How This Children’s Streaming Platform Curates Content To Reach Kids

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by Jacob Solomon Nov 29, 2022 News
How This Children’s Streaming Platform Curates Content To Reach Kids

There are opportunities and challenges in advanced television and video.

TV advertising is easy to understand and not subject to child-focused privacy regulations.

When it comes to reaching and engaging children, there are nuances that need to be considered.

Sharon Kroll Cohen is the chief marketing officer of Sensical, an ad-supported streaming service for kids backed by Common Sense Networks.

The amount of data that can be used to target advertising to children under the age of 13 is limited by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. If you don't want to receive a letter from the FTC, compliance is important. There are other concerns when it comes to child targeting.

Kids are not a bunch of people. Cohen said that a media environment that is suited for a 2-year-old wouldn't work for content that is 12 years old.

Cohen joined Sensical a year ago after working at Paramount and Nickelodeon. She said that every aspect of a child's life is affected when they get interested in something.

It is important for brands and media sellers to create meaningful content experiences.

Sensical does not sell ad inventory at the series level. Children can choose a genre from a drop-down menu. Cohen said that marketers can be confident that their content is relevant enough to make a difference.

Cohen talked to Ad Exchanger.

Most children don't watch traditional cable tv. How are they spending their time?

There are many ways in which kids consume content.

There is an on-demand video offering and a function that plays linear networks and FAST channels based on a topic or genre. We tag episodes based on category so we can integrate them into different channels that correspond with what a child chooses.

Sensical has an advertising strategy.

We can keep the content free because it's ad-supported. We want advertising to be safe for children.

It's similar to how we vet our programming content. We don't allow ads to link off of the platform and we don't track user activity on the platform for advertising or measurement

We want kids to be able to distinguish between programming and paid advertising. Content has slates that say things like, "Now you're hearing a message from our sponsor," or, "Now you're coming back to Sensical."

There is a lot of competition in the streaming space. How does Sensical get advertisers to spend money?

Our standards are appropriate for our age. Parents can trust that our platform applies the same high safety measures to both advertising and content.

COPPA compliance is a value prop for buyers because advertisers want to make sure they don't run against brand-safe content.

The challenge is that advertisers are looking for performance based metrics, such as return on ad spend, and that is harder to offer in kids media because the data tracking is more limited than in other media environments.

Is it possible that Sensical offers contextual advertising?

Advertisers can market against content that is relevant to them. At the series level, we organize inventory based on category or theme. A sportswear company can advertise on our channel.

How do you measure the success of ads for children?

For the majority of the time. The audience can be tracked, but we can't see who they are. Many brands are working with Sensical.

It is not possible to track children. Is Sensical able to do performance marketing?

Our targets are bifurcated for marketing. Retention metrics for kids are considered by Sensical.

We can use performance marketing on our platform when we communicate with parents. We want to get parents to bring their kids to the platform and keep them there with engaging content. We have different content and advertising techniques for children.

Is it possible to elaborate?

There are three different age groups for content and advertising on Senical.

The ad messaging is for the parent on the younger side of the spectrum. The kids use the platform more than the older age segments.

We know we are talking to children on our platform. Our ads don't link out because we don't track user behavior

What is working with creators like?

We source trusted, digital-first creators with age-appropriate content that we can use on our platform through long-term partnerships. Sometimes they make TikToks and other times they make promotional video content.

In September, you were promoted to the position of CMO. Do you have any priorities now?

Increasing brand awareness of our platform among parents and kids is a good way to do this.

The channels are highly engaging for kids and more attractive to advertisers when they are delivered against a category or theme.

More viewers can be driven to our on-demand offerings by using FAST channels.

The interview has been shortened.