At the beginning of this year, the technology company R2B2 implemented the first programmatic TV campaign in the Czech Republic via dynamic banner ads displayed near the bottom of the screen. The TV station Óčko and the advertising agency Adexpres were also involved in the project. Now R2B2 has once again come up with something new for programmatic TV. Pilot campaigns consisting of programmatically purchased video ads for TV are being tested by Adexpres who has worked together with R2B2 for a long time.
“A lot of our clients are looking much further into the future than just around the first corner. Therefore, we have to stay on our toes and continue to develop new possibilities. We collaborate and test many things together with R2B2. Pre-roll on HbbTV via programmatic has been another milestone. We are at the beginning and a lot of work lies ahead of us, but the connection of TV ads with the online environment / programmatic sales will be crucial in the future. Using these methods we expect better reach and frequency, whether as a supplement to TV or online campaigns,” says Petr Jahn from Adexpres.
Ads can be viewed pre-roll before video library content or as specific clips on the TV station Óčko. These ad formats play when the user presses the red button on the remote control. An alternative option is the Switchroll format which plays automatically.
“Ad clips can be up to 30 seconds long and their format is completely standardized with online formats for programmatic videos. After a few seconds they can be skipped, and – just like with dynamic TV banners – advertisers can programmatically target, use storytelling, and have almost immediate control over campaigns. We expect that very soon these ads will appear on more television stations,” says Stanislav Mottl, manager at R2B2.
A New Feature for TV Banner Ads
R2B2 has introduced yet another innovation – a feature for programmatic dynamic TV banner ads. For the first time, television viewers can click through to an HbbTV application from a programmatic ad campaign. The first advertisers to try out this new option were O2 and KKCG.
A banner ad appears on the screen which contains an action button. Then viewers click the red button on their remote to display an interactive microsite or mini-application. To return to the broadcast, viewers just click again on the red button. Also, this new feature makes it possible to gather leads, for example, in the form of phone numbers.
“Although HbbTV applications are similar to websites, they are actually very different environments. When creating campaigns it’s necessary to keep this in mind and not underestimate the specific nature of this new ad space,” explains Stanislav Mottl.