• by Wayne Friedman , August 4, 2020

ViacomCBS is starting a connected digital video advertising platform this fall -- ViacomCBS EyeQ -- for all its premium digital video content, CBS Interactive (including CBS All Access), Pluto TV and Viacom Video. 

John Halley, chief operating officer of advertising revenue at ViacomCBS, said ViacomCBS EyeQ offers what many brand marketers need -- more scale and extended media reach -- in a world of sinking linear TV impressions.

“It means one order, one bill for an agency across all these assets,” he says. “Subsequently to that we are going to be on a single advertising server.”

Currently, CBS platforms use Google Ad Manager, while Viacom uses Comcast’s FreeWheel. The launch of one single server will come next year. 

Halley says the platform will be able to support programmatic buying and private marketplaces, as well as providing frequency management -- a key tool for premium brand video marketers.

He says there are four ways to buy into the new platform -- through content, broad demographics, advanced audience segments, or custom creative brand integrations. 

Content access includes buying into sports, entertainment, late night, specials, kids or news programming categories. Advanced audience segment buying goes through Viacom’s advanced advertising Vantage platform.

Performance marketing will be key. The platform will provide all important metrics including brand lift and awareness, attribution and matching of first-party marketing data. 

In addition, Viacom will offer real-time data for advertisers in tracking performance across platforms, which will include linear TV delivery.

“Think of this like a web-based reporting product,” says Halley.

This will come as ViacomCBS’ major premium video platform, CBS All Access, will be re-branded in the coming months. 

Recently it was announced that Viacom programming would be added to the service, almost doubling CBS All Access' existing library to 30,000 TV episodes as well as having 3,500 movies from Paramount Pictures.

David Lawenda, executive vice president of digital sales and strategy of ViacomCBS, says that for its part CBS All Access has 50 million monthly uniques watch its full TV episodes in the month. This amounts to 100 billion impressions when Pluto TV, CBS All Access, Viacom, and other digital platforms are added.

Lawenda says that adding in all social media platforms brings this number to 150 million uniques. 

One key growth area is the rise of connected TV digital media for its full TV episodes.

Halley says 80% of ViacomCBS EyeQ consumption will happen on the TV “glass.”  “It’s the best canvas for driving brand awareness.”