What consumer tech innovations will define the next decade?

One big takeaway from CES 2020 was the emergence of a raft of ad-funded video-on-demand (AVOD) streaming platforms, following several years of new subscription based services flooding the market. So far we’ve seen Peacock, Pluto, Tubi and Xumo, to name a few, and others are on their way. It’s really interesting to watch what new services are doing with their ad inventory and how marketers use these new environments. The SVOD phenomenon has been fascinating but consumers are finding it’s getting expensive. Clearly ad-funded video programming will be a new major driver of the OTT market.

In terms of back end developments, it was really exciting to see some of the new software solutions for managing and optimising creative workflows.

Video advertisers need to manage an ever-growing number of formats and endpoints to reach their audience, while at the same time having to adapt to fully-distributed creative teams across the world.

Without getting technical, these are the kinds of solutions that allow advertisers to build fantastic creative in any format needed, and deliver it to the right audiences efficiently. While this field is not new, due to Covid, we have seen significant uptick in next-generation solutions for Digital Asset Management, like Tenovos.

In somewhat more future facing trends, it was fascinating to learn about new models of targeting and attribution in a cookieless world. Although this is something which is partly being driven by regulators, innovations are also coming because of progressive marketers and publishers who want to give us all a better user experience.

Regulation and platform decisions have led marketers and publishers to look for new means of targeting consumers beyond the cookie.

These past months, we’ve seen many companies rolling out more robust first party data solutions, cooperatives, and contextual-based targeting. That being said, the full transition away from cookiebased advertising infrastructure will necessarily take time.

We’re keeping a close eye on developments. Obviously AI featured heavily. The demonstration of Rosebud AI’s amazingly real non-models has lots of interesting implications for workflows I mentioned above. And it was great to work by Sensity, which BDMI has invested in, on show demonstrating their important work in the field of deepfake detection. The two businesses might seem polar opposites but actually are two sides of the same coin. Why? Ads which use virtual people need to make it clear that’s the case, otherwise they risk making people feel tricked – a surefire way for brands to lose loyal customers, who no longer trust what they’re being shown. Truth in AI is paramount.

It was a great thrill to be at CES in Las Vegas this year, as the 2021 event is going to be totally digital. It’ll be a different experience, of course, but there are a lot of advantages to being able to discover the latest developments at one’s own pace.

Another development on the consumer front is with television sets, which are transforming once again. Samsung’s The Wall and LG’s OLED TV stole the headlines, for obvious reasons, and are likely to convert any so-called screen agnostics who still think TVs are passé.

Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the global media, services and education company Bertelsmann. BDMI has invested in over 100 startups since 2007 and is currently focused on the categories of next gen media, next gen brands, enterprise SaaS, and fintech.

Sim Blaustein, Partner at BDMI