Vi har intervjuat Stefan Beckman som är Commercial Lead Northern Europe på FreeWheel om framtiden för digitala medier i Sverige och vilka trender som påverkar dagens marknad.
What are the benefits of programmatic advertising?
The main advantage is efficiency. Programmatic advertising is about delivering the right ads, at the right time, to the right person, all of which is driven by data. The automation of workflow enables data analysis thus enabling markets to buy ads more efficiently.
What impact do you think the increase in demand for personalisation will have on advertising?
As with most things, this need for personalisation has both positive and negative aspects. On the positive side, personalising advertisements results in less wastage, as advertising becomes more targetable and consumers are exposed to relevant content. However, on the downside, if this is not done effectively this can result in too narrow an audience, which can lead to difficulties in last-minute scaling of advertising campaigns. Furthermore, in times where GDPR plays such an important role, we need to consider the privacy expectations of the end-user, which is why marketers should be utilising a balanced approach. Finally, what is still uncertain is the impact this demand for personalisation has on the creative side. This is an area where the industry is still evolving, so it’s important to keep an eye on this.
As consumers shift to on-demand video, do you think this will negatively influence traditional broadcasting?
Although this shift introduces some challenges, it also presents new opportunities. Viewing time is increasing, it’s just happening on multiple devices and on different screens. The user experience is much more personalised – it’s not only ‘one to many’ anymore, as it used to be, allowing broadcasters to reach the consumer in a more direct way. It also opens up opportunities for broadcasters to move from the traditional advertising revenue model to subscription-based models. One of the main challenges however, is that broadcasters need to work even harder for brand loyalty, as users can quickly and easily skip to different vendors. The biggest challenge is cross-device measurement, and cross-device currency needs to be resolved in a way that broadcasters get fair remuneration for the content they deliver to the end consumer.
How do you think the Nordic advertising market differs from other European regions?
It is similar in that there are a few broadcasters who operate nationally and whose business models are under pressure from changing viewing habits. However, I would definitely consider Sweden to be more on the advanced side of tackling these issues as they are already in the market with different OTT, FVOD and AVOD models, which is not the case for broadcasters in some of the other European markets.
What do you think the future holds for TV?
On the one hand I think personalisation will play a big role, but at the same time I also believe there will be a continued need for linear offerings, as viewers still want to indulge in the ‘lean back’ behaviour of consumption, allowing broadcasters to create their evening. So there will be a combination of both.
What trends do you expect or the Nordic region for 2019?
I wouldn’t say completely new trends but a continued evolvement driven from the consumer perspective, for example the adoption of on-demand offerings. On the advertiser side there is a growing appetite for addressable TV, using data to buy target audiences.
How do you think digital advertising will influence the Swedish market over the next few years?
Programmatic is a key term that will influence the Swedish market, as it enables better predictability for the big screen as well as finding the right balance between scale and precision.