1. CTV Comes For The SMB Market
Remember back in 2018 there was a call for a boycott of companies advertising on Facebook following the Cambridge Analytica scandal?
Only it couldn’t happen because most of Facebook’s business came from small and medium-sized businesses that were impossible to boycott en masse.
The collective reaction at the time was one of great surprise—people outside of digital media had, it seems, assumed those billions Facebook was raking in largely came from Fortune 500 advertisers.
Why It Matters
The TV industry has been looking to steal a share of that sizable market ever since they realized what it looked like and how much money could be made from it.
As such, a series of apps that use AI to create ads sprung up to help them accomplish that goal.
Production costs for video ads being the one thing that kept most SMBs out of the TV market.
Apps like streamr.ai, Vibe.co, and Waymark have been working diligently to create a simple, reliable interface that lets small and medium business owners and/or their ad agencies create an AI-generated ad.
That quest just got a big boost this week, as Magnite, a leading DSP, agreed to acquire streamr.ai for an undisclosed amount of money.
The deal makes Magnite the first of the big SSPs to recognize the power of going after the SMB market.
It’s important in that all of the other initiatives are through platform providers like NBCU, Paramount and Amazon, and the deal gives Magnite the ability to offer a broader audience in a single buy.
But that is not what is most important here.
What is most important is that AI tech is only going to keep getting better and easier to use.
And that many of the people using these new tools work at ad agencies that cater to small and medium businesses.
And that creatives at these agencies are already looking to set themselves apart by becoming experts in prompting the AI tools.
Which is only going to speed up the quality cycle. That, and the fact that “being on TV” still has much cachet.
Especially when compared with “being on Facebook.”
What You Need To Do About It
If you are an AI entrepreneur, remember that this set of AI tools is going after companies big enough to hire ad agencies.
And that much of Meta and Google’s business comes from businesses where the person buying the ads either owns the business or is someone in a non-marketing role who is deemed to be “good with computers.”
So further opportunity awaits.
If you are one of those mom-and-pop style SMBs, it’s time to put the Facebook self-serve tools down and switch to CTV.
People under 30 barely ever use the app and their parents are slacking off too, while CTV is getting much better at “lower funnel” aka “performance marketing” aka “selling things.”
Yes, it will take some hours to learn how to use it, but they will be hours well spent.
And then some.
If you are shaking your head over the thought of AI-generated creative, remember that much of the advertising that is on TV consists of late-night car dealer ads and pharma ads and the AI ads are only going to be an improvement.
If you want to know more about where this is all headed, check out our Q&A with Magnite’s Adam Soroca and streamr.ai’s Jonathan Moffie or our video with Vibe.co’s Arthur Querou.
