TechBytes with Paige Bilins, CPO at Telaria

Tell us about your role and the team/technology you handle at Telaria.

I lead Telaria’s global Product team and my remit is to develop the best technology solutions for our premium video publishers that address their yield and inventory management priorities as they look to grow their business across all screens. Connected TV is a key focus for us because consumers are rapidly cutting the cord in favor of Connected TV options, and publishers and advertisers are fast embracing this new method of watching TV. Connected TV currently represents 38 percent of Telaria’s revenue and developing new solutions and features for our clients to access even more of this growing opportunity is a key priority for us.

What makes Telaria’s Video Management Platform distinctly different from other VMPs?

The technology for advertising within a CTV and Advanced TV environment is much more sophisticated and complex than for other digital mediums and there isn’t another unconflicted alternative that meets the needs of premium content creators. Telaria’s VMP is the only fully independent platform built specifically for managing and monetizing advanced Video Advertising. From the sophisticated Analytics and Data Visualization dashboards that give publishers immediate supply intelligence, to the automated decisioning engine that optimizes for yield while taking into account long-form business rules, our VMP solves challenges for publishers across direct-sold and programmatic inventory.

Also, importantly, trust and transparency are baked into the core of Telaria’s VMP – it’s the only platform that guarantees that all video inventory transacted through it will meet or exceed industry brand-safe standards and is the only Video Monetization platform certified by a big four consulting firm to be 100% fee transparent.

What is the current technology roadmap to build a powerful experience-driven Video Management platform?

Our product focus and priority is to deliver the most robust and flexible monetization engine for our premium video publishers across all their inventory while delivering the highest quality ad experience across every screen. We also work collaboratively with many of our publishers to co-develop technology solutions specifically suited to their offering and business. So whether it’s customization for a type of ad pod or reporting tools and analytics, we are continually working together with our clients, listening to them but also leading them towards Next-Generation products that help optimize their business.

Can Video platforms ever replace TV? If yes, how? If not, what are the possible outcomes?

At the rate that consumers are ditching cable and traditional TV and watching premium content wherever they are, we absolutely believe Video platforms are replacing traditional linear style viewing. However, a consumer still craves the lean-back living room experience. We see that the majority of American consumers don’t distinguish between watching content via CTV or via linear. According to a Telaria study, 84% of Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X TV watchers consider streaming content through their internet-connected TV to be “watching TV.” There are multiple vMVPDs who make it very easy for consumers to access the channels and content they want. The trend is only moving in one direction – towards a Connected TV future.

To sustain and grow this trend, publishers and advertisers must ensure a viewer experience that is of similar or higher quality than that of linear TV. The technology to deliver a premium ad experience on CTV is more complex than other mediums. Publishers and advertisers need to deliver a seamless ad experience for customers and must-have technology solutions suited for these environments, like eliminating ad redundancy, and audio normalization, which ensures that content and ads are delivered at the same volume level. Consumers watching CTV content expect a TV experience and it’s up to publishers and advertisers to deliver it.

Why do brands fail to fully understand real-time video analytics? How do you train your focus to deliver this Analytics better?

Many advertisers aren’t able to access real-time Video Analytics through no fault of their own but because the technology partners they work with don’t provide this information. To have true transparency and control over their media spend, it is imperative that they have access to up to the minute campaign metrics. Frankly, this is one of the huge advantages of being on our platform.

Tell us more about your AI and Machine Learning initiatives for VMPs.

We are constantly looking for ways to leverage the latest technology, be it AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain or maybe someday quantum computing to build better, faster optimizations and safeguards into our platform to ensure our clients can maximize the yield against their portfolio and are protected from any bad actors in the ecosystem.

What is your prediction on the disruptive application of VMPs and related analytics in B2B and B2C Marketing initiatives?

Telaria was an early mover when it came to building a technology platform specifically for video publishers and it has put much-needed pressure on companies that have bolted-on or retro-fitted legacy systems. One example of how better technology solutions will benefit the Advertising industry as a whole is that by having more robust analytics and reporting features, publishers and advertisers will have greater confidence in CTV and other premium video formats. The industry is consolidating around the technology partners with the highest quality, innovative solutions and we’re confident that we’re leading that charge.