Why Pluto TV emphasized human-led curation in its fall campaign

Algorithmically generated programming recommendations are table stakes for streaming services. Pluto TV hopes its human touch is what makes it stand out.

In a fall campaign that debuted earlier this month, the Paramount-owned streaming service opted to fictionalize the real-life people behind the programming of the free service’s lineup of channels and categories. The campaign, “Programmed by Humans,” includes three commercials where programmers appear in viewers’ living rooms to remind them that there are real people, not just algorithms, behind the scenes.

The characters that appear in the spots—a true-crime junkie who crashes through a window, a sci-fi geek donning a costume from Star Trek, and a rom-com superfan looking for love—are loosely inspired by the more than 50 programmers employed by Pluto TV who make decisions about the shows and movies that air on the free streamer’s channels, Val Kaplan, Pluto TV’s global SVP, head of consumer marketing, told Marketing Brew.

“Part of the reason the human experience of watching Pluto is so authentic is because we have a very human element to our programming,” Kaplan said. “Of course we leverage data, we leverage AI and machine learning and all of that, but [the campaign] is really meant to enhance the human creativity and real-life fans who make our programming and our experience what it is.”

People person

Pluto TV’s fall campaign, a global effort that will run through the end of the year across linear, connected TV, digital, radio, and OOH platforms, arrives on the heels of a previous marketing effort, “Stream Now. Pay Never,” led by Drew Barrymore, whose daytime talk show content appears on the platform. As the company looks to make more awareness inroads with viewers, it was time to introduce a new message that built on the previous marketing and encouraged an emotional connection with viewers, Kaplan explained.

“This category is exploding, both in terms of the scale and audience reach but also in terms of competition, so it felt more right than ever to really stand out from the crowd and stand out from the crowd in a very human way,” she said.

And while the human element was top of mind, the streamer referred to data from its platform to determine which genres were best suited for ads. Another element that had to be best suited? The actor cast to appear in the streamer’s sci-fi commercial, who had to fit into a real Star Trek suit borrowed from the show’s franchise managers for the spot.

“We did have to cast specifically for the suit,” Kaplan said, “but I feel really happy with who we landed with.”

Fine for fall

Pluto TV isn’t the only streamer that’s debuted a fall marketing campaign. Amazon’s Prime Video, Hulu, and Tubi all recently unveiled marketing initiatives tied to the start of football season. Some streamers are leaning into the growing trend of AI-driven recommendations: Tubi, for example, introduced a ChatGPT-powered recommendation engine last month that is designed for mobile users to chat with and find shows and movies to watch. But other streamers, like Max, have in the past emphasized human-curated programming recommendations as differentiators.

And as the cost of ad-free streaming continues to climb, consumers may see more messaging from free and ad-supported streamers in the coming months—including from Pluto TV.

“It is really sort of a first drumbeat,” Kaplan said. “You’re going to be hearing a lot more from Pluto over the next year to come.”