Innovid Launches Harmony Initiative to Keep TV Open for Everyone & Controlled by No One
Harmony Direct – First of Several Harmony Product Innovations – Bringing Transparency, Efficiency, & Sustainability to the CTV Supply Path
Assembly, CMI Media Group, PMG, & Roku Among First Launch Partners
NEW YORK, April 9, 2024 – Innovid (NYSE:CTV), an independent software platform for the creation, delivery, measurement, and optimization of advertising across connected TV (CTV), linear, and digital, today announced the launch of its Harmony initiative, aimed to optimize the CTV advertising ecosystem. Harmony Direct, the first in a wave of new product innovations released as part of the initiative, is designed to streamline the supply path to its purest form, ensuring more advertiser dollars go toward working media, increasing revenue opportunities for publishers, and creating a more sustainable, transparent path.
CTV is at a critical inflection point. As TV rapidly transitions to a fully digital future, there is a clear opportunity to avoid the mistakes of digital advertising’s past. Innovid’s vision has always been that TV should remain open for everyone and controlled by no one. It has pursued that from a position of media-unbiased independence, with the strength of an open, transparent infrastructure that powers impactful ad-supported experiences. Innovid’s Harmony initiative was created to help realize that vision, in partnership with industry leaders, by addressing some of the biggest challenges facing CTV advertising today, for a better CTV advertising future tomorrow. The initiative’s goals are to optimize CTV advertising at the infrastructure level to improve efficiency, enhance transparency and control, reduce carbon emissions, and increase ROI to ultimately provide better viewing experiences.
One of the first product innovations to be released as part of this initiative is Harmony Direct, a solution that streamlines the workflow for guaranteed, non-biddable CTV media to its purest form by removing all friction points, including additional technology “hops,” fees, and energy waste. This optimal workflow pushes more ad investment into working media, increases data fidelity and transparency, improves fill rates, lowers the risks of latency and fraud, and provides a more sustainable, greener supply path. Agency and publisher partners, including Assembly, CMI Media Group, PMG, and Roku, are among the first using Harmony Direct.
Results from Innovid beta tests saw that moving spend to Harmony Direct led to an average 8% increase in working media for agency partners. Publisher partners improved yield by up to 15%, which includes average fill rates increasing from 90% to 100%. In 2024 alone, across the total U.S. CTV market, this could represent more than $1 billion in immediate savings going back into the ecosystem.
Innovid is in a unique position to lead the Harmony initiative as an independent software platform that works with many of the world’s largest brands, agencies, and publishers, including Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Roku, and Vizio. Innovid does not buy, bid on, or sell media, nor does it operate its own media channel, giving it the ability to help the entire ecosystem without conflict of interest. Today, Innovid processes 1.3 billion video ad impressions per day (more than 600 years of video content daily). Innovid has the CTV expertise, data, technology, and scale to help optimize the industry – not just for its own good, but to make CTV advertising better for all.
Zvika Netter, CEO & Co-Founder, Innovid:
“As TV speeds toward its fully digital future, Innovid believes that TV should remain open for everyone and controlled by no one. In the evolving CTV space, we can make this a reality – one that benefits buyers, sellers, and viewers – through advertising. But we must avoid the pitfalls our industry saw with other forms of digital transformation. Innovid is in a unique position to bring harmony to the ecosystem and empower brands, agencies, and publishers to work together during this transitional moment in TV history to create ad-supported experiences that people love.”
Bill Duggan, Group Executive Vice President, ANA:
“In the recent ‘ANA Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study,’ we found a staggering $22 billion in potential efficiency gains in the advertising supply path, with 29% of the original ad dollar going to DSP and SSP costs. Much of today’s supply chain is not linear and has multiple hops, which introduces additional costs and risks that can impact everything from brand safety to the viewing experience. When it comes to efficient and effective buying, advertisers need to prioritize control and transparency – and for that, directness matters. The ANA remains focused on ensuring the maximum amount of ad investments go to engaging consumers. The industry needs companies, like Innovid, to step forward and help address these issues at the infrastructure level.”
John Osborn, U.S. Director, Ad Net Zero:
“Reducing emissions from media planning and buying is one of the critical tenets in our plan to make the advertising industry more sustainable. Eliminating friction along the supply path will be a key driver in our efforts to reduce energy waste. We support all industry-wide actions that reduce the carbon impact of developing, producing, and running advertising.”
Sam Bloom, Head of Partner Strategy, PMG:
“We see the power of CTV advertising with our clients every day; the opportunities are endless to create relevant and engaging ad experiences that also change the game for the brands behind them. The inefficiencies of the supply path are hindrances to getting the most out of CTV for advertisers and getting the best viewing experiences for audiences. We are happy to work with Innovid to solve this critical issue. A cleaner supply path maximizes efficiency, saves time, optimizes ad spend for our clients, and ensures premium ad experiences for all.”
Miles Fisher, Senior Director, Head of Emerging & Programmatic Sales, Roku:
“Reducing the amount of touch points along the supply path is a critical component for realizing efficiencies for buyers and sellers alike. We partnered with Innovid on this solution because more transparency and control – from advertiser to publisher – are powerful, effective means of streamlining the launch process for CTV advertising.”
Innovid will unveil Harmony at its Connected Vision: Bringing Harmony to CTV launch event today at the New York Stock Exchange, featuring speakers from the 4As, Ad Net Zero, ANA, Goodway Group, Marketecture Media, PMG, Roku, and more. The event will be streamed live here.
About Innovid
Innovid (NYSE:CTV) is an independent software platform for the creation, delivery, measurement, and optimization of advertising across connected TV (CTV), linear, and digital. Through a global infrastructure that enables cross-platform ad serving, data-driven creative, and measurement, Innovid offers its clients always-on intelligence to optimize advertising investment across channels, platforms, screens, and devices. Innovid is an independent platform that leads the market in converged TV innovation, through proprietary technology and exclusive partnerships designed to reimagine TV advertising. Headquartered in New York City, Innovid serves a global client base through offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit https://www.innovid.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn or X.
# # #
