AI boost for Vevo
March 2, 2023
Music video network Vevo has unveiled a new data science capability to support the creation of more impactful programming and ad products across Vevo’s expanding connected TV (CTV) footprint.
Now Internet-enabled, the TV screen is delivering more value to the music industry than ever before, as a result of the vast consumer adoption of smart TVs, the ability to curate and deliver niche programming quickly, and as an additional revenue stream through advanced advertising, notes Vevo.
Vevo has partnered with artificial intelligence company Hive to process each Vevo music video, second-by-second, and label elements of interest, such as logos, items, and themes, within each video. These tags are then inputted into Vevo’s proprietary machine learning model to group music videos by their respective elements. This process enables Vevo to programme CTV viewing blocks and create custom advertising packages, specific to a common theme or element. For example, music videos tagged with the same keywords, such as ‘beach’ and ‘party’, can be bundled together for a ‘beach party’ viewing hour, which can then be sponsored by a brand.
“Vevo is consistently working with various data models to maximise the commercial and promotional value of the music video, particularly on our linear TV channels, which offer a unique environment for showcasing and monetising our curatorial expertise,” said Eyal Golshani, vice president, data science, Vevo. “We previously utilised AI to help us group music videos by the mood, utilising audio and lyrics. Now, we are adding another layer, applying similar capabilities to the visuals of our music videos. As the Vevo library continues to grow, these innovations help our dedicated programming and sales teams to surface and index content quickly, yet thoroughly.”
Vevo’s linear TV channels are accessible across major FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) services, such as The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, and Samsung TV Plus. Each channel features 24/7 music video programming dedicated to a specific genre (e.g., Country or Hip-Hop), decade (e.g., ‘80s or ‘90s), or event (e.g., Holiday). Similarly to the traditional cable TV experience, Vevo channels include ad breaks and hour-long viewing blocks, each block catering to the time of day, artist releases and milestones, seasonal events and cyclical moments, and more.
“Our data science team is one of Vevo’s greatest assets, and we are learning so much about our vast catalogue through this new capability,” commented Aneessa Steilen, vice president, media and distribution marketing, Vevo. “Advertisers are increasingly looking for ways to reach the right audience at the right time, and their targeting strategies have evolved to incorporate context and interests, especially as third-party cookies are deprecated. By being able to detect scenes, objects, and logos, we can purposefully bundle our content into more contextual, brand-suitable opportunities. From a National Pizza Day programme to a sports pre-game hour, the synergies we can facilitate between brands and our custom programming will also keep audiences more engaged.”