DStv has launched two new advertising product offerings. Michael Bratt attended the launch at DStv’s brand new headquarters, Multichoice City in Randburg, to find out more.
The first new advertising product is called Brands on Catch Up. It allows for the insertion of 30 – 45 second advertisements into the beginning of episodes of series and movies on the Catch Up platform.
It is very similar to what YouTube does, where at the beginning of some videos a pre-roll advert plays. From September, DStv is launching a Catch Up rate card going forward.
Chris Hitchings, CEO of DStv Media Sales says “Currently we are manually stitching ads into the content, but we are aiming for a dynamic ad insertion solution.”
Here’s a quick look Brands on Catch Up:
One of the concerns, which was voiced by numerous media personalities in attendance at the launch, was how viewers would react to the presence of adverts on Catch Up, a platform which has been free of any advertising since it was launched.
Shaun Chettiar, On Demand head of department, said, “Research was done into whether the audience would accept ads in Catch Up. The outcome was that viewers would tolerate pre-roll in Catch Up as long as they are relevant to the show they are placed before and are creative. If they were longer than 30 to 45 seconds it may have been a problem, but feedback was that the proposed timing is tolerable.”
The second new advertising product is a platform to host long form content called Brands on Demand, with its user interface designed in the same style as content Catch Up. A brand has a dedicated home page with information about it, as well as a long form advert of its choosing. The Brands on Demand page can also be linked to normal linear TV adverts with a call to action function, so when the advert is playing the viewer can link through to the dedicated homepage. The rates for Brands on Demand range from R295 000 for two weeks to R4 000 000 for 12 months, including a classic airtime package as well as the Brands on Demand showcase.
Here’s a quick look at that offering:
The Brands on Demand platform can also be linked with WeChat, the social media platform that DStv has formed a partnership with. Chettiar revealed that, in the near future, viewers can rent a Box Office movie and pay for it via WeChat. He also said that the Box Office service itself is available to be sponsored.
Hitchings says that the one drawback to these new products is that VOD measurement remains a challenge at this stage, but assured everyone that a team is working on it. When asked why DStv came up with these two new products he said, “Eighty percent of DStv users don’t yet have a PVR, but 20% do which is about one million homes, that equates to three to four million people. TV advertising is in really good shape in South Africa and across Africa, but in order to continue we have to continue to innovate.”
Hitchings touched on the models that DStv used to shape the style of its products. “We looked at Catch Up and VOD models in the UK, including Virgin and Sky and we took some learnings from there. Brands on Demand was inspired by Sky’s green button and red button advertising, very interactive stuff, and we created our own hybrid version. So we are looking at international trends and trying to bring best practice to our markets.”
Another DStv project which is nearing launch is Stats 2 Go, which will be a comprehensive analysis tool of the media group’s viewers. Launching in August, the service is a hybrid between DStv-I and Future Fact. It will be available online as well as on most smart devices and will allow advertisers to get a better sense of who watches DStv as well as greater insights into the different channels and the audience of those channels.
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