Disney+ May Add More Varied Shopping Experiences to Boost Customer Engagement, Ad Revenues
You may be able to use your Disney+ subscription to purchase merchandise from Disney and its ad partners in addition to streaming video.
The one-app experience with Hulu was just the beginning of changes at Disney+. The streamer will roll out rules against password sharing early in 2024, and a new report from Variety indicates the company is now thinking about bringing shopping and new ad experiences to Disney+ in the near future.
- Disney Advertising Sales head Rita Ferro hinted to Variety that new ad formats, including shoppable ads might be headed to Disney+ soon.
- The company could also integrate ads that offer gaming elements, such as mini-quizzes in certain Disney+ experiences.
- Making Disney+ a one-stop destination for streaming and shopping would enhance its value and likely help to reduce churn.
What Would Shopping, Gaming Look Like on Disney+?
There wasn’t much in the way of detail from Disney Advertising Sales president Rita Ferro when she spoke with Variety this week. But she did say that Disney’s ad-supported tier, which launched a year ago on Dec. 8, gives the company a lot of room to expand beyond the traditional linear advertising space in the future.
“The world of advertising experiences on AVOD is an important place to be involved in,” Ferro said, hinting a presentation from Disney at the January Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas would show “what the next level of ad innovations will be.”
Allowing customers to make purchases on the platform would be nothing new for Disney+, which first rolled out in-app shopping ahead of the holidays last year. But it would mean users would likely see more ads with QR codes or clickable links, and those ads are almost sure to be targeted based on user preferences. Adding this type of experience would allow Disney+ to boost its ad revenues even higher, which it will need to do if it wants to achieve its stated goal of making its streaming services profitable by 2024. Again, these changes aren’t rolling out immediately or even imminently, but Disney is clearly thinking of how to optimize its ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) experiences in the future.
These new experiences could incorporate some shades of gaming, like quizzes or other interactive elements embedded in the ads. Customers won’t see these ad formats roll out on all content in Disney+, but it seems more likely to appear with big-name titles from franchises like Marvel or Star Wars that would attract the most attention from advertisers, especially considering merchandising opportunities. That’s pure speculation, but it’s reasonable to think that Disney will want to capitalize on these properties as much as possible, especially given it wants to focus on quality over quantity with its franchises going forward.
Why Add Shopping, Gaming to Disney+?
It’s all part of the larger strategy at Disney to have its streaming services eventually take the place of its linear TV channels as the main way for its viewers to engage with video. Rolling out a one-app experience with Disney+ and Hulu, which as of this week is in public beta testing, was just the first step in the process.
Bringing shopping and especially gaming options to Disney+ should help boost engagement with the streamer if it can partner with the right brands. The sports streaming service DAZN partnered with sports apparel company Fanatics in August to show users themed advertisements in a shrewd move that will lead to more engagement and higher revenues for both companies, and Disney can do likewise with firms that would most interest its target audiences.
As streaming services do their best to stand out in a market that is overflowing with options, getting even a slight edge in customer engagement could be vastly important to Disney+. The service may soon have new games and shopping experiences to tempt users with, in addition to content from Hulu that arrived on Disney+ this week.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”