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Diving overview:
- Disney announced a series of new features as part of its 6th annual Global Technology & Data Showcase at CES, including a TikTok-like vertical video format for digital platforms, according to details shared with Marketing Dive.
- Vertical video formats are used across categories and content types such as news and entertainment. Last year, Disney-owned ESPN introduced a vertical video format to its app.
- The company also introduced new creative and measurement tools, including a video generation tool that allows brands to create content using existing brand assets and guidelines.
Dive Insight:
If there were still any questions about TikTok's impact on entertainment and mobile media, Disney has removed them. According to the announcement, Disney will use vertical video across categories and content types, including news and entertainment, to enable “more personalized and dynamic experiences that strengthen Disney+ as a destination to visit every day.”
The introduction of vertical video to the company's core entertainment platform shows how much the way we consume content has changed, and how hard companies will work to capture their attention. According to Deloitte Consulting's 2025 “Digital Media Trends” report, a plurality (41%) of consumers consider both social media videos and streaming services to count as “TV viewing.” At the same time, more than a third (35%) of consumers spend more time watching videos on social media than streaming services. Not surprisingly, the proportion increases among younger consumers.
Disney has also introduced some new tools to make its streaming platform more advertiser-friendly. It also includes new video generation tools that help advertisers create commercials using existing brand assets and guidelines. The tool also supports version control by audience, context, and placement. Disney also introduced new AI-powered planning tools that understand objectives, audience intent, timing, and constraints.
Finally, Disney has expanded on the Disney Compass measurement tool it introduced last year, adding a unified view of brand performance across campaigns and platforms called the Disney Brand Portal. The tool uses category benchmarks and AI-powered summaries to highlight learnings and identify new opportunities for advertisers. Upon launch, the tool connects to measurement providers such as Affinity Solutions, CINT, EDO, Innovid, and VideoAmp.
The company also introduced the new Disney Advertising Brand Impact Metric, which brings together metrics for attention, brand health, reach, search and attribution to help marketers see what's working and understand and optimize their campaigns. The new tool shows how streaming platforms are working to improve measurement as marketers seek better-performing media.
“Now more than ever, marketers need a better bridge between brand building and performance, with data serving as a layer of insight across campaigns and tactics,” Dana McGraw, senior vice president of data and measurement science, said in a statement. “When brands can link ad exposure to direct results, marketers can articulate not just what drove the results, but how they drove the results.”
