In this thrilling sports season, Magnite is introducing a new three–part video series titled Leaders in Live. Conducted by B&T, these interviews feature industry experts discussing the power of live sports, the shift towards streaming, and how technology can help unlock numerous opportunities for agencies and advertisers to connect with audiences.
It’s a well-known fact that sports can be incredibly tribal – whether it’s supporting the local NRL team, Premier League football club or AFL outfit.
As a keen cricket fan, Kinesso’s chief media activations officer Michael Whiteside knows the power of sports fandom better than most.
“Sport carries a tribal type of following,” he said. “As a result, it remains a pinnacle of appointment type viewing on TV.
“It builds cultural relevance, and it can help with cultural normalisation for brands. [It also builds] brand association and can help develop that brand personality.
Whiteside was speaking as part of the Leaders in Live series, presented by Magnite. He joins industry luminaries Yael Milbank and Jordan King, and Rachel Page to take part in the video content series.
Whiteside, who advises brands how to get the most out of live sports advertising via streaming and programmatic trading, said that live sport typically falls into a broader screens approach that is focused on brand establishment, message reinforcement and building awareness.
Live streaming sport is now starting to produce serious scale and audiences are moving towards streaming.
“That composition continues to change. It’s skewing from linear and moving towards streaming,” he said. About 35 per cent of Australians don’t have access to an aerial in their homes, so streaming represents a significant incremental reach opportunity for advertisers.
An example Whiteside mentions is the State of Origin Game II, which saw north of 750,000 viewers tune in via streaming. In other episodes of Leaders in Live, King and Page both produced further examples of how rapidly streaming audiences are growing.
Whiteside said one of the keys to unlocking live sports streaming audiences is programmatically.
There are many reasons, he argues. “One is to curate supply through our partners such as Magnite. Another is to access live sport in lieu of sponsorship or an upfront commitment. All of that can be frequency managed across various content sources, as well as controlled in a campaign from a position and break perspective.”
It also allows advertisers to target and optimise in-flight.
But how do advertisers get the most out of accessing live streamed sport via programmatic?
Watch the full video above to find out. Also tune in to other episodes of Leaders in Live below.
Watch: Leaders in Live with Magnite’s Yael Milbank and Nine’s Jordan King
Watch: Leaders in Live with Seven’s Rachel Page
Get in touch with Magnite to find out more about the live sports streaming opportunity and how it can boost your media campaign performance.
