In-stream reserve was developed as a way to buy ads on Facebook as the company was prioritizing Watch, a YouTube competitor geared toward higher-production shows, and they would run pre-roll and mid-roll commercials. Meta tried to make premium video an attractive offering as part of upfront negotiations with top advertisers, the type of buyers that are more comfortable in TV-type transactions. Advertisers have said it was always a hard sell for Meta because brands could always buy on-demand in the scatter marketplace whenever they wanted to reach Facebook and Instagram.
“I think they never hit the volume that would justify keeping it open and in general they are trying to streamline the ad offerings,” said Noah Mallin, chief brand strategist at IMGN Media, referring to Meta’s new video ad strategy. “I don't think it's a huge deal in the greater scheme of things, but they have so many offerings that sales teams are looking to streamline and monetize things like Reels more effectively.”
Read also: 11 'granfluencer' accounts changing influencer marketing
Meta still sells in-stream ads, they just won’t be ordered on reserve; advertisers can get them in the ad auction, which has always been an option, too. In-stream ads are accessible through Meta’s Ads Manager. The advertiser chooses what types of placements to go for—whether Reels, Stories videos, in the feed, or in-stream, or all of them and on all Meta apps—and the ad machine does the calculus as to which will perform best.
Meta also still deploys independent measurement services, so marketers can gauge the reach of campaigns by applying Nielsen tags to in-stream ads bought by auction and Reels ads, a Meta spokesperson said by email.
Meta’s strategy is to stand-up Reels to keep users engaged, and to make it a viable advertising moneymaker. Meta is developing AI to improve content recommendation, trying to get on par with TikTok’s algorithm to keep users interested and scrolling through videos. Meta has also acknowledged that Reels do not make as much money as in-feed ads and other inventory.
Read more: How Meta is embracing generative AI
The old in-stream reserve program was also used as a “brand safety” lever for some brands because it provided some control over the videos in which their ads ran. Meta declined to comment beyond its announcement for this story. However, Meta is still building new brand safety tools for advertisers. Last year the company started working with Zefr, a third-party measurement firm, which can report to advertisers some details about the context surrounding ads, and whether those placements were in line with a brand’s suitability guidelines.
The loss of in-stream reserve is part of the new reality on social media, where the audience is spending more time on short-form videos posted by random creators, rather than watching long, polished videos, according to Whitney Wolf, director of strategy at Superdigital, a creative agency. “This all points to the larger trend that every platform is gravitating to new ways to make short-form video take off,” Wolf said.
Advertisers are also not looking to be locked into reserved ads as much, given the economy and tighter marketing budgets, and buying by auction keeps them “agile and nimble,” Wolf said.
