As technology transforms how Americans consume video, marketers need more clarity about reaching engaged, interested consumers. Amid the confusion, data is a guiding light, according to TV ad sales firm Ampersand. By digging into audience viewership insights, the firm advises marketers to optimize video ad mix, maximize budgets, and connect with hard-to-reach audiences.
Ampersand created a user guide, "Advanced TV Solutions Toolkit: Insights, Meet Outcomes™," to guide clients through the complex landscape. The guide addresses some of marketers' most common questions and illustrates how data can help solve them, explained Ampersand's Vice President of Data Innovation Rachel Herbstman.
"Every marketer is looking for the right viewer, target audience, mass amount of reach, and effective frequency to drive action," Herbstman noted. "We created this portfolio of tools and deliverables that help guide a marketer based on their objective."
Ampersand, a multi-screen ad tech and solutions firm owned by cable giants Charter, Cox, and Comcast, has access to viewing data insights from 64 million set-top boxes nationwide, and it can reach 117 million households across linear TV, connected TV, and streaming media.
Ampersand outlined data's game-changing power on three common queries they hear from marketers.
Scenario #1: Identifying the Ideal Video Mix
As streaming gains popularity, marketers frequently ask how much ad spend to allocate to linear TV and streaming. Herbstman said there isn't a single formula, but marketers who 'choose one over the other miss out on potential eyeballs.
Ampersand recommends an "audience first" approach to find the ideal mix. When clients identify their target audience and campaign goals, Ampersand analyzes viewing data to recommend an appropriate allocation.
"When you use data to find your audience in various forms and content, you're using your media investment in the smartest way," Herbstman said.
Ampersand finds the two platforms complementary because there's minimal audience overlap. So, if marketers shift a little money to streaming, they'll capture fresh consumers. In a recent multi-market campaign with Ampersand, an advertiser moved 10 percent of impressions from linear to streaming, resulting in unique reach on both platforms with only 5 percent of households seeing ads in both environments.
"Simply put, if they hadn't invested in streaming, they would have missed out on a large portion of their audience," Herbstman observed.
Scenario #2: Optimize Video Campaigns with New Platforms, Ad Tech
Another common problem is how advertisers can maximize their reach and frequency. Ampersand said it can help with both local and national solutions.
For local campaigns, Herbstman said marketers need to look beyond local TV stations and the traditional methods of buying on dayparts, ratings, and demographics. She said that limits the available audience and minimizes exposure.
"There are only a handful of broadcast affiliates, and therefore, only a handful of opportunities to reach that intended audience. So, what we've generally seen is a reach plateau," she said.
To optimize their local spend, Ampersand recommends shifting some spending to local cable. They can analyze granular details by market and make customized recommendations.
"By including cable and using a more data-driven approach, you can find more of those intended viewers in other premium content," Herbstman noted. "You're going to balance frequency and have a stronger, more balanced, optimized, and holistic media plan."
Ampersand encourages clients to use addressable TV for national campaigns, which dynamically delivers targeted ads to specific audiences to expand their reach.
According to company research, national TV campaigns succeed at building awareness and generating buzz. However, exposure usually plateaus after three or four weeks. After that, marketers are likely to reach the same consumers, which leads to wasted spending, per Ampersand's report. To extend reach, Ampersand recommends targeting national buys with addressable ads.
"With the same budget, you'll reach more viewers, reduce your effective CPM, and ultimately reduce waste and overexposure against the same viewers," Herbstman said.
Scenario #3: Leverage Addressable TV to Reach Light and Medium Users
Addressable TV can also help marketers uncover more elusive video audiences. Herbstman said national TV is highly effective for reaching the most frequent viewers. However, company research shows that one-third of TV households account for two-thirds of viewing time, resulting in advertisers' showing their ads to the same viewers.
By activating addressable TV, Ampersand can uncover more light and medium viewers and deliver ads when they're watching. The technology allows Ampersand to suppress heavy viewing audiences and increase frequency to other groups.
Here's how it works: If an advertiser wants to reach auto intenders between 18 and 49 years old, Ampersand monitors viewership levels and identifies the heavy, medium, and light viewers within that audience. If the top 30 percent are already frequent viewers, the advertiser isn't seeing any additional benefit after a period of exposure. At that point, Ampersand would suppress delivery to those households and ramp up messaging to medium and light auto intenders in the desired 18 to 49 range.
"That way, the ads are coming to them, rather than hoping for them to find the ads," Herbstman explained.
For a recent national campaign, Ampersand used addressable tools to suppress heavy viewers and increase delivery to light and medium users, resulting in a 15 percent increase in unique reach and double-digit growth with the light and medium viewers
While these three scenarios apply to many marketers, Herbstman said the toolkit is scratching the surface of how Ampersand can deploy data to improve ad campaigns and dial-up effectiveness.
"We intended to create tools that help our customers make sense of their media investments," Herbstman concluded. "With limited budgets, marketers want to ensure they're using their dollars as smartly and efficiently as possible."
To check out the report for yourself, click here.
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