Staying relevant also means staying attentive to audience moods. Wurl demonstrated how contextual ad placement is essential to complementing the viewer’s experience with streaming content instead of complicating it. To that end, the company developed BrandDiscovery, which uses generative AI to gauge the genre, brand safety, and emotion of a particular program and places ads accordingly in real time.
“When an ad appears in the right context, it becomes an extension of the story and experience,” said Pete Crofut, Wurl’s vp of business development, agencies, and brands. “We found the strongest correlation happens when the emotion of the scene matches the actual advertising creative.”
2. Meet diverse audiences in diverse locations
It’s no secret that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are under fire with a new administration in the White House. But the myriad colors and complexions on display in digital media presenters like LatiNation, Revry, My Code, and MediaCo remain a vital reflection of America’s vibrant multicultural society.
“The community here has been so welcoming of new voices,” Mirror Digital founder and CEO Sheila Marmon said, adding that the multicultural market is also a “growth market.” (Marmon went off-script during her presentation to note that she’s the first Black female founder to present on the IAB Main Stage.)
Speaking with ADWEEK between panels, Cohen suggested that the arc towards multicultural marketing will bend beyond the Oval Office’s current occupants.
“Regardless of whether it’s in favor or out of favor [politically], if the goal is to connect with consumers, I think we’re going to see continued support for that market,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, Main Stage presenters like ReachTV and CheckedUp spoke of the benefits of reaching diverse audiences in diverse out-of-home locations, something that Cohen said IAB members have been pushing the company to spotlight.
For example, ReachTV founder and CEO Lynnwood Bibbens spoke about how the network’s presence in airports nationwide puts its mixture of live sports, news, and original programming in the eyes and ears of millions of travelers every day. “You stay with consumers from the gate to baggage claim,” Bibbens said.
In its inaugural presentation, CheckedUp outlined how being present in hospitals and doctors’ offices gave brands access to captive audiences in a quiet setting. Speaking with ADWEEK later in the day, CCO Jim Decker said that while pharmaceutical companies are currently the platform’s main advertisers, they see an opportunity to appeal to other brands.
“People are much more likely to pay attention, not just to very specific health care things, but any messaging,” he noted. “I think it’s important that brands who traditionally haven’t focused on health care understand that it’s not about health care—it’s about the environment.”
3. Make original content that’s personal and personality-led
As media titans like Ted Sarandos have noted, the walls between video podcasts and talk shows—or, for that matter, social video and streaming video—are getting increasingly thin. And on digital platforms, they’re practically non-existent. Multiple companies screened original programming sizzle reels featuring video versions of podcasts and radio shows.