The adtech landscape is constantly evolving as advertisers harness new technologies and innovative strategies to stay relevant, cut through the noise, and capture their audience’s attention.
To do so, they need to identify the platforms, devices, and content types that resonate most with their target customers — which can be a daunting task. Additionally, as advertisers lose access to third-party cookies, contextual advertising is becoming increasingly important.
Automated content recognition — or ACR — is one of the most powerful emerging solutions to these problems. Automated content recognition technology can enhance your advertising strategies, improve targeting, and deliver personalized, relevant ad experiences that truly resonate with your intended audiences. In this article, we’ll explain how ACR works and how to incorporate it into your marketing strategies.
What Is Automated Content Recognition (ACR) in Advertising?
ACR software identifies the types of content being played on a device using advanced algorithms and pattern recognition. It then returns the media’s metadata to the user (usually an ACR partner like Grapeseed Media) along with recommendations on the type of ad creatives to display.
Automated content recognition addresses the challenges of a fragmented media landscape by enabling advertisers to identify and analyze content across various platforms and devices — such as smart TVs and smartphones.
As cookie deprecation becomes a reality, growing numbers of advertisers are turning to ACR software to help them serve relevant ads to their target audiences.
As a result, the global automatic content recognition market size is projected to reach $8.45 billion by 2030.
There are two main methods ACR software uses to analyze media: fingerprinting and watermarking.
- Audio and video fingerprinting generate unique fingerprints that the ACR software compares with its database of known recorded works to identify the media.
- Watermarking requires the inclusion of digital signals — or watermarks — embedded in the content prior to distribution. They are usually invisible or inaudible to users but detectable to display devices like smartphones, smart TVs, or tablets.
Using this data, you can serve users contextual audio or video ads that align with their interests and needs.
What Are the Benefits of Automated Content Recognition?
Automated content recognition is useful to advertisers in many ways. Here are three of the most significant benefits of ACR:
1. It Improves Audience Targeting and Engagement
To access ACR tech, advertisers partner with vendors who specialize in ACR. These vendors are responsible for gathering the data that informs their ad strategy. Based on the advertiser’s needs, the ACR vendor will provide audience segments containing the relevant targetable users.
Confusing? You betcha — so let’s see how this could look in the real world.
For example, let’s say your client is Nike, and you’re running a Connected TV campaign for Nike shoes. When a person sees your Nike ad on their CTV, you want to deliver a specific set of display banners to their mobile devices so that the next time they open up a browser on their phone, they see these banners.
One of the ways to do this is with ACR. You would contact an ACR vendor and give them all of the details of your campaign, and the ACR vendor would use their software to create an audience segment of people who have been exposed to your Nike shoe ad on CTV. Then, they would send you that audience segment so you can target it with banners. Think of this data like a file that can’t be opened — you can see the title, but you can’t dive in. You can only upload it and target whatever is inside.
All of this happens in real-time, so ACR technology can adapt and update the audience segments based on the latest data while viewers interact with content. This real-time segmentation allows for immediate optimization so you can reach more of the right people with the right message.
2. It Delivers Relevant and Personalized Ad Insights
With ACR, you can create tailored ad experiences based on the genres, themes, or even specific shows or movies that people are viewing or listening to. For example, if you’re running ads for a brand that sells kitchen gadgets, ACR technology can identify viewers watching cooking shows and deliver relevant ads related to cooking utensils. This level of personalization increases the relevance of the ad content, which boosts the likelihood of capturing your target audience’s attention and driving desired actions.
ACR can also adapt the ad content in real-time based on changing user behavior. For instance, if a viewer switches from watching cooking shows to a sporting event, ACR can dynamically adjust the ad content to align with the new context, delivering ads that might be relevant to fans of that particular sport, match, or team.
By understanding what content individuals are engaging with across platforms and devices, ACR enables you to dynamically adjust your ad content to align with the viewer’s interests and context.
3. It Optimizes Ad Placement and Increases Campaign Efficiency
ACR boosts campaign efficiency by improving the contextual relevance of your ads. For example, during a sports broadcast, ACR can identify key moments like a goal or a game-changing play to dynamically insert relevant ads related to sports equipment or team merchandise.
Additionally, ACR enables targeted ad insertion. Understanding content preferences and consumption patterns allows you to identify content genres, shows, or even specific scenes that align with your target audience’s interests. For instance, we don’t know whether Fenty used ACR to target users during Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime show, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they did.
ACR also tracks and analyzes ad exposures and manages the frequency and timing of placements to minimize ad fatigue, which can have the opposite of your desired effect.
Finally, ACR’s performance tracking and measurement capabilities provide insights into ad viewability, engagement metrics, and conversion rates. This data allows you to measure the effectiveness of their ad placements and make data-driven decisions to optimize future campaigns.
It Enables Interactive Advertising through Second-Screen Applications
Second-screen applications are apps on a device (commonly a smartphone or tablet) that a user engages with while simultaneously watching TV. The “second screen” refers to the mobile device, while the “first screen” is typically the television.
When ACR technology is integrated into a second-screen application, it can detect what the user is watching in real time. Once the content is identified, the application can push relevant content to the viewer’s second screen. This could include interactive advertisements, additional product information, interactive polls, games, or social sharing options.
For instance, if a viewer is watching a cooking show, a second-screen app could display ads for cooking utensils or grocery delivery services. The advertiser can then collect data on how viewers interact with ads — whether they click on them, ignore them, or engage with additional content. This data helps in refining ad strategies and understanding viewer preferences.
Advertisements on the second screen can also be synchronized with what’s happening on the first screen. For example, during a commercial break on the TV, the second screen might show an interactive ad or a promotional game that complements the TV ad.
What Are the Challenges With ACR?
Marketers and advertisers face several challenges and considerations when leveraging technologies like ACR, including the following:
1. Ethical Concerns
One of the primary ethical challenges is ensuring that advertising practices respect viewers’ rights and avoid manipulative tactics. There is a fine line between personalized advertising and manipulation. Advertisers must ensure their practices do not exploit viewers’ data to push overly persuasive or intrusive ads, which could lead to a backlash and damage brand reputation.
2. Accuracy of Content Recognition
ACR technology relies on accurately identifying content to provide personalized experiences. However, inaccuracies in content recognition can lead to poor personalization, such as irrelevant ads or inappropriate content suggestions. This not only diminishes the user experience but can also lead to viewer frustration and disengagement, undermining the effectiveness of campaigns.
3. Privacy and Data Security
The collection and analysis of viewer data through ACR raise significant privacy and data security concerns, and viewers are increasingly aware of and sensitive to how their data is being used.
Advertisers must use robust data protection measures to safeguard viewer information. Additionally, transparency about data collection practices and providing viewers with control over their data are crucial for maintaining trust and compliance with privacy regulations.
How to Use ACR in Your Advertising Strategy
ACR is a great way to boost campaign performance and return on ad spend (ROAS). Use the following tips to incorporate it into your advertising strategy.
1. Get to Know Your Audience
ACR data can provide a deep understanding of your target audience’s content consumption habits. By analyzing the genres, shows, or platforms they engage with to identify patterns and preferences, you will gain a deeper understanding of their interests and priorities that can guide your ad targeting and creative decisions.
2. Personalize Your Ad Experiences
With ACR, you can deliver personalized ad experiences based on the specific content viewers are consuming by tailoring your ad messaging, creative elements, and calls to action to align with the context and interests of the viewer. This personalization increases relevance and engagement.
3. Optimize Your Ad Placements
Leverage ACR data to identify the best moments within content for ad placement. Consider key scenes, relevant topics, or specific program genres that align with your target audience. For example, if a viewer is watching a travel show about Italy, a travel agent could use ACR to place an ad for their Amalfi Coast tour following a scene in that location.
4. Adapt Your Ads to the Context
ACR allows you to contextually align your ads with the content your target audience is consuming. Analyze the themes, keywords, or metadata associated with the content to ensure your ads are relevant to the viewer — this will enhance ad effectiveness.
5. Continuously Monitor and Improve
Regularly analyze your ACR data to monitor viewer behavior and adapt your advertising strategy accordingly. This will help you identify shifts in content consumption patterns, emerging trends, or changes in audience preferences, allowing you to optimize your campaign creatives in real-time and keep your brand relevant to your audience.
6. Measure Performance and Insights
Leverage ACR’s tracking capabilities to measure the performance of your ad placements. Analyze metrics such as ad viewability, engagement rates, and conversion data. These insights will guide your decision-making, helping you refine your targeting and optimize future campaigns.
7. Collaborate with ACR Experts
Using ACR tech to its fullest potential requires in-depth knowledge and specialist skills. Advertisers who don’t have this capacity in-house may find the best way to leverage ACR is to partner with a reputable specialist — like Grapeseed Media — that can offer advanced solutions and expertise. Our team of ACR experts will help you get familiar with the technology and provide actionable insights for your advertising strategy.
Make a Lasting Impact with Automated Content Recognition
Ultimately, incorporating ACR into your advertising strategy will increase personalization and improve your targeting precision by serving users contextual ads based on the type of content they consume — which will be increasingly important as we move into the cookieless future.
Looking for more information about ACR or any other aspect of programmatic advertising? Get in touch with the Grapeseed team or chat with Grape Bot — our proprietary chatbot designed to answer all your digital advertising questions.