Sabio, a mobile-first connected TV platform, launched a program in October 2019 called Cares that paid major dividends for a variety of non-profits during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Last year, advertisers had the opportunity to donate their added-value CTV impressions to a variety of non-profits such as Feeding America, Destiny Rescue, and Wags and Walks to help support their businesses.

When an advertiser runs a campaign, it typically gets what Machado calls added value, a percentage of the overall impressions. If a brand runs a campaign with 1 million impressions, for example, it might have an added value of 100,000 impressions.

The value of the impressions would be between $8,000 and $10,000, said Joao Machado, senior vice president of marketing at Sabio. “Rather than writing a check to one of the charities, the advertisers would donate their added-value impressions.”

Brands typically run their normal creative spot within that added-value impression range, which helps with their eCPM. Rather than use the added-value impressions, the advertiser will donate them.

The program launched in October 2019, but the program began to send traffic to websites like Feeding America in 2020 during the pandemic, making a major difference for non-profits as the pandemic hit the U.S. economy.

Between 25 and 30 brands have participated since the program began.

One thing Sabio can do that others cannot is identify an app of a charitable company on a consumer’s phone, and then target an ad related to that organization, he said. “If we have a client running a CTV campaign, part of the way we target households, through our household brand, is using mobile data to identify in-market intent,” Machado said. “These types of consumers tend to be community minded and willing to give back.”

The idea is to conduct targeted-media campaigns to drive awareness, he said.

The donated added-value impressions must be used by the non-profit during the same time the advertiser runs its ads.