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Disney has debuted two new ad products across its streaming portfolio, reflecting the new capabilities available to marketers in the world of connected television (CTV).
According to Jamie Power, the senior vice president of addressable sales at Disney, the products fall into two broad buckets: advergames and shoppable ads.
“It is our goal to push the limits of what is possible while making the ad experience as impactful as possible for our viewers,” Power said. “With these products, we are pairing the interactivity of streaming with the premium nature of content.”
The two advergames, Quiz Show and Beat the Block, are launching on Hulu and ESPN and are powered by the adtech firm Brightline.
Meanwhile, the shoppable ad product was created by the adtech firm Kerv and is available across the Disney portfolio. It comes in three formats—Sync, L-Bar and Impulse—and uses QR codes to enable viewers to shop specific products on their phones.
All three products are in-market now and—while they are debuting on Disney—are also available on other streaming platforms, part of an initiative to hasten their adoption.
The new offerings reflect the pace of innovation within CTV advertising. In recent years, streaming services have unveiled ad experiences that were never possible in linear programming, such as ads that appear during pause breaks or home screen ads.
According to analyst Mike Shields, these new capabilities, coupled with the targeting that CTV enables, have opened up new possibilities for marketers looking to engage with viewers.
Advergames and programmatic shoppability
With both of its new ad products, Disney is looking to increase viewer engagement and drive more conversions.
Its first new offerings, the advergames powered by BrightLine, take viewers from a leaned-back experience into the attentive mindset of gamers.
For instance, Quiz Show is a multi-question, multi-answer trivia game that users interact with through their remotes. The second offering, called Beat the Block, allows viewers to participate in a themed game.
In June, Disney launched Beat the Block with the inaugural advertiser Topgolf. Much like real-life Topgolf, the game allows viewers to shoot golf balls into specific targets; however, instead of a club, viewers use their remotes.