We Optimized Ads for Metrics. We Forgot About the Viewer.

In the rush to optimize for metrics, we lost sight of something fundamental: video advertising should enhance, not detract from, the viewing experience.

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For more than two decades, most innovation in adtech has focused on targeting. Brands have gotten incredibly sophisticated at identifying who to reach and when to reach them. Platforms built entire businesses on precision, segmentation, retargeting, personalization, and algorithmic delivery.

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This made campaign metrics look great for advertisers:

• more efficient spend,
• more precise reach,
• more measurable outcomes.

But somewhere along the way, one universal truth became accepted without question:

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ads are annoying, and viewers just have to deal with it.

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Advertisers know it.

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Consumers know it.

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Everyone treats irritation as the cost of doing business.

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Except, why?

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If viewers consistently express that interruptive ads frustrate them, why are we still designing ads that interrupt? Why are we optimizing everything except the experience of the person watching?

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What if ads didn’t have to fight for space?

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What if ads felt natural to the content experience?

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What if they were enjoyable?

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We already know that people can enjoy ads. We see proof every year.

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During the Super Bowl, 14% of viewers tune in primarily to watch the ads, not the game (Stat Significant, 2024). Fourteen percent may sound small, but in Super Bowl terms, that represents millions of people who choose to watch ads, willingly. Not because they’re forced to, but because the ads feel relevant, entertaining, and connected to the cultural moment.

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When ads are contextual and additive, people don’t reject them, they seek them out.

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So the question isn’t:

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How do we make people tolerate more ads?

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The real question is:

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How do we make ads worth choosing?

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We've spent 20 years building smarter targeting.

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The next frontier is building smarter experiences.

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When ads align with content, through contextual integration, in-scene media, or subtle placement, the viewer stops feeling disrupted. They feel included.

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Metrics tell us if an ad reached someone.

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Experience determines how that reach feels.

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And how it feels is what determines whether people remember the brand, engage with it, or buy it.

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Learn more here.