Why TelevisaUnivision is bringing TikTok-style video to TV

As the evolution of digital media continues to blur the lines between video formats, caught in the middle are advertisers who juggle creative specifications (and the budgets to develop them) for each. To bridge that cross-media gap in an already challenged TV ad market, TelevisaUnivision created an ad product that brings social content to TV. Brands’ vertical social videos, such as those made for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, will appear alongside streaming shows. The new approach “leverages creative that brands are already making and not using in other formats,” said Dan Riess, executive VP, chief growth officer at TelevisaUnivison. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs The feature is meant to be a form of a non-disruptive ad, sliding live content to the side of the screen while the vertical video fills the other half. A bottom banner with a QR code also lets brands send viewers directly to a landing page. More industry news: Creators on connected TV The product is currently in market for the Hispanic-targeted media company’s streaming and digital platforms. The vertical ads will run during scripted entertainment as well as live events and sports, including awards shows and Liga MX soccer matches. Riess said that the capability lends itself particularly well to TelevisaUnivision’s Hispanic audience because of the boom of Latin culture among young consumers as it is discussed and discovered on social platforms. On TikTok, 72% of U.S. bilingual Hispanic users identify with Hispanic culture, according to new research from TikTok itself. And bilingual users whose first language is Spanish are 57% more likely than average to watch branded content if a brand has used Spanish-language creative. Riess said TelevisaUnivison’s custom content offering Así Studios, which launched in 2022, was created to help brands maximize value in their buys and to assist in creative development as the media company continues to educate marketers about how best to reach the Hispanic market. “We’ve worked on finding what a brand needs to do to build purchase at the end of the funnel and how that all works in Latin culture,” said Riess. “And that’s been very much about authenticity with talent using influencers and community connection.” The ad product is launching alongside entertainment, music and sports content because “those are the areas that are really breaking through” and most aligned with the content consumers might expect to see on their social feeds, Riess added. The capability was created with Transmit, a tech platform specializing in streaming ad formats that display as content continues playing. According to the partners, the social video format was co-developed by Transmit and TelevisaUnivision. Previously, some advertisers have partnered with influencer agencies to combine their vertical social videos into a horizontal format for TV, while cinema ad sellers including Screenvision have struck deals with TikTok to bring vertical content to big screens. At last year’s upfront, TelevisaUnivision and other TV media companies heavily pitched their branded content offerings for advertisers. In the year since, the media company’s Así Studios has worked with 49 creators for 28 clients, including Expedia, Verizon, PetSmart, Walmart, State Farm, Chevy and Ally Bank, according to a company spokesperson. Recent news: 5 TV upfront predictions from media buyers TelevisaUnivision will continue to pitch its branded content offering in the upfront and is open to extending the social ad product to linear TV as well, said Riess. The media company is starting with streaming because many of the brands working with TelevisaUnivision on social-first content have “different approaches and different budgets” than those investing heavily in linear TV inventory, said Riess. Additionally, streaming will offer advertisers faster performance metrics on their campaigns as TelevisaUnivision launches the new product. Riess said streaming has become more aligned with social and digital advertising than traditional TV from a measurement standpoint and in delivering performance outcomes for brands. “That’s part of why media is blurring,” said Riess. “There’s a lot cheaper ways to get awareness, and there’s a lot cheaper ways to get performance. But branded content lives in that middle ground where marketers can do both, and it’s a critical pathway from one to the other.”

Why TelevisaUnivision is bringing TikTok-style video to TV

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