At the beginning of September, LG discreetly announced to advertisers the arrival of a new advertising format on its televisions: advertisements broadcast on screensavers. This new feature, which concerns devices already purchased, confirms the growing importance of advertising within connected televisions. The initiative does not go unnoticed, as viewers are already bombarded with advertising on TNT and streaming services.
The silent intrusion of advertising on screen savers
LG hasn’t made much noise around this new feature, preferring to speak directly to advertisers rather than consumers. The South Korean brand is clearly aware that these advertisements will not appeal to users. Owners of LG TVs were able to experience these new ads on their screensavers for themselves, as reported by the site FlatpanelsHD. Full-screen advertisements appeared before the traditional screen saver took over, and they are localized according to the region of the television.
Ads include content promoting internal services, such as LG Channels, as well as ads from third-party advertisers. LG has activated these advertisements by default, but it is possible to deactivate them in the television settings: in the additional settings, a “Screen saver promotion” option can be deactivated.
We must exploit the slightest moment of inactivity on TVs, even if it means transforming them into an advertising Christmas tree. According to LG AD Solutions, the manufacturer’s advertising arm, these advertisements are not limited to screen savers. They are also present on the home screen, the LG Channels streaming platform and the Content Store of smart TVs. A study commissioned by LG AD Solutions claims that these advertisements increase brand awareness among viewers by an average of 2.5 times.
LG does not hide its ambitions in the field of advertising. The company recently formed a partnership with Nielsen to use automatic recognition data from content viewed on its televisions in order to refine its advertising offering. This strategy is part of a broader transformation of the company, which seeks to evolve from a simple equipment manufacturer towards a “ media and entertainment platform ».
The recent creation of this specific division, LG Ad Solutions, clearly demonstrates this desire to test new advertising formats and closely monitor the behavior of smart TV users. Among the other “innovations” announced, LG plans to offer interactive advertisements.
If LG highlights the benefits of this strategy for advertisers, the public seems less enthusiastic. Smart TV users often find themselves confronted with unsolicited advertising content, even though they have already paid (and often expensive) money for their device.
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