Regulations like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) can make the planning and execution of ad campaigns on kids’ platforms tricky. We know that co-viewing drives high engagement. This translates to wider brand exposure as ads are delivered to a larger audience.

COPPA prohibits companies from collecting data from children under 13 years old without parental consent or using any data for targeted advertising. This means brands in the kids and family space are slower to adopt the programmatic approach knowing that COPPA-compliant inventory can be a muddy arena. As well, COPPA limits the data that can be used for targeting and measurement, further compounding the performance reporting process.

To make advertisers more comfortable buying children’s media programmatically, it is important to educate clients on the benefits and value of having a presence in an engaging, co-viewing environment. Co-viewing households are more likely to drive business outcomes. Actively engaging in content consumption as a family creates an environment where children are talking with parents about a brand and influencing adult buying behavior. As well, by messaging to a co-viewing household, brands can expand reach and lift.

While an auto brand may not need to advertise against content designed for a 7-year-old, in a co-viewing environment, there is a high probability that the child’s viewing time is shared with young parents who may be active in the market for a new vehicle.

As the streaming world continues to see rapid growth and shifts, kids’ content is emerging as the fastest-growing category in terms of distribution. Unlike linear TV, streaming video gives children more control over what they watch because it is often on-demand. With a desire to be actively engaged with their children’s watch time and maintain control of content consumption,  more parents are co-viewing TV with their children.

For advertisers, this presents a ripe opportunity in programmatic advertising and makes audiences in kids’ media more valuable to buyers. Ad exposure to children in a co-viewing environment impacts a child’s influence other family members’ purchase intent. Co-viewing is also proving to be a bigger part of children’s streaming consumption than scheduled program guides on cable and satellite TV.

Co-viewing is amplifying the value of audiences and illustrates that strategic marketing to this group can be an effective way to maximize the value of ad buys and impressions in children’s media.