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Hulu Presents: Green Is Good

At Hulu’s 2020 Newfront presentation, “Green Is Good,” the company showcased the premium content, industry-leading insights, viewer-first advertising products and new creative opportunities that make Hulu the most valuable Streaming TV partner to today’s biggest brands.

The Streaming TV space is booming, and on-demand content is driving the lion’s share of this growth, surging up 79% and capturing 72% share of viewing time in Q1 2020. And with 90% of all 13-54 year olds watching TV on a streaming platform, we know that this is just the beginning. As the first premium ad-supported streaming platform, and now part of The Walt Disney Company, Hulu has a remarkable advantage in this competitive space. 

Hulu’s viewer-first mindset and proven ability to tap into culture allows brands to connect with consumers on a deep level – much of which comes from the content found on the platform. So before we dive into all of the exciting insights and partnership opportunities, it wouldn’t be a Newfront presentation without some content announcements. Let’s jump right into it!

The Power of Storytelling

Hulu has the largest Streaming TV library, with live, Original, and on-demand content available at your fingertips. 

Comedy fan favorites; Hulu has them. Did you know that Hulu Original comedies have seen an 80% increase in engagement over the past year? That’s a lot of laughs, as viewers are really flexing the power of comedic relief.

Hit dramas, like The Handmaid’s Tale, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga – both of which will be returning to your TV screens for another season…Hulu has them too.

Hulu also has a slate of new, culturally relevant stories on the way. For more details, click here.

And there’s FX on Hulu. Launched in early March, FX on Hulu is the dedicated content hub that brings together more than 40 of FX Networks’ acclaimed and award-winning current and legacy series, features over 1,600 episodes and includes Hulu exclusive FX originals.  Since launch, 55% of Hulu viewers have engaged with FX on Hulu and the content hub has expanded FX’s reach by 130%.

So who’s watching all this content? 

Hulu now reaches over 83M ad-supported viewers and overall ad-supported engagement is up more than 40% year-over-year. With more viewers, spending more time on the platform than ever before, Hulu is in a unique position to understand the behaviors and motivations of this streaming audience.

Generation Stream

Hulu continues to win in the marketplace by being viewer-first and having a deep understanding of the streaming audience, what we call Generation Stream. 

Now, what exactly is Generation Stream? It’s a foundational thought leadership study Hulu conducted to better understand the attitudes and motivations of the viewers who are reshaping how we watch TV. Generation Stream is defined as a multigenerational group that crosses all age, race, and gender bounds. And they’re connected by a common behavior – streaming.  

We will be releasing more of this study in the coming months, but here are some interesting insights to kick things off. Streamers tend to be:

And they classify themselves into three groups – Stream Only, Stream Most and Stream Also:

FUN FACT: 86% of Hulu viewers fall into the Stream Only or Stream Most categories. 

Generation Stream also values personalization, and they are more likely to respond to advertisements and brands that speak to their personality. Now that you know the basics, let’s take a look at a few ad products that will help marketers connect with this coveted audience.

Viewer-First Innovation

A decade ago, Hulu set out to create a better advertising experience for viewers. As the first platform to introduce viewer-first advertising innovations, like the industry’s first interactive ad formats, Hulu continues to give viewers choice and control over their ad experience. 

“Green Is Good” showcased two exciting new ad formats coming to Hulu: Max Selector and GatewayGo.

The Max Selector pairs Hulu’s industry-leading Ad Selector unit with even more interactivity and customization in voice-over and branding. The Max Selector allows viewers to choose which video creative they want to see and the experience they want to engage with.

GatewayGo joins Disney’s suite of advertising offerings, and marries traditional TV ads with new, action-oriented prompts and offers to create impactful connections between viewers and advertisers.  It uses second screen technologies, like QR codes and push notifications, for viewers to take immediate action on a brand’s offer on their mobile device. 

How do we know viewers will be interested in this format? Hulu leans on viewer behavior and data to inform business decisions, and we did just that in creating GatewayGo. Survey results show that 6 out of 10 viewers would likely consider purchasing from the brand after redeeming an offer.  And, we know nearly 50% of viewers claim to have their phones with them on the couch watching TV. 

Measurement Solutions

We’ve learned about all the amazing content, the captivating streaming audience, and how brands can speak to that audience with immersive brand experiences. The next piece of the pie? Data and measurement capabilities.

Hulu ensures brands have data behind each and every buy to properly prove why “Green Is Good”. That’s where Nielsen Media Impact comes into play.

Streaming TV reach is increasing – 62% of viewers reached by an ad campaign on Hulu never saw the brand’s ad campaign on linear TV. As brands look to find the best way to plan against Hulu’s audience, Hulu announced the new integration of Nielsen Media Impact. Marketers now have the opportunity to see exactly what kind of reach they can expect against their ad spend on Hulu. 

Those ads are reaching more people, and driving higher effectiveness. According to Kantar’s Benchmarks, ads on Hulu are more effective than other digital, Streaming TV, or addressable TV publishers.

That’s a Wrap

We went from ad products and measurement solutions, to Generation Stream and everything in between…in just about 1,000 words. But that’s what makes Hulu so great! Our content. Innovation. Audience. Our viewer-first approach. Our leadership in Streaming TV. For viewers, brands and your bottom line, it all adds up to an obvious conclusion: Green is Good.

 

  • Source: Conviva State of Streaming Q4 2019
  • Source: Generation Stream - Culture Co-Op, April 2020
  • Source: comScore Total Audience Report Nov 19 - Apr 20; Hulu Internal, Q1 2020 vs. Q1 2019
  • Source: GatewayGo Hulu Huddle Survey
  • Source: Nielsen XCR Normative Data
  • Source: Hulu Brand Lift & Frequency Norms vs. Kantar MarketNorms (P3Y Data 2017-2019)
Andy_69_C3100_HEP_9x15_648x1080px
Andy-Goldberg
ANDY GOLDBERG
SVP, Global Brand Planning & Content
American Express
The first ad I remember:
Fruit Loops with Toucan Sam
My favorite TV show of all time:
Impossible to name just one but Friday Night Lights is on the all-time list.
I’m here to:
Connect with others on the potential of streaming … how things are changing so rapidly and how brands can be at the forefront of amazing content.

Q: What does native frame rate mean?

A: Native frame rate refers to the frame rate the source footage was shot. Whenever possible, we require all videos to be delivered in their native frame rate. This means that no frame rate conversion should be performed, which includes adding 3:2 pulldown for broadcast.

Stress mark should be marked with [capitals] to indicate the primary stressed syllable, as in: news・pa・per [NOOZ-pey-per] in・for・ma・tion [in-fer-MEY-shuhn]

On living room, mobile, and tablet devices, the color gradient overlay is dynamic and will change based on the cover story art. It is not something we can control on our end.

If the tagline/date messaging doesn’t fit within the 11 syllables max, it can be included as text.

On living room, mobile, and tablet devices, the color gradient overlay is dynamic and will change based on the cover story art. It is not something we can control on our end.

  • No symbols such as registered marks, copyrights, etc.
  • If symbols are required, they will be presented in standard text such as" Brand (TM)".

Q: When is letterboxing allowed and not allowed?

A: When the native aspect ratio is 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 throughout the entire program, there should not be any letterboxing (black bars on top and bottom), nor should there be any pillarboxing (black bars on either side). We should should see an active picture take up the full frame. If the aspect ratio is wider than 1.78:1, such as 2.35:1, matting on the top and bottom is permissible. Additionally, if there is a creative choice to add matting or if there is a mix of native aspect ratios, this is usually waived, but please reach out to your Hulu representative to confirm.

Q: Should the bitrate be constant if delivering ProRes codec?
A: No, since ProRes codec is built to be variable, this is waived.

Q: Can you accept bitrate higher than 30 Mbps?
A: Yes, we can accept bitrate beyond the recommended range for H.264 and ProRes. In the case of ProRes, bitrate will often exceed 30 Mbps due to its variable setting.

Q: Why do you ask for progressive?

A: The Hulu player, unlike traditional broadcast, does not play back interlace scan, so we require that all videos be delivered with their scan type set to progressive. If your video is natively interlaced, you must de-interlace it to progressive and you must employ a de-interlace filter that does not result in blending or ghosting artifacts. We recommend an auto-adaptive de-interlace if available.

Alex_48_C3100_HEP_9x15_648x1080px
Alex-Lopez
ALEX LOPEZ
Head of Global Brand Communications & Narrative
Nike
The first ad I remember:
Mike & Spike (Air Jordan)
My favorite TV show of all time:
Sports, The Simpsons, The Sopranos, or anything else that starts with “S”.
I’m here to:
Get inspired, build some knowledge, and have some laughs along the way.

Q: Why do you prefer PCM codec?

A: PCM codec is lossless audio quality, so whenever possible, please deliver PCM audio.

Play Video

Q&A With
Gadi Amit

Founder, New Deal Design

Gadi: The development of serendipity in recommendations is very important. An analogy I use is that of a restaurant. If you go to a good restaurant, you don’t always want to see what you’re looking for. You’re looking for surprises. It’s not the expected, it’s the unexpected. You trust in the restaurant’s atmosphere. You don’t know exactly what you’re getting, but you trust their creativity and that you’ll enjoy whatever they serve you.

Do you think it is possible for a streaming service to become that “restaurant” - a trusted source of serendipitous recommendations?

Gadi: I absolutely do. But it is difficult. It’s a long game. It requires them to build trustworthiness with audiences through genuine content recommendations over the years.

Q&A With
Gandi Amit

Found New Deal Design

Gandi: The development of serendipity in recommendations is very important. An analogy I use is that of a restaurant. If you go to a good restaurant, you don’t always want to see what you’re looking for. You’re looking for surprises. It’s not the expected, it’s the unexpected. You trust in the restaurant’s atmosphere. You don’t know exactly what you’re getting, but you trust their creativity and that you’ll enjoy whatever they serve you.

Do you think it is possible for a streaming service to become that “restaurant” -- a trusted source of serendipitous recommendations?

Gandi: I absolutely do. But it is difficult. It’s a long game. It requires them to build trustworthiness with audiences through genuine content recommendations over the years.

Q&A With
Jonathan Miranda

Emerging Strategy Principal, Salesforce

Another expectation among younger generations seems to be personalization. How are you seeing this play out in media?

Jonathan: If you go into the world of advertising and marketing, customized, personalized advertising is more important than ever before. There’s a realization that eight years of funny commercials that we’ve showed everybody probably for the fourth time, doesn’t work anymore. So there’s a lot of companies moving towards specialized advertising.

How does this type of personalization translate to personalizing content beyond advertising? Who’s going to predict what people will want to watch, and do it first?

Jonathan: It’s not about being the first to predict what people want to watch. It's different. It’s about getting viewers to browse. You want to show them the value of all of the money Hulu has spent and the great range of TV and film for them to choose from.

Q&A With
Julie DeTragila

Head of Research & Insights, Hulu

Julie: There are vast differences between the way under 35-year-olds watch TV and over 35-year-olds watch TV. I grew up in a world where there were maybe 10 channels, and my viewing changed as technology and options changed. Younger viewers started from a really different place. Everything has always been on-demand. Anything they ever wanted to see was available to them, and they therefore have different expectations for TV.

How so?

Julie: One of the things we found with Gen Z is that they really want to be immersed in something for a long time. They want to have content that they can live with for a while; it’s like this long, seamless storytelling. They’ll knock off a couple episodes a night and it will last a couple of months. And then they’ll re-watch it a million times over.

What other shifts have you seen happen-with Gen Z but also more broadly-with the rise of streaming?

Julie: For years, television had to deliver a specific rating. Shows had to appeal broadly or else they wouldn’t survive. And those days are long gone because, with streaming services, shows can reach hundreds of thousands of people or tens of thousands of people and still be considered successful. There’s more experimentation with the types of content; we’re not locked into an hour, a half hour, a comedy, etc. The industry can create really niche shows to appeal to niche audiences, but also simultaneously create big, broad experiences that are shared by millions.

Q&A With
Larissa May

Founder, #HalftheStory

Your work focuses a lot on Gen Zs who, for better or worse, are dubbed “digital natives.” How do you think a generation of digitally native audiences view digital content differently than older generations?

Larissa: I think for young people digital content is a way they’re able to explore their own identities through the story... They want to see themselves and their stories in the content that they’re engaging with.

Tell us a little more about this digital content as Gen Z’s form of self-reflection.

Larissa: Digital content is sort of like a currency. I find that young people want to watch things that their friends are watching so that they can have conversations about it. For example, with Euphoria, young people were just kind of in love with the characters. It was very timely and a bit provocative, and then there was a way that they could see themselves in these stories and connect with their friends about the topics and ideas in the show.

And then also they could almost embody these characters in their own life. I really do think that the TV shows that young people are buying into are actually influencing their culture and their trends and even their language that they’re using.

Q&A With
Richard Frankel​

Global Creative Director, Spotify

What does the future of personalization look like?

Richard: I think it’s all down to trust. We're going to see more opportunity on platforms like Hulu and Spotify where the user trusts us.

That’s really interesting. Another area we wanted to explore is podcasts, and their relationship to video. For example, the show Homecoming is an adaptation of a podcast; the podcast Office Ladies is a spin-off from a TV show. Why do you think the two formats work so well together?

Richard: Anything at all that drives conversation in pop culture, and TV does a lot of that, is worthy of consideration in a podcast environment. Any of these conversations can become multiple audio streams that evolve with experts, interviews, and all kinds of narrative threads that can flesh out characters, or narrative development, or whatever's happening in those shows.

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