👋 Hello programmatic producers
You’ve done banners, you’ve done bumpers. Now how about putting your client’s cereal box on the kitchen counter of any streaming show?
While you were busy moaning about CTV CPMs, The Trade Desk was busy getting very cosy with AI startup Rembrand. The result? Virtual Product Placement (VPP), at scale, in premium video content — all accessible programmatically.
🎬 What’s the deal?
Rembrand’s tech lets you insert brand products seamlessly into existing video content — think Coca-Cola cans magically appearing on coffee tables or Dyson hoovers in the background of sitcoms (sorry, Henry). This isn't post-production — it's real-time, AI-driven VPP via programmatic pipes.
And now, with this Trade Desk partnership, you can bid on these placements like any other inventory. Welcome to the new product placement auction.
🤖 Why it matters
Amazon and Viant have already muscled into this space. Amazon does it with its own studio content, Viant has VPP-lite via partnerships. But this move from TTD throws open the doors to independent premium inventory, at scale.
Now agencies can:
Tap into VPP as a new creative format
Offer clients incremental reach in high-attention, non-skippable environments
Avoid the fatigue of :15s and :30s by going native native
It's also a neat way to dodge ad blockers, reclaim some creative control, and sneak brands into scenes without triggering the “skip” reflex.
🎯 Who should care?
Retailers: Put your product in the show before they search.
CPG brands: Ideal for always-on, low-attention categories where visibility = sales.
Luxury advertisers: Want your handbag casually slung on the set of a Netflix drama? Done.
Activation Teams: Sorry, it’s not a line item yet. But keep an eye on CPMs — they’ll be premium (of course they will).
🚧 The watch-outs
Measurement: Still a bit Wild West. Brand lift studies are your friend.
Contextual control: Let’s not have condoms popping up in Peppa Pig, yeah?
Creative approvals: Your brand client might get nervous about being seen next to dodgy plotlines (we see you, HBO).
📈 So, what now?
The agency play is clear:
Upsell it as “contextual immersion,” bundle it in your Q4 plans, and brief your clients before their competitors do. If they’re already pouring budget into CTV, this could be the incremental + innovative angle your deck needs.
Until next time,
David