As OTT stands out in the period of flux, how do agencies go about finding a trusted partner? Do they vet them or do they just work with them so long that they come to know?
That's what MediaPost's Lisa Singer, event editorial manager, asked of a panel gathered for our TV & Video Insider Summit on Wednesday.
Daniel Bealey, senior director of advanced TV and programmatic media at USIM, took the relationship approach. "You need to be communicative with a partner, figure out what they're offering and then manage your buy."
"We are having a conversation about what role OTT is playing," said Nicole Interlandi, vice president, director of video investment at Assembly. "How do we approach it? Is it programmatic? Is it targeting a specific audience? What's the extension of reach? Of frequency? That's our vetting process."
Diana Bernstein, SVP, managing director, video investments at Havas Media, said it's an issue for customers. The marketplace has heard everyone from agencies or viewers. It's a well-known issue that providers are trying to work on. If the viewing environment is not palatable, they will shift elsewhere.
"Hulu has premium TV content, people are more comfortable. Some other providers are aggregating content. There's also ease of access. Roku has changed its interface. Frequency and transparency with agencies and clients is necessary to understand where they're going."
Before the panel got started MediaPost did a survey of attendees, asking which OTT element they was most excited about. Roku and Hulu ranked at the top.