How AI can bolster generational engagement on TV
Opinion
As more people move to CTV, AI-enabled tech can help advertisers protect media quality, reduce waste and maximise their investments while overcoming some of CTV’s challenges.
UK streaming platforms provide access to over 150,000 hours of on-demand content. With such a variety of linear TV channels and streaming platforms at their fingertips, consumers have never had more ways to engage with content.
Whether it’s watching their favourite soap opera or diving into the latest must-see series, the options are endless, offering personalised viewing experiences on demand.
However, advertisers face numerous challenges as user engagement becomes increasingly fragmented across a range of content and TV platforms. This makes it crucial for advertisers to find effective ways to promote quality media campaigns and maintain consistent performance across all touchpoints.
Advertisers must expand and scale these ads across multiple TV touchpoints, including streaming and linear environments.
Maximising engagement
This approach is important for maximising ad engagement and relevance across age groups. Research suggests that individuals aged 18-49 are more likely to engage with connected TV (CTV), while those over 50 tend to engage with linear TV environments more often.
However, the landscape is shifting as more viewers from all age groups “cut the cord” and move to CTV, alongside a growing segment of “cord-nevers” who have never interacted with linear TV.
Technology is available to support media planners, promote transparency and drive meaningful business outcomes across age demographics.
AI, in particular, empowers advertisers to analyse and leverage various signals and other data, enabling them to protect media quality, reduce waste and maximise their investments in TV-based channels.
AI-led performance and protection
In previous years, uniting data signals across CTV and other over-the-top (OTT) environments would have been laborious and time-intensive, resulting in limited scale.
CTV specifically has historically struggled with transparency, with measurement cited as its top challenge among advertisers.
Its unique technical features and industry-level limitations require sophisticated solutions to measure and protect inventory. This includes AI-based tools, which have enabled CTV to overcome its limitations and unlock greater insights, enabling the efficient and effective management of TV media plans.
AI and machine learning-based solutions available today can help advertisers access granular data in CTV and OTT environments, and transform it into actionable insights that they can use to enhance the performance of CTV and OTT campaigns.
For example, by integrating advanced filters into TV media buys, including brand safety and suitability categories, advertisers can ensure their creatives are tailored to and match audience sensitivities for improved media efficiency.
This includes protecting campaigns from waste caused by media quality challenges, to which CTV is prone.
Overcoming misconceptions
Many advertisers believe CTV ads are viewable by default, but that is not the case. Research this year highlighted that CTV impressions on top apps frequently serve in environments that can fire ads when the TV is turned off.
Another misconception surrounding CTV is that it is free from fraudulent behaviour or is a naturally safe or suitable environment for brands.
There is a wide variety of potentially harmful or inappropriate content, even in top CTV apps. This is alongside ad fraud, which unfortunately targets channels where adspend and inventory is increasing.
For example, this year an extensive scam, CycloneBot, generated up to 250m falsified CTV ad requests, leading to a monthly financial impact of up to $7.5m for unprotected advertisers.
AI and machine-learning tools can help advertisers identify and eliminate each of these issues, ensuring that investments support advertisers’ audience objectives and do not fund bad actors.
Campaigns for every age and audience
In the coming years, CTV will only continue increasing its share of the overall TV market. Accordingly, media planners must recognise the demographic and generational opportunities across all forms of TV.
Several initiatives are already working to foster a deeper understanding of how to engage these diverse audience segments. This includes developing a cross-platform approach that can highlight the dynamic interplay between different parts of the TV ecosystem.
The real breakthrough, however, will come from technology solutions, especially those powered by AI, that enable seamless protection solutions and effective measurement.
These innovations will allow advertisers to access media quality insights and more to plan their campaigns with greater precision and efficiency. This will support media planners in driving future-proofed outcomes through the next stages of TV’s evolution and changing viewing habits.
Anna Forbes is regional vice-president, Northern Europe, at DoubleVerify