In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes—and in the case of streaming video services, ad-supported tiers.

• This week, Netflix became the last of the big streaming holdouts to bow to the advertising gods after reporting that it had lost subscribers for the first time in more than a decade.
• “Those who have followed Netflix know that I’ve been against the complexity of advertising, and a big fan of the simplicity of subscription,” Netflix co-chief executive officer Reed Hastings said in an earnings call Tuesday. “But as much as I’m a fan of that, I’m a bigger fan of consumer choice and allowing consumers who would like to have a lower price and are advertising-tolerant get what they want.”
• While it might take a year or two to figure out, Hastings said, “think of us as quite open to offering even lower prices with advertising as a consumer choice” in addition to a higher-priced, ad-free tier.

That sound you hear? It’s the sigh of relief throughout the advertiser and agency world, which has dreamed of running ads on Netflix for years.

“Finally!” said Kelly Metz, managing director of advanced TV activation at Omnicom Media Group, adding that the move was “inevitable.”

“One of our biggest challenges in advertising was the fact that so much of the streaming viewership was not reachable with ads,” Metz told Marketing Brew. “That is all changing with this new announcement, so we are going to have better reach in streaming, better scale in streaming. This is nothing but good news for our advertisers and clients.”

A long time coming

The sense of the inevitably of an ad-supported tier seems to have been well-known to just about everyone except for Netflix, whose executives said as recently as last month that there were no plans for an ad-supported tier. In a note this week, the research firm MoffettNathanson wrote that analysts “have long expected it and frankly wondered why [Netflix has] been so opposed” to an ad-supported offering.

A quick glance around the broader streaming landscape indicates why: Last month, Disney+, one of Netflix’s largest rivals, announced it would roll out its own ad-supported tier in the second half of the year. Other streaming platforms—including Discovery+, HBO Max, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock—all have ad-supported tiers, with many customers opting in to ads. Departing WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar recently said in an interview with Bloomberg that nearly half of all new sign-ups to HBO Max are to its ad-supported tier; On Hulu, the majority of users opt to watch ads, executives have previously said.

That success is proof enough. “I don’t think we have a lot of doubt that it works,” Hastings said, pointing to Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max’s ad-supported tiers as examples.

Click here to keep reading.—KS

As brands continue investing in podcast ads, they’re bumping up against questions marketers have asked about other channels for years: What’s the ideal ad length? And where’s the best place in an episode for an ad?

Marketing Brew asked 15 podcast industry experts over email to describe the perfect length and place for a podcast ad. We break down some of their advice below.

Go long

Several said podcast ads that are one minute or longer are the way to go whenever possible. “There is a clear linear relationship between ad length and impact,” said Carter Brokaw, president of digital revenue strategy for iHeartMedia. “Longer ads are more performant.”

• Grant Durando, director of marketing firm Right Side Up, said his preference is most often a 60-second ad, because “we’re interested in as much airplay and airtime as possible for our dollar without causing negative brand sentiment because we’re overdoing it.”
• Rates are not significantly different between a 30-second ad and a 60-second ad, Durando explained, and hosts often read longer than planned when discussing brands they’re especially excited about.
• Podcast advertisers should “always” lean into longer, host-read ads that run up to 90 seconds, or even 5-minute branded segments, according to Christiana Brenton, Acast’s group business director for the East Coast.

Many said a one-size-fits-all approach, however, doesn’t work well for podcast advertising. At sports podcast network Blue Wire, ongoing testing indicates that 30-second ads deliver about 25% more impressions than 60-second ads, according to founder and CEO Kevin Jones. However, he said 60-second, dynamically inserted ads work better from time to time.

Keep reading here.—AM

If you want to try an unconventional wedding, but a Taco Bell chapel in Las Vegas isn’t exactly your thing, you can try the metaverse instead.

Morning Brew’s Amanda Hoover recently dove into the world of metaverse marriages. “A metaverse wedding may seem like a futuristic fever dream, but the surreal ceremonies could be less a gimmick and more the natural progression of online romance,” Amanda points out, noting that online dating has shed the stigma it once had. “If people trust algorithms to find them a lifelong partner, then they could put their confidence in digital worlds as places to make that love official.”

But, but, but: Marriages in the metaverse aren’t considered legal (yet). “There is no law that governs avatars marrying avatars in the metaverse,” Jordan Rose, founder of the Rose Law Group, told Morning Brew. And while they might be cheaper, they still come with costs. “A Decentraland wedding doesn’t need a florist, but it does need someone to code the flowers,” Amanda writes.

What’s next: Yes, people are already finding ways to profit off of Web3 weddings. One wedding planner told Amanda he has a waitlist of more than 60 couples who want to get married virtually once it’s an option. It’s only a matter of time before marketers find their way in.

Read Amanda’s full story here.

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Communal: Meta published a playbook for brands on building community with customers.

Must be the money: Meta also added fundraiser capabilities to Reels.

Make the cut? LinkedIn released its list of the top companies to work for in 2022.

Small biz, big dreams: Sound like you? Target Accelerators has designed two programs to help different-stage CPG companies prep properly for the retail world. Check out 3 of their inspiring success stories in our interactive feature here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Looking for your next role? Be sure to check out the 100+ new roles now live on the Marketing Brew Job Board!

Today’s featured openings:

• Event Marketing / Merchandising Manager at TodayTix Group
• Senior Influencer Marketing Manager at Verb Energy
• Manager, Paid Media at January Digital

See more jobs or post your job opportunities here.

Which headlines are real marketing news, and which one is fake?

1. Dove teams with Progressive to ‘insure’ your hair disasters
2. Mtn Dew goes to Hell to promote Flamin’ Hot flavor
3. Pabst Blue Ribbon hides beer kegs to bring Easter fun to adults
4. David’s Bridal sends couples to wed in Vegas amidst ‘hectic’ wedding season

Keep scrolling for the answer.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• What could Revolve Festival mean for the brand’s influencer relationships?
• Some of Yahoo’s traffic seems to come from piracy and adult sites, research finds
• Spotify says goodbye to live-audio creator fund