Brightline, a CTV ad technology vendor, introduced a new offering that expands the type of interactive ad formats customers can tap.
Brightline is a vendor that works closely with several top CTV platforms, and broadcast and cable network providers, serving up interactive formats that are meant to engage and enhance the ad experience. Some of its clients include leading CTV platforms such as Roku, Samsung, Apple and Amazon, as well as work with media companies and networks including A&E Networks, AMC Networks, NBCUniversal, Fox and Disney’s Hulu.
On Monday the vendor announced the Accelerator PTM (Petal to the Metal), a suite of ad units that includes a collection of formats to be released quarterly. The latest formats span “advergaming,” trivia, t-commerce, immersive brand experiences and improved in-show functionality.
The launch is being led with “Beat the Clock,” which is an ad format that incorporates gaming into branded content or advertising, with a challenge for viewers to accumulate the highest score while racing against a timer. According to Brightline, it marks the start “of a journey that mergers entertainment with engagement.”
The first new dynamic unit offered in the PTM suite is called Retail Connect and is meant to create a direct bridge between ad impression and consumer action. With that format retailers’ commerce and product APIs are integrated into CTV ad units – such as the ability to explore product options and click for shopping or more information. On the in-show front, Brightline is adding the ability for play-along trivia, where viewers can actively engage with quiz games aligned and embedded within content they’re watching.
Brightline in the announcement emphasized that each new unit is built with consumers in mind, meaning they’re meant to engage without detracting from the viewing experience.
“BrightLine has strived for years to stay at the forefront of tech innovation that makes it possible for TV viewers to directly engage with brands. With Accelerator PTM, we can take the quality of that audience experience to a whole new level," said Jacqueline Corbelli, CEO at BrightLine, in a statement. "Our raison d'être is providing technology solutions that can turn a standard TV ad into a culturally relevant moment that entertains and informs viewers and, as importantly, allows brands to have a two-way interaction with their audience.”
Brightline’s Accelerator ad units power interactive ad experiences on streaming services like Peacock, Max, and Discovery+ as well as smart TV OEM FAST services, including recent integration on the Samsung TV Plus FAST service and work with Vizio’s WatchFree+. In August, the vendor said that within the past year 56 million households were exposed to an Accelerator Ad experience through a streaming device or CT, with 17% of households within its footprint engaging with a Brightline campaign in the first half of 2023. And with interactive units that prompt user action, they can help provide measurable metrics about viewers’ engagement with an ad.
In an earlier interview with StreamTV Insider, Brightline shared data that found its interactive ad units that can prompt a remote control click garnered an average engagement rate of 1.12% - compared to more prevalent QR code-based video ads, which it said were only scanned by 0.02% of users.
Brightline President and Co-founder Robert Aksman told StreamTV Insider in August that the company performs heavy testing and integration with partners to make sure interactive ad formats work smoothly across devices and services – meaning advertisers can run the same type of unit across a variety of providers.
“I think a lot of people still think this [interactive ad capability] is much smaller than it is and are surprised to hear that you can run the same unit across Peacock, Hulu, ESPN and Max – because we are that standard across all,” Aksman said.