Those familiar with streaming service Hulu, know that they offer a free version with ads, and a paid version without. Netflix and Disney+ have been racing to follow suit, by rolling out a more affordable, ad-supported plan as they look for ways to make a profit and appeal to more money-conscious subscribers.
With over 86% of all U.S. households reachable through such Connected TV (CTV) services and devices, these services offer an excellent opportunity for advertisers to engage with consumers via ads- especially those that have disconnected cable services in favor of the major streaming providers.
Furthermore, traditional platforms such as cable are losing market strength steadily, driven by the trend known as “cord cutting”, where customers will favor only using streaming services instead of cable/satellite subscriptions.
Meet VFR.ai
VFR.ai is a Tel aviv-based startup that is perfectly poised to cater to this new demand. After recently coming out of stealth and raising $10m in funding, VFR.ai is quickly making a name for itself in the industry, and it’s easy to see why.
The company’s CTV technology allows for highly targeted, non-intrusive ads to be integrated directly into CTV platforms (minimizing technical problems and dropped ads).
An example of a VFR.ai non-intrusive ad could be an audio message that is played while the user is enjoying a casual gaming experience that plays alongside the user’s content, instead of taking over the entire screen and disrupting the user experience.
This provides a win-win solution for both advertisers and viewers – the former get better ROI on their ad spend, while the latter see ads that are more relevant to them that are less disruptive to their viewing experience, as well as relevant to them.
In order to make this possible, VFR.ai utilizes new technology and a highly effective process to bring the right content to users, ensuring that the ads are focused on minimal intrusion and maximum impact.
For the publisher, this results in a myriad of benefits, such as improved ad completion rates (nearly 100%), better engagement, and increased ad revenue.
Eldar Buchris, CEO of VFR, commented, “We believe that the CTV market is poised to become a mainstream advertising medium in the near future, especially with the recent market trends of more and more platforms looking to ad-supported content, and we are excited about what will come next.”
Spearheading a growing industry
A Statista study from 2021 found that 41% of CTV viewers would prefer to watch free ad-supported streaming content rather than paid subscription services with no ads. This goes to show that there is a large portion of the market that is open to viewing ads if there was a cost-saving incentive offered.
Of course, this is excellent news for advertisers and publishers, and it’s likely that companies such as VFR.ai will play an integral role in facilitating these new ad models.
“At VFR, we see the CTV market today as where the mobile market was a few years ago, and we are trying to establish ourselves as the CTV tech market leaders,” states Tal Melenboim, Founder & Chairman at VFR.ai.
With non-intrusive ad delivery that doesn’t interrupt the viewer’s experience, VFR.ai is leading the change in making CTV advertising more effective and efficient for platforms, advertisers, and users, which is one of the reasons why it is quickly establishing itself as a CTV tech innovator.
