What do strikes in Hollywood mean for advertisers?
Streaming is here to stay and headlines won’t let us forget it:
We get it, we get it! People are watching streaming more than ever. There’s no doubt that streaming is sticking around and has to be an essential part of any media mix. While we face challenges in the streaming space like measurement, judging success in a world where completion rate is obsolete, and ad fraud, there is a more immediate threat — the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike.
Streaming has been on an upward trajectory, seemingly unstoppable, since we were under stay at home orders in 2020 and 2021, but now we’re facing its first hurdle. One of the draws of streaming has been the plethora of new, exciting content — which came to a halt on May 2nd, when WGA members went on strike, followed by SAG-AFTRA following suit last week.
So what does this mean for advertisers? Streaming content is going to look different and buyers have to get smarter on what we’re buying. Here are a few key areas to keep an eye out for in terms of where you should be investing:
The non-scripted show war: pay attention, but stay skeptical.
In the absence of new scripted shows, networks and streaming services know they need to churn out unscripted shows to keep consumers logging in. But for advertisers, volume ≠ attention. Only 25% of unscripted TV viewers watch it with undivided attention, compared to 51% watching dramas.
- What does that mean? More than ever, we need to optimize for attention, not completion. Viewers are much more likely to be second-screening, so advertisers need to invest in mobile experiences — think social media and large format mobile display. When buying CTV, pay attention to what programs you are showing up on. Viewers don’t allocate the same amount of attention to each genre and show.
Don’t count out Michael Scott: legacy titles remain important.
In 2020, consumers watched more than 57.1 billion minutes of The Office, whose finale aired 7 years prior (. This period will look similar — pay attention to your audiences’ favorite classic shows and make sure you have a presence there.
- What does that mean? Track media consumption by legacy shows and map them to their current licensors.
Stay nimble: consolidation is inevitable.
One of the draws of streaming was a lower price point than traditional cable packages. While a singular streaming service is cheaper, half of CTV viewers watch 4 or more services regularly. The landscape is due for consolidation as we’ve seen with the CBS and Showtime to Paramount+ merge.
- What does that mean? Stay abreast of media trends and don’t just set it and forget it. Smart buying requires understanding what network slates look like and how they are evolving in the coming weeks and months as well as watching user growth.
It’s YouTube’s time to shine: revisit your investment.
YouTube content creators are largely unaffected by the strike and have consistently pulled in numbers on par with (or even higher than) the networks. Close to 45% of YouTube viewing happens on TV screens. And contrary to popular belief, YouTube is not just for teens watching make-up creators or tech reviews. Within the 24 hours, Vox drove over 500k video views on a single 12 minute video about the state of the US’s railway system — beating out The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer on CNN.
- What does that mean? Consider increasing your investment on YouTube, with a specific focus on YouTube TV and YouTube Select to ensure you’re in a brand-safe environment.
The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes don’t have a clear end in sight, and ensuring your media buys are evolving with the changing programming landscape will be more important than ever while we wait for production to resume.
