Insights from Roku Canada’s Country Manager, Christina Summers
Similarly, we’re expecting to see strong Canadian broadcasters and news organizations invest in other channels to bring in viewers and increase awareness of their platforms outside of Meta. For example, we’ve seen major news organizations as well as various governments divest from Meta advertising since the company announced it would be pulling news access from its platforms in June. With that in mind, we could start to see larger investments from Canadian news organizations and government agencies in TV streaming or other platforms not impacted by Bill C-18.
Q) With Meta’s recent announcement to remove news for Canadian users from its platforms, how do you think this will impact the visibility and reach of Canadian news content? How can advertisers effectively adapt to this change?
Summers: According to a Reuters Institute Digital News Report, 45 per cent of Canadians get their news from social media. With that, we can assume those viewers may be looking to other platforms to stay informed. With Bill C-18, TV streaming emerges as a great option for Canadians who formerly received news from social to easily access their Canadian news elsewhere. TV streaming platforms, like Roku, support local news as a distribution partner, and allow these organizations to both reach new audiences and extend reach beyond traditional linear channels and social. For advertisers and marketers, this means an additional medium to reach audiences through news networks, along with new audiences and insights, to capture viewers who’ve had to migrate from social to streaming because of Bill C-18.
Q) In light of the potential risks and uncertainties surrounding online platforms, why do you believe a diversified ad spend approach across multiple platforms is important for advertisers? What benefits can an omnichannel approach offer?
Summers: Due to the rapidly changing nature of digital advertising and marketing,