Plugging TV’s gaps with screen-neutral advertising
Videology’s Fatima Dowlet looks at how brands can ensure maximum exposure across different screens and platforms.
It’s often purported that the first thing to fall victim to an economic slow-down is the marketing budget. And it’s this same marketing budget which makes the first resurgence when things are on the up.
If Q1 TV spend in the UK is anything to go by, the economy is most definitely robust and thriving, but conversely, TV audiences do not appear to be on the same growth trajectory, posing an increasingly perplexing challenge for TV-centric advertisers.
Early reports from the TV buying community reveal double-digit revenue growth across the first quarter of 2015. As we enter the election year, and the obligatory period of governmental media blackout, marketing execs are rushing to get their budgets spent.
This, along with an increase in spend across the car sector, seem to be the main drivers of revenue growth in Q1.
But, as any self-respecting TV buyer will tell you, this is only one side of the story. The price of TV is also dependent on audience performance, and TV viewing so far across Q1 has not grown at the same rate as spend, resulting in price inflation of up to 14 percent for some demographics.
And it’s not broadcaster content that is driving this decline. In fact, the investment that broadcasters are pouring into original programming is on the up after years of decline. If Sky’s highly-anticipated, £25-million drama Fortitude airing now on Sky Atlantic, is anything to go by, TV content is as strong as it’s ever been.
It is how we watch TV that’s changing. It’s not uncommon for the average Joe to have up to six devices at their disposal, while multi-screening, or multi-tasking while watching TV, has become common place. The result: the attention, recall and consumption of linear TV is in decline.
Of course, TV is not in its final death throes. Of all the media choices available, TV still has the unparalleled ability to reach audiences at scale. But in recent years we have all witnessed the material decline in television reach, and feedback from agencies has revealed a decline of more than 3% at the 1+ net reach level, across key target audiences across the last 12 months.
As it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain audience reach through linear TV alone, the answer may be to adopt a screen-neutral stance, spanning TV and video, to navigate through the new maze of viewing options more effectively.
And as we enter into the new reality of multi-screen planning solutions, there are others who are commenting on the current TV trading system and its capability to operate in this new world.
New tools are required to support the new eco-system that is being created, and agencies now have access to best-in-class, TV-centric tools to aid their decision-making, targeting and measurement of online video. It’s now possible to plan the correct TV-to-online-video blend, and agencies and suppliers alike are working hard to give advertisers access to the inventory they’re looking for in a planned way, through automated buying.
Using proven and accepted methodology, buying communities are today able to determine a model for optimal and incremental reach. This model can also highlight the inflexion points where online video overtakes TV for incremental reach, assessed in a cost-per-point matrix.
Buyers now have access to the evidence they need for effective budget splits between TV and online video. The next logical step will be the targeting of TV audiences through online video, allowing planners to target TV audiences based on their TV viewing habits and/or their consumption of a TV show genre, in turn, allowing them to drive incremental reach from television.
Those platforms that integrate with the likes of Nielsen’s UK data, and with BARB panel data, are the ones who are leading this charge, and are the reason why we’re already advancing towards this reality, because they are able to deliver the cross-screen planning, buying and measurement that brands and advertisers want to see.
The final piece of the puzzle will be to track the effectiveness of the investment allocations and report back against a singular metric for the viewer.
Now, more than ever, online video is cost-effective, measurable and targeted. Thanks to the sophisticated planning, tracking and measurement tools being developed and integrated with some of the biggest measurement panels, online video is becoming an increasingly powerful part of the marketing mix.
For agencies and advertisers alike, pivoting off established TV data sets will provide powerful online-video solutions to complement TV – plugging the gaps that can no longer be reached through a standalone TV campaign.
Videology is integrated with Nielsen UK data, including their TV segments built from TV panel data, for true cross-screen planning, buying, delivery and measurement.
Fatima Dowlet is director of EMEA TV Strategy at Videology