As much as the digital revolution has transformed entertainment, the engaging, lean-back, in-home experience of watching your favorite shows and movies on a big screen still holds a lot of sway. But “TV” is now multiscreen, delivering premium video programming from a wide range of sources: linear and on-demand channels, subscription streaming platforms, free streaming channels, internet video, and on and on.
78% of households (HHs) that stream content do so on their TV set. But while viewers are still on the living room couch, viewing is fragmented, and advertisers trying to reach them are facing a slew of new opportunities and challenges.
Here are five steps you can take to help you craft an audience-based targeting strategy that considers all channels, integrates modern advertising methods, and ensures your next campaign is positioned for success.
To reach viewers across platforms, savvy TV advertisers take a data-driven audience-targeted approach.
Audience-targeted campaigns increased by more than 50%1 between 2020 and 2021. As such, marketers need to have a complete understanding of their target customer.
Age/gender demographics are only part of the story. Know what your audience values, why they buy, and how/when they make those purchases. Insights from your first-party data can help you create personas that can match the audiences your provider is delivering.
Targeting too finely can miss potential new customers. Instead, a good option is to start with three audience segments: one broad and two more specific.
Reach people when they are open to hearing from you. TV viewers – even those who stream – are receptive to ads. A consumer survey found that 75% of respondents are fine with ads in their streaming content.
Learn how to divvy your dollars across all platforms. Look for ways to extend your reach, find new audiences, and get the greatest possible impact from linear and streaming working together. An analysis showed a 125% lift in brand recall from viewers exposed on both TV and streaming vs. streaming alone.
70% of households that have at least one streaming service still subscribe to cable/pay TV. Those households spent about twice as much time watching linear content as streaming content.
Streaming has become an invaluable source for advertisers as ad-supported tiers have become available. Advertisers that focus on younger audiences especially should include streaming in their planning, as the 18-34 demographic spends more time with streaming than linear.
Look for incremental audiences: the people who wouldn’t otherwise see your messaging. Sports audiences are a good place to start. An analysis of more than 20,000 multiscreen TV advertisers conducted by Effectv showed that 42% of all households reached by sports programming were incremental to a campaign.
Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) is becoming an important content delivery channel, as it now accounts for 50% of total OTT viewership and 30% of total ad views. FAST platforms like Pluto TV, FreeVee and Xumo are a login-free and wallet-friendly way of watching.
Incorporate FAST as part of the streaming landscape while focusing on the level of investment. Since FAST is somewhat new, make sure you work with a partner that offers transparency around how it targets so you can see how it performs.
Comcast Advertising’s “Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV” guide notes that the most popular FAST categories are news, movies, crime TV, game shows, daytime TV, and humor.
According to the report, FAST viewers:
• Prefer watching on a TV screen
• Are more likely to be under 40
• Prefer more niche content
• Expect shorter ad breaks
Here are some guidelines on how streaming, mobile and on-demand compare to the TV screen, and how to harness the power of all screens for maximum memorability.
A recent study showed that ads viewed on a TV screen captured more visual attention, as participants watched 71% of the ad compared to just 30% of digital mobile ads. Additionally, ads viewed in the TV environment had 2.2 times higher unaided recall and 1.3 times higher purchase intent than small-screen digital environments like Facebook or YouTube.
Brand memory influences consumers as they move toward purchase. So, make sure to:
1. Deliver messages in places with high attention and enjoyment, such as traditional TV.
2. Use emotion-based messaging to make a connection.
3. Strengthen recall by combining reach and frequency.
Use data to tailor content to your audience segments and personas. Then, go a step further and consider where on the journey this customer is – you might have different messaging for “product discovery” than you would for converting a browser into a buyer.
Advertisers have always known TV is powerful. Now they can prove it. The ability to measure actual outcomes makes streaming and multiscreen TV extremely attractive for advertisers. Insights from those results can be applied back into campaigns to optimize your return.
Ask yourself what you want viewers to do after seeing your ad. It could be a website visit, a download, or even an immediate sale. Those are the metrics that matter.
Test your creative messaging. Apply digital practices like A/B testing to ensure that different elements of your ad resonate. Test different options on different platforms too – what works on linear may not resonate on FAST.
Take a unified approach to measurement to refine your campaign. You can uncover incremental reach, see how target audience behavior differs on different platforms, plan your frequency, and allocate your budgets more effectively.
We’ll put you in front of the right audience at the right time to drive real results.
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