The 'Partner with the Device, Not the App' Strategy

The 'Partner with the Device, Not the App' Strategy

You’re ready to move your ad budget into the world of streaming TV. That’s a smart move. But now you face a critical decision that will determine the success of your campaign: where, exactly, do you place your ads? Do you go directly to Hulu? Buy a package on ESPN+?

The most common mistake dealerships make is thinking app-by-app. The single most effective and efficient strategy is to partner with the device's operating system (OS), not the individual app. This strategic shift is the difference between casting a small, hopeful net and guaranteeing your message reaches its intended audience, no matter where they are in the vast streaming universe.

The Problem with an App-Centric Approach

Buying your ads directly from a platform like Peacock or Paramount+ seems straightforward, but it’s a flawed and outdated strategy that mirrors the old, inefficient ways of buying traditional cable spots. It’s a bet on a single channel, and in today’s fragmented media landscape, it’s a bet you’re likely to lose.

Here’s why this approach fails:

• Limited Reach: Your ad is trapped within that app's walls. If your target customer decides to watch a movie on a free service like Tubi or a game on YouTube TV, you've completely missed your chance to reach them. You’re only visible in one corner of their digital living room, while they spend most of their time in others.
• A Losing Guessing Game: The average viewer uses four to five different streaming apps regularly. Trying to predict which specific app your ideal customer will be using on a Tuesday night at 8 PM is impossible. It forces you to spread your budget thin across multiple platforms, hoping for a lucky break, rather than investing it with confidence.
• Inefficiency and Complexity: Managing separate campaigns, budgets, and creative assets across a half-dozen different apps is a logistical nightmare. It creates unnecessary complexity and prevents you from achieving the optimal frequency needed to make a real impact on a single, unified audience.

The Power of the Device-Level Partnership

A much smarter strategy is to target the household at the device level. The operating system on a Smart TV (like Samsung's Tizen) or a streaming device (like an Amazon Fire TV) is the gatekeeper for all the apps. In order to be available on a Fire TV, for instance, an app like Hulu has to agree to provide a portion of its ad inventory to Amazon to sell programmatically. The device OS sits at the center of the ecosystem, with access to everything.

When you buy your ads programmatically through the device's OS, you gain access to the ad inventory on every single app that runs on that device.

Think of it this way: buying ads on a single app is like renting one billboard on a specific road. Buying at the device level is like having access to every billboard, on every road, in the entire city. You're no longer targeting the road; you're targeting the car. No matter where that car goes, your message will be there.

James Klaus of Loon Advertising provides a perfect real-world example. As a Midwestern sports fan, traditional logic says to advertise to him on ESPN. However, as a dad to young daughters, his living room TV often tells a different story. "If you're trying to get your message in front of me," he explains, "at 8:30 PM... Is It Cake? tends to be up on the big screen... Is It Cake? is actually going to be the proper placement... That's why it's so important to partner with the device instead of the app, because you're targeting the household."

This approach guarantees maximum reach and frequency. It ensures your campaign message hits home, whether your customer is watching a blockbuster movie, a live sporting event, or a quirky baking show. It makes your advertising budget work smarter, not harder, by focusing on the only thing that matters: reaching the right person, not guessing the right channel.

‍