Netflix Video Ads launches, and with it new opportunities.

It is the event of the month: on 3 November at 5pm, Netflix will offer a cheaper plan — around EUR 5 for France and for certain other European countries — which, in exchange, will carry video advertising.

For us marketers, this is the chance to reach a captive audience that watches less and less traditional television. The potential is enormous, because we are talking about a user experience identical to television, but steered by the traditional tools of digital — in targeting as in measuring performance.

After YouTube, the social platforms and Twitch, we will be able to run video advertising on Netflix, whatever the screen it is watched on: computer, mobile, IPTV.

For this move, Netflix has chosen to work with Microsoft to activate this new source of revenue.

The volume of audience:

The total number of Netflix subscribers is above 220 million; Netflix is nonetheless moving carefully: it will not impose advertising on its current subscribers. It will only offer an economical plan that carries advertising in exchange. The volume available in the coming months will therefore stay limited to the number of new subscribers to that plan.

Disney+, by contrast, will also offer video advertising, but will impose it on all its current subscribers. To escape it, they will have to take a more expensive subscription. Advertising arrives on 8 December, according to Disney’s announcements.

Targeting the audience:

The targeting will be most interesting: film categories and other criteria tied to user behaviour will let messages be delivered to different kinds of audience. It will not, however, be possible to target a specific film.

The kinds of spot on offer:

The advertising spots will run pre-roll and mid-roll — at the start of a film, as on YouTube, or in the middle of it.

The format being a striking one, CPMs will be two to four times higher than the rest of the market, with prices varying by country.

A few European countries — France, Germany, England, Spain and Italy — will have this first offering (contact us for the full list).

The advertising videos will not be skippable, which secures maximum impact.

In short:

1. An excellent video format, with non-skippable 16:9 videos
2. Growing volume, with the capacity to open up across a great many countries
3. Socio-demographic and thematic targeting coming soon
4. Beware the limited volume at the start. Wait for Q1-Q2 to try this channel
5. Suited to branding strategies that can tolerate high CPMs

If you have not done so, it is time to plan Netflix into your 2023 video media plans. Because at Bright we are convinced that an effective media plan is a combination of work serving performance and recognition.

Video advertising remains one of the best ways to carry a message, an emotion, the imagination of a brand. TV spots and video ad campaigns have an impact on a brand’s recognition and contribute to digital acquisition performance.

Bringing the high-impact Netflix and Disney inventories in now is a real opportunity, and a weighty addition in media mixes that grow more competitive by the year.