Adam Mugridge, AVP, Creative Solutions at Nexxen Studio looks at why the home screen is the next big premium environment…

Not enough people are talking about the smart TV home screen, but they definitely should be. It sits in an exciting space - not quite CTV, not quite digital out-of-home - working more like a billboard in your living room that catches people the second they switch on and start deciding what to watch. 

In an industry where attention is among the scarcest commodities, this offers a unique opportunity to connect with consumers on a large, uncluttered canvas at the exact moment they are most attentive and open to influence. That kind of impact is hard to come by. The canvas can only do so much  the real work comes down to what you put on it.

Homescreens need to work harder and smarter

Because the home screen is a premium environment with no competing content, every element of an advert, from the visual composition to the call to action, should work a little harder and smarter. It's why home screen strategy should sit hand-in-hand with broader campaign planning from day one. We should treat the home screen like the opening act: the format that primes the audience before they encounter your brand in-stream, on pause or across any other screen.

When you know you're going first, that changes how you should show up. The way I see it, you wouldn't send a generic cover letter to your dream job or recite someone else's wedding vows because they were easier than writing your own. There are moments when you need to put your best foot forward, and this is one of them. Yet home screen advertising is too often treated as an extension of a brand's primary campaign - a slot to fill with repurposed assets built for an entirely different screen or format. 

Part of the problem is timing: as a newer format, home screen is often bolted onto media plans at the last minute, leaving no room for creative to be properly prepared. I've seen this from the inside and experienced it as a consumer: it's immediately clear when an ad has been squeezed into the home screen versus crafted for it, and that gap can directly impact performance. The brands that are winning are taking the opportunity to connect with consumers with bold, innovative creative that is curated, not recycled.

Making the most of the attention

Now you have this attention, what are you going to do with it? As the home screen is the start of their journey, we can also affect viewing behaviours that we wouldn't have access to before. A brand can effectively reach viewers in the lead-up to a live sporting event or awards ceremony, even across channels where there may not be adverts. It can effectively become the only commercial moment in a TV-watching session - delivering more than reach, but contextual relevance at an appointment moment.

Of course, the home screen's impact doesn't end there. When these units are integrated into a connected strategy – working in tandem with pause ads, in-stream, mobile in-app and more – the gains are more than additive, they're exponential. The home screen creative sets the tone early, so everything that follows lands harder - hitting both the top and bottom of the funnel.

The smart TV home screen can build awareness and emotional connection the same way a traditional linear spot would, while also supporting performance objectives through interactive formats and actionable creative. Done well, it doesn't ask brands to choose between brand and performance; it delivers both.

The opportunity is real and the canvas is vast, but brands need to show up in a way that respects the environment, format and, most importantly, the viewer. The advertisers that do will have a significant advantage.