebook…Errr…Meta is delving deep into the metaverse, and the Roblox user base is primarily 25 and under, with a sizable proportion of people aged nine to sixteen. The fact that large brands utilize various channels for marketing and communication makes it a little amusing to see Facebook pop up on TikTok. However, TikTok gives Meta a way to connect with younger users that aren’t on Facebook or Instagram today.
It will be interesting to witness the content of Facebook on TikTok. Well, isn’t it Meta now?
Omnicom Integrates With NBCU’s Clean Room Facility
Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has become the first agency to integrate with NBCUniversal’s ‘(NBCU) propriety data clean room, the NBCU Audience Insights Hub. As a result of the hub, NBCU and its advertising clients can share proprietary data in a clean environment to create more effective, targeted campaigns.
Why This Integration Is Significant?
A significant aspect of OMG’s integration is that it is not only simply, one of the largest agencies with full-scale media operations, but it has also substantially invested in developing its own demand-side data operating platform. With Omni, OMG claims to have “more privacy-compliant datasets than any other competitive data offering.” NBCU’s first-party data and Omnicom’s Omni system will be accessible to OMG without exposing personally identifiable information. In addition, the OMG integration will allow clients and partners to conduct reach and frequency analysis using certified reach measurement models.
This announcement comes at a critical time as agencies, brands, and publishers prepare for the demise of third-party cookies by investing in first-party data solutions that can meet their marketing requirements in a new, more privacy-centric way.
Interesting Read: Clean Rooms Explained: How Marketers Can Prepare For Cookieless World
And That’s What They Said,
As quoted by The Drum, Ryan McConville, NBCUniversal’s executive vice president of advertising platforms and operations said,
We’re ushering in a new era of data interoperability with the Audience Insights Hub, and we’re excited about the opportunity it presents for OMG. The Audience Insights Hub enables OMG to utilize NBCU data to run their own measurement functions including campaign reach and frequency analysis for media measurement and planning. It’s win-win for both OMG and their clients.
Echoing the same sentiment, OMG Chief Investment Officer Geoffrey Calabrese said in a statement announcing the deal,
This agreement exponentially enhances the individual capabilities of two best-in-class, industry-leading data solutions which ultimately deliver industry-first cross-platform capabilities for our clients.
Interesting Read: 6 Data Privacy Trends To Look Out For In 2022!
Pinterest Adds New Checkout Feature To Drive More Brand Sales
Pinterest forays deeper into eCommerce with new shopping features at its annual advertising summit. The image-sharing site introduced direct in-app checkout and a new personalized recommendations feature.
Read more: Pinterest TV : Another Pinterest Attempt To Monetize Creators’ Efforts
Pinterest Check out- The in-app checkout feature is presently in beta. It provides users the ability to purchase within the Pinterest app. This is available only to some Shopify sellers in the U.S. However, Pinterest plans to provide access to the other U.S based Shopify retailers this year.
Additionally, Pinterest plans to introduce a new application programming interface (API) for shopping. It will make the uploading of product catalogs and listing easier for the retailers.
Your Shop- It is termed as a “personal shopping concierge, powered by a taste-driven algorithm”. The newly announced “Your Shop” feature is a recommendations engine that provides users personalized shopping pages, It suggests products, brands, and creators to users based on their activities and preferences.
Your Shop is also currently in beta, with plans to launch to the U.S pinners later this year with other extra nations.
Pinterest Trends- A Pinterest tool for analysis and insights. It helps businesses to understand real-time search data, more trend types, more granular audience tools, and personalized trend recommendations. The feature is available to businesses in the U.S, the U.K, and Canada, with plans to launch globally.
Earlier this year, Pinterest added the augmented reality feature “Try on For Home Decor”. It allows users to evaluate and check home decor options virtually before buying them.
Read More: Pinterest Rolls Out Suite Of Commerce-Friendly Features For Advertisers
What to know: Eventually, Pinterest users will be able to complete transactions without leaving the app, which can speed up the conversion process and lower friction. With Your Shop feature, Pinterest is competing with Instagram’s shopping tab. Pinterest can become a more compelling shopping destination with these retail-oriented features, giving merchants more ways to reach customers
First Digital Advertising Agency ‘Advert on Click’ Launched In The Middle East
In its first phase of rollout, OMNES Technologies now offers the marketing, sale, and booking of advertising spaces in all Arab countries through its digital platform ‘Advert on Click’. A gradual expansion will follow the initial launch.
In the past year, Advert On Click has been provided with news from over 1900 media outlets from various Arab countries as part of its Beta Phase. Media outlets will be marketed on a global scale through the platform with the aim of attracting advertisers to these outlets via innovative digital ways. Advertisers will be able to network with Arab media outlets and communicate directly with them to purchase and reserve ad spaces.
For the uninitiated, Advert on Click platform offers extensive information about media and advertising outlets as well as their contact information. This includes various types of advertising and marketing means, such as print publications, magazines, TV stations, radio stations, websites, outdoor advertising, point-of-sale spaces, and other kinds of media.
Interesting Read: Power Of Out-Of-Home Advertising In The Middle East And Road Ahead
And That’s What They Said
Fahed Al Deeb, CEO of OMNES Technologies, the developer and operator of the Advert on Click platform, said the platform is one of their recent initiatives aimed at promoting the advertising industry by increasing access to advertising outlets and connecting them to a broader segment of advertisers globally. He further added,
“All Arab media and advertising outlets are currently welcome to register for free on the platform, upload their information, and take advantage of the marketing campaigns that the platform will launch to reach new advertisers worldwide. Also, advertisers and advertising agencies can benefit from the platform’s services, request quotations, and book advertising space from the media directly.”
He explains that the ‘Advert on Click’ platform uses direct deals between advertisers and media outlets, with a commission of not more than 5% on the contract value.
Interesting Read: Hypermedia plans to introduce data measurement tools
Twitter Shops: Tests In-App Shops For Brands
The social networking site is rolling out a beta version of Twitter Shops, which lets sellers set up a virtual storefront for customers to browse. In fact, the Twitter Shops won’t actually let you purchase anything directly – instead, you’ll be linked out to a company’s website in an in-app browser to make your actual purchase.
PUT YOUR STORE ON TWITTER
Twitter Shops extends the “shop module” that was launched last summer. Unlike the shop module, which displays just a handful of products on the profile page, the new update allows stores to have a dedicated space to display up to 50 items. The feature, which is currently deployed to a few businesses, has already been enabled for the shops. According to Twitter, the features are currently available to brands such as @Verizon, @ArdenCove, @LatinxInPower, @GayPrideApp, and @AllIDoIsCookUS. The shops are only viewable to “select merchants and managed partners in the US” and are free to use. People who use Twitter in English on iPhones in the US will see the shops for now.
Shops are Twitter’s latest attempt to reach out to shoppers, following the launch of the Shop Module. Twitter describes the feature as an “experiment,” but it has hinted at much larger plans in the space. Additionally, shopping ties into Twitter’s recent efforts to provide creators with monetization tools, where the company has been piloting shopping features in live streams.
Credit: Twitter
E-Commerce Expansion And Challenges
Twitter sees e-commerce as a major opportunity. A period of rapid development followed the e-commerce expansion, during which the micro was rolling out features at a ridiculously fast pace. In any case, the challenge Twitter faces in e-commerce is how users perceive its platform. Given Twitter’s still text-heavy nature, it’s not clear how many users see it as a place to discover products. (Periscope, Twitter’s live video tool, and Vine, a TikTok forerunner, were both shut down over the years)
Meanwhile, today’s online shoppers prefer to shop on social media via Instagram photos and videos, and increasingly through TikTok videos. TikTok’s viral trends, in particular, have the potential to drive more spontaneous purchases. Statistics show 37% of TikTok users immediately purchased a product after they saw it on the platform, and 67% bought it even when they weren’t looking to shop.
There’s no doubt that Twitter wants a piece of that action, too. But competitors like TikTok don’t just add a feature tacked on; rather, it makes online shopping part of its core functionality through its immersive video and personalized home feed.
Yahoo Expands Partnership With Near Across APAC
Yahoo has extended its partnership with a privacy-let data intelligence provider Near to the APAC region for accurate campaign measurement and attribution, as well as an offline-online view of audiences.
How Is This Alliance Beneficial?
The expansion comes off the back of Yahoo’s partnership with Near in Australia and New Zealand which launched in 2020. It delivered strong results for Yahoo in the region. Yahoo will incorporate Near’s privacy-by-design data set of people’s real-world behavior and artificial intelligence capabilities into its DSP, strengthening Yahoo ConnectID and Next-Gen Solution identity services.
The capabilities of Near’s unique location intelligence data are combined with Yahoo’s omnichannel demand-side platform (DSP) and a suite of identification solutions for cookieless advertising in this partnership. The following are some of the advantages of this partnership:
- Yahoo’s APAC relationship with Near will deliver a unified perspective to advertisers, bridging the gap between online and offline targeting, attribution, and measurement.
- Brands can now track all digital marketing delivered through Yahoo’s ad platforms, regardless of channel or creativity, with online engagement or in-store traffic within the same campaign.
- When connecting the dots in omnichannel audience activation and campaigns, this benefit will be crucial for advertisers to find incremental audiences and create the right channel mix.
Forty advertisers have adopted the integration into their campaigns. One such example is BIG W’s ‘Toy Mania’ Artificial Reality (AR) omnichannel campaign captured a 48% uplift in in-store visits and a 16% lift in add-to-cart conversions from users exposed to the campaign’s ads.
And That’s What They Said
Dan Richardson, head of data ANZ at Yahoo said,
“We’ve seen increased adoption of emerging channels such as digital out-of-home and immersive formats within campaigns because this data intelligence gives marketers the confidence to target effectively, measure accurately and understand attribution across the consumer journey.”
“The benefits of Yahoo’s omnichannel DSP and our direct consumer relationship with nearly 900 million people globally, combined with Near’s rich insights and actionable intelligence, can now empower advertisers across the wider APAC region to steer the success of omnichannel campaigns.”
Shobhit Shukla, the Co-Founder, Near expressed his excitement on the extended partnership to APAC and said,
“Early successes have shown that the combination of Near’s real-world signals, Yahoo’s first-party data and omnichannel DSP give advertisers the leverage and actionable insights they need to make better decisions to drive impactful omnichannel campaigns.”
The Yahoo DSP now supports location-based targeting and measurement solutions, as well as Near’s data set, throughout APAC, which includes Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and India, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Read more: Buzzfeed Integrates Yahoo’s Alternative To Third-Party Cookies
Twitter Unveiled A Creator Dashboard – A Way To Manage Earnings
Microblogging site Twitter has introduced a new tool for its creators called the “Creator Dashboard“ that will analyze their revenue on the platform. According to the company, the new tool is designed to help creators analyze how they make money on Twitter and how much they are earning from monetization features – Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces. The firm said in a statement,
“Introducing the Creator Dashboard a new way to help you view your earnings & track your Super Follow subscriptions over time, for now, we are testing with some creators on iOS — can’t wait to hear what you think.”
The Creator Dashboard is available to all U.S. creators on iOS who have at least 10,000 followers and use Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces. It can be accessed through the Monetization tab of the app. Twitter’s latest monetization tool is part of its growing set of tools, which has become a stronger focus over the past year, enabling it to provide new income streams for creators and keep popular users tweeting more often.
New Additions On Twitter
Over the past year, Twitter has added:
Professional Profiles for businesses and creators, which provide more opportunities to promote your business and offerings in the app.
Profiles for Super Follows, which enables creators to choose add-on options and exclusive content for a monthly fee (up to $9.99).
Ticketed Spaces for broadcasters, with 97% of any revenue generated going back to the creator
On-profile tipping, which it recently expanded allows users to make more payment options, which will enable users in more regions to accept payments
So far, none of these elements have become a significant revenue stream for the app. It’s early days, but if Twitter can develop a self-sustaining creator ecosystem, that will fuel engagement. Twitter’s also seeking to make sure it’s competitive on this front, at least to an extent. If creators can earn a greater income from one platform or another, that will eventually be where their focus will be. The consequence of that shift will be that other platforms are relegated to the broader ‘creator economy’, which will lower their overall audience share.
Interesting Read: AppLovin Closes Acquisition of Twitter’s MoPub Business For $1.05 Billion
Disney+ To Roll-Out Ad-Supported Plan As Market Shy Away From SVOD
Disney announced plans to introduce an ad-supported plan for Disney+, aiming to reach 260 million subscribers by 2024. Ads will roll out in the US in late 2022, followed by international markets in 2023.
While the streaming platform has yet to reveal a price or specific roll-out date, the new tier would be easy on the wallet. It will be cheaper than the current price point for the ad-free subscription, which stands at $7.99 per month or $80 per year. Clearly, Disney went cheap deliberately to gain market share and reduce churn. Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution said,
“Expanding access to Disney Plus to a broader audience at a lower price point is a win for everyone – consumers, advertisers, and our storytellers.”
With such a low pricing point (additionally, numerous free trials and other marketing promotions), it appears like Disney+ will struggle to make a profit as a stand-alone business by 2024, as the company has claimed.
Interesting Read: Connected TV Explained: The Essential Glossary Of CTV
A Step Towards AVOD
With consumers tired of expensive plans and service stacking, AVOD has become a popular option. Comcast research recently showed that 80% of consumers prefer ad-supported service over expensive ad-free SVOD options. Daniel further added,
“More consumers will be able to access our amazing content. Advertisers will be able to reach a wider audience, and our storytellers will be able to share their incredible work with more fans and families,”
Disney+ will join Peacock, Paramount+, and Discovery+ in offering ad-free tiers. Currently, it costs $7.99 per month and has garnered 130 million global subscribers since its launch in 2020. Rita Perro Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution president of advertising said that the Disney Plus campaign has been a hit with advertisers, not because of an increase in streaming inventory. She further added,
“Disney Plus with advertising will offer marketers the most premium environment in streaming with our most beloved brands, Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic…I can’t wait to share more with advertisers at the Upfront.”
It makes sense for Disney to hold out as long as possible, advertising is always the most lucrative and low-hanging fruit. While the lowest-hanging fruit is the easiest to pick, it is also the most likely to spoil the entire bunch if not handled cautiously.
Interesting Read: Clean Rooms Explained: How Marketers Can Prepare For Cookieless World
Integral Ad Science Reports Strong Q4 Earnings With CTV Growth
With a focus on measurement and ad verification, Integral Ad Science is pursuing two trends: contextual targeting and connected television (CTV). The company, which reports quarterly earnings, earned $323.5 million last year, an increase of more than a third from 2020. However, Integral’s net loss grew year-over-year as well, from $32 million to $52 million. CEO Lisa Utzschneider told investors that the key focus of the company is ‘growth’.
The recent significant acquisitions have enabled IAS to acquire key technologies, services, and global teams in key growth areas, such as CTV, contextual targeting, social media, and supply chain optimization.
It has now hired over 100 people every quarter, more than any previous quarter. In Q4, IAS’ biggest acquisition, Publica, brought in $7.5 million of total revenue. Publica was acquired for $220 million, the largest of three acquisitions IAS made last year. The Publica business is only 8% of Integral’s total revenue at the moment, but it’s a key component of Integral’s expansion into CTV. Lisa Utzschneider, CEO of IAS joined in late 2018. As stated by AdExchanger that Moat lost shares and customers following its acquisition by Oracle Data Cloud, leaving IAS and DoubleVerify, which also went public last year. To chase the CTV opportunity, however, means competing with other players, such as Nielsen.
Interesting Read: All You Need To Know About Connected TV Advertising!
A CTV ad server, such as Publica, can gather supply-side information, like the app or show in which an ad appeared, or the type of video content, in order to improve ratings for TV campaigns. Many global publishers have chosen Publica to power their ad serving and to accelerate their CTV strategies. These include new integrations with rlaxx TV, VlogBox, and WPSD Local 6 as part of Paxton Media Group.
Utzschneider told AdExchanger, “It’s helping us launch differentiated products that our competitors just can’t build.”
Even though CTV is the biggest growth prospect but counterintuitively programmatic continues to be a tailwind for the business, and it continues to drive accelerated growth. Advertiser-direct, programmatic, and supply-side are the three main revenue areas for IAS. Advertiser direct revenue climbed 7% year over year, including revenue from the open web and social platforms. The fourth quarter’s programmatic revenue increased by 43% year over year. On a combined basis, advertiser revenue accounted for 84 percent of total revenue. The programmatic segment is expected to surpass the advertiser direct segment in the first quarter of 2022 as the largest component of total advertiser revenue.
A key driver for programmatic growth is the company’s contextual advertising product, which directs advertising dollars into brands-safe or brands-appropriate content. It also reconciles campaigns when ads are delivered to inappropriate media for brands. A potential investor asked in the earnings call whether geopolitical tensions (referring to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia) and increased online attention and social media content related to those “events” influence IAS’ interactions with advertisers. Utzschneider said,
“In terms of geopolitical events, our technology and services have never been more relevant. It’s — the relevancy has carried throughout this year, last year, given all of the unprecedented events that we have all experienced. And again, marketers, they continue to lean into our brand safety, brand suitability solutions, especially as we’re seeing that rapid adoption on the social platforms, the dynamic nature of social platforms and also the unpredictability of the content.”
Interesting Read: How Advertisers and Brands Are Responding To The Ukraine Crisis
