‘A new era of effectiveness measurement’: Sky Media reflects on AdSmart
TV comes in many forms and, with it, ways to advertise. There are now numerous ways to target audiences on every kind of TV, from linear to various VOD platforms to free ad-supported TV channels, but Sky Media was a real trailblazer on this front.
Marking 10 years of Grands Prix — the most coveted prize — at the Adwanted Media Research Awards (AMRAs), The Media Leader is looking back on Sky Media’s AdSmart, which was the event’s first Grand Prix winner in 2015.
Sky Media first demonstrated its AdSmart technology at The Media Leader’s The Future of TV Advertising in November 2012 and rolled out the product in August 2013 to 6m households.
It effectively turned Sky set-top boxes into mini ad servers, delivering targeted advertising to linear, VOD and catch-up programming on any Sky wholly owned channels, based on information the broadcaster holds on that household.
At launch, there were 200 ad creatives stored in the Sky box. Attributes include region, city, age, life stage, financial outlook and Experian Mosaic lifestyle segments.
Sky continued to improve AdSmart since its launch. In 2014, it started enabling advertisers to deliver TV ads to Sky homes by post codes, as well as using their own customer data to help them reach target audiences. AdSmart was also credited with attracting new advertisers to TV.
Even competitors recognised its significance. Jon Block, ITV’s then controller of digital product, said in 2014: “AdSmart is a great innovation that will be driving the industry forward.”
Ten years on from picking up the debut AMRA Grand Prix, AdSmart remains an integral part of Sky’s offering to advertisers.
Leo Malagoni, head of market research, Sky Media
Tell us more about the significance of AdSmart at launch.
“Sky AdSmart marked the dawn of addressable TV in the UK and, 10 years ago, it was undeniably a groundbreaking platform that significantly advanced TV advertising.
“The ability to target different households with distinct ads while they watched the same programme was revolutionary. Since its launch, addressable TV has grown significantly across the UK, with AdSmart playing a key role in driving that expansion.
“In its early days, when I explained AdSmart to industry colleagues and friends, they were amazed — it introduced an entirely new approach to TV advertising.”
How did the work around the launch feed into what AdSmart is and does now?
“The project research data generated in the early days of addressable TV played a pivotal role, offering valuable evidence that supported this innovative approach to TV planning and buying.
“This data laid the foundation for the platform’s growth and, today, AdSmart reaches millions of homes via both Virgin and Sky. Addressable audiences can now be reached across linear TV, broadcaster VOD [BVOD] and sponsorships, with AdSmart serving as the central element of Sky’s One Campaign Addressable.
“This platform provides advertisers with a streamlined solution to book addressable campaigns, leveraging a unified audience and currency across both linear TV and BVOD.
“The research initiative continues to evolve, transforming into a year-round effectiveness programme that is now integrated into numerous addressable campaigns. In its first year, back in 2013, the research project evaluated around 20 campaigns.
“Now, a decade later, it is set to deliver over 1,000 evaluation projects per year, measuring brand performance, web attribution and sales impact.”
What do you think are the wider industry implications from the launch of AdSmart?
“The research project paved the way for a new era of effectiveness measurement, acting as a catalyst for a test-and-learn approach in TV advertising. A decade or more ago, measuring ad effectiveness was considered a ‘nice to have’ — occasionally requested but rarely prioritised. Today, it’s an expectation — and AdSmart plays a pivotal role in this shift.
“As a powerful test-and-learn platform, AdSmart enables advertisers to segment campaigns by audience, creative and delivery strategy, allowing for continuous optimisation and improvements in TV campaign effectiveness.
“Another significant impact of the research is its demonstration of how addressable TV can be both cost-efficient and effective for brands of all sizes, including smaller local brands that previously wouldn’t have considered TV advertising.
“AdSmart has opened the door for nearly any business to harness the power of TV, enabling new brands to enter the TV space for the first time, with effectiveness measurement playing a critical role in their success.”
What was the biggest challenge in this piece of work?
“Developing a new methodology for sample provision. Prior to AdSmart, our effectiveness measurement relied on external panels, which were commercially available and based on self-reported viewing data.
“With AdSmart, we moved all sample provision in-house, linking campaign delivery to Sky accounts, creating exclusion control groups and sending surveys directly to customers using deterministic campaign data.
“This change required us to build a scalable system for sample and workflow management. Today, we manage hundreds of sample builds each year, allowing for more accurate and reliable measurement.”
What was the top surprising insight you found?
“We were confident from the start that AdSmart would succeed, as combining the power of TV with a more targeted, relevant audience was a logical win for advertisers. While we weren’t surprised by the effectiveness of TV addressability, we did uncover some intriguing insights around channel-switching.
“Using the Sky viewing panel, we discovered that AdSmart reduces real-time channel-switching by 48% during the first three break positions. This is because AdSmart ads tend to resonate more with viewers, making the ads feel more relevant and reducing the impulse to switch channels.
“Additionally, we found that AdSmart audiences exhibit higher emotional engagement compared with those targeted through traditional linear trading. By using facial-decoding technology, we observed that AdSmart viewers were, on average, 13% more likely to display an emotional response to the same ad than linear audiences.
“These findings highlight the unique power of addressable TV to create more meaningful connections with audiences.”
The 2025 AMRAs are now open for entries. The early entry deadline is 9 October, while the late entry deadline is 16 October.
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