The short-lived Quibi was one of the casualties of the pandemic ridden 2020, nonetheless many media … [+] experts expects 2021 to be banner year for connected TV devices and streaming video. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
By all accounts 2020 was a miserable year. A global pandemic led to an economic recession impacting the ad marketplace. Production studios the television and film industry. Stay-at-home orders closed retail stores and movie theaters. Viewers migrated to home entertainment, HBO Max, Peacock and the short lived Quibi were launched. Sporting events were either canceled, suspended or postponed such as the Tokyo Olympics. Meanwhile, there was a contentious election and in January the U.S. will have a new President. What else could happen in 2021? We asked some experts.
“The old rules no longer apply: Cookies are going away, commerce has exploded and consumer expectations are driving the industry towards new future proofing opportunities and structures. In order for brands to succeed in a platform world, they must be digitally-resilient, have identity systems to provide personalization at scale and have the infrastructure set up to deliver relevant and meaningful experiences. When brands progress in all of these areas, they can create long-term consumer value and maintain a competitive advantage that will last far beyond any crisis lifecycle.”
“Two growing marketer needs that were accelerated by the pandemic will extend into 2021: flexibility and customization. Long-term media deals are becoming ever-rarer as advertisers face continued economic and operational uncertainty; they need increasing flexibility to quickly pull back or shut off their advertising. Similarly, many brands—be they regional or national in distribution— will increasingly be looking to local media to help adapt to the wide array of local COVID regulations, closures and variance in consumer demand. Geo-targeted media will offer the needed customization. ”
“Connected TV Prevails: It’s important to reach people when they’re most receptive to consuming ads, that’s why Connected TV will remain as a powerful medium for connecting the dots between awareness and attribution in 2021. One-to-one engagement is an advertiser’s dream, but from a privacy perspective, it’s difficult to make those connections. Barriers and regulations like GDPR, new PII classifications and the death of the cookie are only the beginning. People want to make authentic connections with brands, not feel like a target. For an advertiser to find the right moments to connect with consumers, CTV should be in their arsenal.”
NFLX
. While roadside traffic and commutes are down, consumers still must travel to supermarkets, drugstores, and doctors’ offices. Terraboost Media has built a network 100,000+ hand sanitizing billboards located at the entrances and pharmacy wait areas of retailers such as CVS, Rite Aid, and Stop & Shop. CPM are low, frequency high, and OOH affords opportunities to break through the clutter in ways other media cannot replicate. Our hand sanitizing billboards provide advertisers the ability to sponsor health and wellness and keep families safe.”
“Optimism will rise as vaccinations reverse the pandemic tide. Because this will happen unevenly by market, brands will increase their use of local media and rediscover its ability to find growth pockets for nationally topped-out brands. First results of trials of the WFA/ANA cross-platform measurement specifications will reveal that panel data cannot be used as a truth source and that combining big and panel data is more complicated but do-able. DCT expansion will result in new ROAS compilations that will benefit all television forms. Addressable TV will become easier to buy and more national network inventory will become addressable.”
“Time spent using mobile apps rose to new heights in 2020, and apps will likely be even more popular in 2021. After all, Americans have been spending more time looking at their mobile device screens than they’ve spent watching TV since 2019, according to eMarketer. For media and entertainment companies (and really all advertisers), it’s critical to reach their target audience where they are: using mobile apps. Savvy marketers will increasingly leverage mobile in-app advertising in the coming months, taking advantage of its viewability, addressability and scale, among other benefits.”
“The emergence of outcome-based planning and buying that we saw take root over the past two years will flourish in 2021, especially as more granular data becomes available across all platforms. Consumers who were previously restricting their mobility will emerge from their homes – hungry for experiences and interactions. Marketers will look to leverage this increased out of home activity so that they can make up sales ground lost in 2020. That will mean an emphasis on using dollars efficiently by engaging with consumers where they can best convert them to purchase. It’s a convergence of events that we feel will lead to a solid year for OOH ad growth.”
Naveen Wall, Associate Director of Client Strategy, Movable Ink
“Customer retention will remain critical for streaming services as consumers reduce discretionary spending. As Pay TV households decline, the appetite for subscription stacking will grow (the stacking of several services on top of one another). Competition will heat up with new Subscription Video on Demand entrants, tiered pricing, and free ad-supported video services as consumers supplement their streaming diet with free alternatives. SVOD will continue growing, however, projections forecast a slowdown peaking in 2024 due to an overcrowded market and subscription fatigue. This places increased importance in 2021 on building loyalty and driving adoption with superior content and customer experience.”
Tim Vanderhook, CEO, Viant Technology
“Connected TV (CTV) is growing in importance which is fueling the shift away from device identification and toward household identification as vital to the new digital ecosystem. As constant market disruption is accelerating consumer consumption changes, industry leaders need to have eyes on every device in the home. Marketers who embrace household measurement will gain a clearer picture of return on ad spend (ROAS) and the true impact of their advertising campaigns.”
Yashina Burns, Director, Data Privacy and Legal Affairs, DeepIntent,
“While CPRA won’t become law until 2023, other states will likely create similar regulations in the interim and further push the ad industry to adopt targeting technologies that are more conscious of consumer privacy. Marketing leaders need to get ready now by focusing on privacy-friendly solutions that limit the use of sensitive personal information. Publishers and platforms that offer compliant data collection across platforms – especially in the healthcare space where privacy is of the utmost importance – will be well-positioned to continue the services they offer to marketers amid the coming regulatory change.”
Michael Schoen, SVP/GM of Marketing Solutions, Neustar
“While entities like Gartner
IT
and the U.S. Census Bureau have endorsed differential privacy, it’s not understood or used widely within the marketing ecosystem. In 2021, we’ll start to see a seismic shift in marketers leveraging differential privacy algorithms as a way to provide highly accurate multi-touch attribution without requiring individual-level advertising impression data. Advances in privacy like this are needed because traditional privacy safeguards, like anonymization, have been found to be ineffective. This advanced data science approach ensures brands can measure advertising performance across closed media platforms in a privacy-centric way without relying on third-party cookies and MAIDs.”
“In 2021, streaming brands will need to step up their sophisticated retention efforts. Despite the saturation in streaming as new user growth has declined for two consecutive months (September to October saw a 46% decrease in new user acquisition), there’s still new streaming services being rolled out. While new content is slowing down significantly, and as we continue to see a “k-shaped” economic recovery, streaming services will focus on retention activity and getting more out of their existing customers. Industry leaders have already prioritized lifecycle marketing where everything from onboarding to ongoing customer engagement is examined and tested every day.”
Raman Abrol, General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer, Amdocs Media
“COVID-19 accelerated the debate around theatrical runs, premium VOD and a streaming-centric future. Disney’s Premier Access of Mulan, along with WarnerMedia and AT&T’s
T
approach with Wonder Woman, are redefining release windows. As consumers remain cautious about returning to theaters, expect several options to be explored in 2021, like condensing traditional release windows, partnerships between theaters and studios to share VOD revenue, and experimentation by theaters in new areas like e-gaming, e-sports, luxury experiences and corporate seminars. We’ll see revised premium recurring bundles that incorporate several of these unique experiences in the home, providing new revenue opportunities for content platforms and service providers.”
“Amid the pandemic with people spending more time at home, connected TV grew exponentially in 2020. There are certain consumers that simply cannot be reached on traditional TV anymore – only streaming or CTV platforms. Going into 2021, this momentum will lead to continued rapid growth in this channel. That said, we’ll see several changes in the advertising marketplace. For starters, advertisers will demand increased transparency around reporting, in terms of what content consumers are viewing, which publishers the ads are running on and their return on advertising spend.”
“In 2021, I won’t be surprised if some media companies enter the TV device market or Internet TV market (via stick, like Roku or Amazon Fire TV Stick), to control the end-user experience. Negotiations like HBO Max on Amazon Fire and Roku, took forever and has definitely impacted subscriber growth. AT&T has WarnerMedia, Comcast
VZ
, ViacomCBS merger won’t be surprising to me. Marketing content on TV devices will become like an SEO exercise. Sponsored search results on TV devices (like Roku, Samsung) may become an increasingly adopted tactic.”
“Fragmentation of TV puts premium on data-driven audiences. With the ongoing pandemic, we’ve seen more people spend more time at home – in front of screens, so the attention paid to how people watch television is more relevant than ever. An abundance of programming, on new platforms, designed for niche audiences means an increasingly fragmented TV environment that places a premium on data-driven insights. To succeed, especially when working with constrained budgets, advertisers will need to determine where and when their target audiences are consuming TV content to uncover and most effectively reach these new audience segments.”
Daniel Elad, Chief Strategy Officer at TheViewPoint
“The pandemic has seriously impacted businesses across the globe. Hence, many have abandoned particular ad channels, but not CTV. Since March 2020, the ad dollars poured into CTV have reached a total of $8.11B, and this figure will account for $11.36B next year. Since we’re entering another pandemic year, I believe TV upfront deals will remain on pause. Meanwhile, more dollars will be shifting via programmatic pipes, and the pandemic will expedite this process. Unlike TV upfront, programmatic offers better flexibility for allocating ad spend, providing granular targeting and the opportunity to manage campaigns on-the-fly.”
“The balance sheets of broadcast companies will continue trending with lower margins yielding more experimentation to create new revenue streams. Diversity will continue to be an important boardroom topic and there will be small improvements by the audio industry as it relates to content creation and business implementation. Ad attribution methods will continue to evolve, improve and grow via new forms of technology that will help advertisers track campaign performance. New measurement options will emerge allowing broadcasters to add other forms of data to the story they are telling advertisers. Talent will begin to migrate to other distribution platforms as their fear of the future will continue to creep in.”
“Out-of-home advertising will rebound at a frenetic pace in 2021, but this comeback won’t happen simultaneously across all regions. What we’ll see is advertisers in a sprint to reclaim out-of-home media in high traffic commuter areas as people come back to work. Airport advertising, transit advertising and large billboards in Los Angeles and New York will rebound first as advertisers seek to target prospective B2B software and direct-to-consumer customers.”
“In 2021, I believe we will see large brands thinking more granularly about how media is purchased. As a result, there will likely be a shift from national campaigns towards more hyperlocal campaigns as more consumers leave major metropolitan areas where the population is denser and not as conducive to the work-from-home environment. There will be a big push for transit and out-of-home advertising next year if a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, but the challenge will be if the traditional media business will be able to handle the uptick in demand.”
“2021 will see marketers increase focus on consumer privacy as legal requirements, technology environments and consumer expectations continue to evolve. Advertisers must bring ethics to their strategies as they ready themselves for a future without cookies — and privacy can no longer simply be treated as a box to be checked in compliance. 2020 brought a reckoning to companies across numerous dimensions, from how they treated their people and customers through the pandemic to their efforts supporting inclusion and representation. Across the board, there is an increasing premium on clarity of purpose and authenticity. In 2021, this will extend further into transparency around data collection with consent and trust.”
Sutherland House Experts is Empowering Quiet Experts through Compelling Nonfiction in a Changing Ideas Landscape
TORONTO, ON — Almost one year after its launch, Sutherland House Experts is reshaping the publishing industry with its innovative co-publishing model for “quiet experts.” This approach, where expert authors share both costs and profits with the publisher, is bridging the gap between expertise and public discourse. Helping to drive this transformation is Neil Seeman, a renowned author, educator, and entrepreneur.
“The book publishing world is evolving rapidly,” publisher Neil Seeman explains. “There’s a growing hunger for expert voices in public dialogue, but traditional channels often fall short. Sutherland House Experts provides a platform for ‘quiet experts’ to share their knowledge with the broader book-reading audience.”
The company’s roster boasts respected thought leaders whose books are already gaining major traction:
• V. Kumar Murty, a world-renowned mathematician, and past Fields Institute director, just published “The Science of Human Possibilities” under the new press. The book has been declared a 2024 “must-read” by The Next Big Ideas Club and is receiving widespread media attention across North America.
• Eldon Sprickerhoff, co-founder of cybersecurity firm eSentire, is seeing strong pre-orders for his upcoming book, “Committed: Startup Survival Tips and Uncommon Sense for First-Time Tech Founders.”
• Dr. Tony Sanfilippo, a respected cardiologist and professor of medicine at Queen’s University, is generating significant media interest with his forthcoming book, “The Doctors We Need: Imagining a New Path for Physician Recruitment, Training, and Support.”
Seeman, whose recent and acclaimed book, “Accelerated Minds,” explores the entrepreneurial mindset, brings a unique perspective to publishing. His experience as a Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and academic affiliations with The Fields Institute and Massey College, give him deep insight into the challenges faced by people he calls “quiet experts.”
“Our goal is to empower quiet, expert authors to become entrepreneurs of actionable ideas the world needs to hear,” Seeman states. “We are blending scholarly insight with market savvy to create accessible, impactful narratives for a global readership. Quiet experts are people with decades of experience in one or more fields who seek to translate their insights into compelling non-fiction for the world,” says Seeman.
This fall, Seeman is taking his insights to the classroom. He will teach the new course, “The Writer as Entrepreneur,” at the University of Toronto, offering aspiring authors practical tools to navigate the evolving book publishing landscape. To enroll in this new weekly night course starting Tuesday, October 1st, visit: https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/courses/4121-writer-entrepreneur
“The entrepreneurial ideas industry is changing rapidly,” Seeman notes. “Authors need new skills to thrive in this dynamic environment. My course and our publishing model provide those tools.”
About Neil Seeman: Neil Seeman is co-founder and publisher of Sutherland House Experts, an author, educator, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate. He holds appointments at the University of Toronto, The Fields Institute, and Massey College. His work spans entrepreneurship, public health, and innovative publishing models.
Hallmark launching a streaming service with two new original series, and Bill Skarsgård out for revenge in “Boy Kills World” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Alex Garland’s “Civil War” starring Kirsten Dunst, Natasha Rothwell’s heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone” and Sylvester Stallone’s second season of “Tulsa King” debuts.
NEW MOVIES TO STREAM SEPT. 9-15
— Alex Garland’s “Civil War” is finally making its debut on MAX on Friday. The film stars Kirsten Dunst as a veteran photojournalist covering a violent war that’s divided America; She reluctantly allows an aspiring photographer, played by Cailee Spaeny, to tag along as she, an editor (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a reporter (Wagner Moura) make the dangerous journey to Washington, D.C., to interview the president (Nick Offerman), a blustery, rising despot who has given himself a third term, taken to attacking his citizens and shut himself off from the press. In my review, I called it a bellowing and haunting experience; Smart and thought-provoking with great performances. It’s well worth a watch.
— Joey King stars in Netflix’s adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s “Uglies,” about a future society in which everyone is required to have beautifying cosmetic surgery at age 16. Streaming on Friday, McG directed the film, in which King’s character inadvertently finds herself in the midst of an uprising against the status quo. “Outer Banks” star Chase Stokes plays King’s best friend.
— Bill Skarsgård is out for revenge against the woman (Famke Janssen) who killed his family in “Boy Kills World,” coming to Hulu on Friday. Moritz Mohr directed the ultra-violent film, of which Variety critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: “It’s a depraved vision, yet I got caught up in its kick-ass revenge-horror pizzazz, its disreputable commitment to what it was doing.”
— The year was 2006. Snow Patrol, the Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band, released an album, “Eyes Open,” producing the biggest hit of their career: “Chasing Cars.” A lot has happened in the time since — three, soon to be four quality full-length albums, to be exact. On Friday, the band will release “The Forest Is the Path,” their first new album in seven years. Anthemic pop-rock is the name of the game across songs of love and loss, like “All,”“The Beginning” and “This Is the Sound Of Your Voice.”
— For fans of raucous guitar music, Jordan Peele’s 2022 sci-fi thriller, “NOPE,” provided a surprising, if tiny, thrill. One of the leads, Emerald “Em” Haywood portrayed by Keke Palmer, rocks a Jesus Lizard shirt. (Also featured through the film: Rage Against the Machine, Wipers, Mr Bungle, Butthole Surfers and Earth band shirts.) The Austin noise rock band are a less than obvious pick, having been signed to the legendary Touch and Go Records and having stopped releasing new albums in 1998. That changes on Friday the 13th, when “Rack” arrives. And for those curious: The Jesus Lizard’s intensity never went away.
— Hallmark launched a streaming service called Hallmark+ on Tuesday with two new original series, the scripted drama “The Chicken Sisters” and unscripted series “Celebrations with Lacey Chabert.” If you’re a Hallmark holiday movies fan, you know Chabert. She’s starred in more than 30 of their films and many are holiday themed. Off camera, Chabert has a passion for throwing parties and entertaining. In “Celebrations,” deserving people are surprised with a bash in their honor — planned with Chabert’s help. “The Chicken Sisters” stars Schuyler Fisk, Wendie Malick and Lea Thompson in a show about employees at rival chicken restaurants in a small town. The eight-episode series is based on a novel of the same name.
— Natasha Rothwell of “Insecure” and “The White Lotus” fame created and stars in a new heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone.” She plays Mel, a broke, go-along-to-get-along, single, airport employee who, after a near-death experience, makes the conscious decision to take risks and pursue her dreams. Rothwell has been working on the series for the past eight years and described it to The AP as “the most vulnerable piece of art I’ve ever put into the world.” Like Mel, Rothwell had to learn to bet on herself to make the show she wanted to make. “In the Venn diagram of me and Mel, there’s significant overlap,” said Rothwell. It premieres Friday on Hulu.
— Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise and Betty Gilpin star in a new drama for Starz called “Three Women,” about entrepreneur Sloane, homemaker Lina and student Maggie who are each stepping into their power and making life-changing decisions. They’re interviewed by a writer named Gia (Woodley.) The series is based on a 2019 best-selling book of the same name by Lisa Taddeo. “Three Women” premieres Friday on Starz.
— Sylvester Stallone’s second season of “Tulsa King” debuts Sunday on Paramount+. Stallone plays Dwight Manfredi, a mafia boss who was recently released from prison after serving 25 years. He’s sent to Tulsa to set up a new crime syndicate. The series is created by Taylor Sheridan of “Yellowstone” fame.
— One thing about the title of Focus Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 — you know exactly what you’re in for. You are Demetrian Titus, a genetically enhanced brute sent into battle against the Tyranids, an insectoid species with an insatiable craving for human flesh. You have a rocket-powered suit of armor and an arsenal of ridiculous weapons like the “Chainsword,” the “Thunderhammer” and the “Melta Rifle,” so what could go wrong? Besides the squishy single-player mode, there are cooperative missions and six-vs.-six free-for-alls. You can suit up now on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.
— Likewise, Wild Bastards isn’t exactly the kind of title that’s going to attract fans of, say, Animal Crossing. It’s another sci-fi shooter, but the protagonists are a gang of 13 varmints — aliens and androids included — who are on the run from the law. Each outlaw has a distinctive set of weapons and special powers: Sarge, for example, is a robot with horse genes, while Billy the Squid is … well, you get the idea. Australian studio Blue Manchu developed the 2019 cult hit Void Bastards, and this Wild-West-in-space spinoff has the same snarky humor and vibrant, neon-drenched cartoon look. Saddle up on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch or PC.
Former President Donald Trump is on the brink of a significant financial decision that could have far-reaching implications for both his personal wealth and the future of his fledgling social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). As the lockup period on his shares in TMTG, which owns Truth Social, nears its end, Trump could soon be free to sell his substantial stake in the company. However, the potential payday, which makes up a large portion of his net worth, comes with considerable risks for Trump and his supporters.
Trump’s stake in TMTG comprises nearly 59% of the company, amounting to 114,750,000 shares. As of now, this holding is valued at approximately $2.6 billion. These shares are currently under a lockup agreement, a common feature of initial public offerings (IPOs), designed to prevent company insiders from immediately selling their shares and potentially destabilizing the stock. The lockup, which began after TMTG’s merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is set to expire on September 25, though it could end earlier if certain conditions are met.
Should Trump decide to sell his shares after the lockup expires, the market could respond in unpredictable ways. The sale of a substantial number of shares by a major stakeholder like Trump could flood the market, potentially driving down the stock price. Daniel Bradley, a finance professor at the University of South Florida, suggests that the market might react negatively to such a large sale, particularly if there aren’t enough buyers to absorb the supply. This could lead to a sharp decline in the stock’s value, impacting both Trump’s personal wealth and the company’s market standing.
Moreover, Trump’s involvement in Truth Social has been a key driver of investor interest. The platform, marketed as a free speech alternative to mainstream social media, has attracted a loyal user base largely due to Trump’s presence. If Trump were to sell his stake, it might signal a lack of confidence in the company, potentially shaking investor confidence and further depressing the stock price.
Trump’s decision is also influenced by his ongoing legal battles, which have already cost him over $100 million in legal fees. Selling his shares could provide a significant financial boost, helping him cover these mounting expenses. However, this move could also have political ramifications, especially as he continues his bid for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race.
Trump Media’s success is closely tied to Trump’s political fortunes. The company’s stock has shown volatility in response to developments in the presidential race, with Trump’s chances of winning having a direct impact on the stock’s value. If Trump sells his stake, it could be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his own political future, potentially undermining both his campaign and the company’s prospects.
Truth Social, the flagship product of TMTG, has faced challenges in generating traffic and advertising revenue, especially compared to established social media giants like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Despite this, the company’s valuation has remained high, fueled by investor speculation on Trump’s political future. If Trump remains in the race and manages to secure the presidency, the value of his shares could increase. Conversely, any missteps on the campaign trail could have the opposite effect, further destabilizing the stock.
As the lockup period comes to an end, Trump faces a critical decision that could shape the future of both his personal finances and Truth Social. Whether he chooses to hold onto his shares or cash out, the outcome will likely have significant consequences for the company, its investors, and Trump’s political aspirations.
