Innovid launches Harmony initiative
April 9, 2024
Innovid, an independent software platform for the creation, delivery, measurement, and optimisation of advertising across connected TV (CTV), linear, and digital has launched the Harmony initiative, aimed at optimising the CTV advertising ecosystem.
Harmony Direct, the first in a wave of product innovations released as part of the initiative, is designed to streamline the supply path to its purest form, ensuring more advertiser dollars go toward working media, increasing revenue opportunities for publishers, and creating a more sustainable, transparent path.
According to Innovid, CTV is at a critical inflection point. As TV rapidly transitions to a fully digital future, there is a clear opportunity to avoid the mistakes of digital advertising’s past. Innovid’s vision has always been that TV should remain open for everyone and controlled by no one. It has pursued that from a position of media-unbiased independence, with the strength of an open, transparent infrastructure that powers impactful ad-supported experiences.
Innovid’s Harmony initiative was created to help realise that vision, in partnership with industry leaders, by addressing some of the biggest challenges facing CTV advertising today, for a better CTV advertising future tomorrow. The initiative’s goals are to optimise CTV advertising at the infrastructure level to improve efficiency, enhance transparency and control, reduce carbon emissions, and increase ROI to ultimately provide better viewing experiences.
One of the first product innovations to be released as part of this initiative is Harmony Direct, a solution that streamlines the workflow for guaranteed, non-biddable CTV media to its purest form by removing all friction points, including additional technology ‘hops’, fees, and energy waste. This optimal workflow pushes more ad investment into working media, increases data fidelity and transparency, improves fill rates, lowers the risks of latency and fraud, and provides a more sustainable, greener supply path. Agency and publisher partners, including PMG and Roku, are among the first using Harmony Direct.
Results from Innovid beta tests saw that moving programmatic guaranteed spend to Harmony Direct led to an average 8 per cent increase in working media for agency partners. Publisher partners improved yield by up to 15 per cent, which includes average fill rates increasing from 90 per cent to 100 per cent. In 2024 alone, across the total US CTV market, this could represent more than $1 billion (€922m) in immediate savings going back into the ecosystem.
As an independent software platform that provides critical technology infrastructure for many of the world’s largest brands, agencies, and publishers, Innovid says it is uniquely positioned to lead the Harmony initiative. Innovid does not buy, bid on, or sell media, nor does it operate its own media channel or marketplace, giving it the ability to help the entire ecosystem without conflict of interest. Purpose-built 17 years ago to drive video innovation, Innovid has CTV expertise in its DNA. Processing 1.3 billion video ad impressions per day (more than 600 years of video content daily) and aggregating trillions of data points each year, its data, technology, and scale can help to optimise the industry – not just for its own good, but to make CTV advertising better for all.
“As TV speeds toward its fully digital future, Innovid believes that TV should remain open for everyone and controlled by no one,” stated Zvika Netter, CEO & Co-Founder, Innovid. “In the evolving CTV space, we can make this a reality – one that benefits buyers, sellers, and viewers – through advertising. But we must avoid the pitfalls our industry saw with other forms of digital transformation. Innovid is in a unique position to bring harmony to the ecosystem and empower brands, agencies, and publishers to work together during this transitional moment in TV history to create ad-supported experiences that people love.”
“In the recent ANA Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study, we found a staggering $22 billion in potential efficiency gains in the advertising supply path, with 29 per cent of the original ad dollar going to DSP and SSP costs,” commented Bill Duggan, Group Executive Vice President, ANA. “Much of today’s supply chain is not linear and has multiple hops, which introduces additional costs and risks that can impact everything from brand safety to the viewing experience. When it comes to efficient and effective buying, advertisers need to prioritise control and transparency – and for that, directness matters. The ANA remains focused on ensuring the maximum amount of ad investments go to engaging consumers. The industry needs companies, like Innovid, to step forward and help address these issues at the infrastructure level.”