2020 was a “wake-up call” for TV advertising, says Trade Desk CEO

Trade Desk director and co-founder Jeff Green says last year was a wake-up call for the advertising industry as consumers move away from watching traditional television and streaming online and video.

“2020 was a wake-up call for the advertising industry when it came to television,” Green said Thursday in a earnings call for the company’s fourth quarter. He said the company’s connected TV business, which sells ads on streaming platforms, doubled in the fourth quarter of a year ago.

Trade Desk, which has a booming business in the field of connected television, has a lot to gain as advertising revenue moves away from traditional linear television. With more people in the living rooms broadcasting shows and movies during the pandemic, The Trade Desk saw more opportunities to show them commercials on streaming platforms. Green said the pandemic has accelerated a shift in this direction and elsewhere.

“We’ve talked a lot over the last 12 months about how the pandemic has accelerated trends that were already underway, but we couldn’t have predicted how strong that acceleration would be.”

The company’s shares fell about 1% in trading after the program, even after reporting revenue of $ 319.9 million and non-GAAP earnings of $ 3.71 per share, easily exceeding expectations. The company’s technology helps brands and agencies reach their target audiences in all media formats and devices.

Green also quoted a recent presentation with Marc Pritchard, brand director of Procter & Gamble. “He and I believe we are heading for an inevitable future in which all publicity lies, and I quote using his words ‘digital, programmatic, data-based, and automatic.'”

Green echoed Pritchard’s feelings about the traditional TV buying process, in which advertisers typically spend a large portion of their annual TV spending on transactions during the spring season. Then the networks organize presentations and parties to show buyers media programs, audience data and advertising tools. Pritchard criticized the process in September last year, calling for a later initial market, along with more flexibility when buying ads closer to running.