Hulu, which announced the launch of its new live service, also told its advertisers and media buyers about new commercial and measurement opportunities available on the streaming service.
Working with Brightline, Hulu is introducing a new on-TV, shoppable ad unit designed for the living room where 75% of Hulu watching takes place.
The new T-commerce ad unit will let viewers engage directly with a commercial and make a purchase. For example, during an ad for a film, a personalized location-based overlay would provide the ability to buy tickets to nearby movie theaters via connected TVs.
The capability will be available for other product categories, including retail and quick-service restaurants, in 2018, according to Peter Naylor, senior VP of ad sales for Hulu.
With its new live service, Hulu will offer advertisers new ways to reach viewers, including dynamic ad insertion during the local two-minutes per hour Hulu will be able to sell in cable networks. Hulu will also give advertisers access to the same two-minutes of inventory per hour of cable programming in the cloud DVR environment, enabling them to put new ads in previously recorded programming.
Working with Nielsen, streaming ad campaigns will be measured using Nielsen’s Digital Ad Ratings, which will include viewing on all devices. Media agencies Magna, Horizon Media and GroupM are using DAR as a currency for buying ads on Hulu.
Hulu will also provide campaign effectiveness measuring tools working with SambaTV and Nielsen Catalina solutions.
“With almost a decade of experience with advertising in the streaming space, no one is better positioned to help brands grow their business than Hulu," said Naylor. "I’m proud to say that we’ve doubled down on our commitment to brands. From delivering a validated viewer measurement solution with Nielsen, to offering the first-of-its-kind interactive capability in the living room with BrightLine’s T-commerce ad unit, Hulu is now everything TV should be and everything advertising can and should be.”
