What is Always-On Ad Technology and Why Does it Matter?
Today, viewers are consuming TV across more platforms and screens than ever. And while the traditional “prime time” viewing hours are still referred to as when most audiences are watching, what they are watching has never been more varied. Outside of major live events, like sports and award shows, there are few programs that are watched at the same time.
With this fragmentation of linear viewing, coupled with the shift to streaming, viewers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to watching premium TV content however they want. This creates a challenge for advertisers who are struggling to understand how best to reach their most valuable audiences.
With it becoming more difficult to craft a campaign around a few specific moments or programs of high viewership, advertisers must ensure they reach engaged audiences, understand the impact of ad messaging, and refine campaigns as needed.
That’s where an “always-on” media plan driven by an “always-on” tech platform can come in and support advertising strategies. Simply put, an always-on tech offering is automated tech that powers near real-time transactions. This enables advertisers to continuously monitor and optimize buys at every step of a campaign.
In today's changing TV landscape, here are three ways an always-on tech platform can help drive success:
1. Ensures you target and reach the right audience
The lifeblood of any campaign is the accuracy and reliability of targeting your audience segments. Advertisers need to be able to find, target, and reach high-value audiences, across any TV network, platform, daypart, etc.
With an always-on partner that has propriety tech, advertisers gain an unparalleled, real-time view into not only where that audience is but also an accurate look at inventory availability. This means buyers can see if their ideal audience is available for a specific campaign at the exact moment they want to launch. It’s one thing to build out custom audience segments, but being able to reach them in premium, brand safe environments, across linear and streaming platforms, is what helps deliver the most effective and efficient campaigns. In fact, when utilizing an always-on tech partner to build a custom campaign – inclusive of streaming TV content – one brand found a +26% increase against their key KPI among their target audience and in their desired markets.
On top of finding their most valuable audiences, access to an always-on partner’s in-house, comprehensive planning tools means advertisers can build out media plans within minutes, not days.
2. Allows any time optimization to reach your goals
Another benefit of always-on tech is that advertisers can consistently monitor campaign delivery and performance. This means they can optimize campaigns at any time to ensure optimal frequency and strong performance against KPIs to deliver business goals. Being able to adjust on the fly, including mid-campaign, helps maximize results for all campaigns—providing a critical competitive advantage.
3. Provides transparent reporting
Advertisers today are looking for more transparency from their media partners at every step of the media buying process. The nature of an always-on tech platform means that buyers are consistently receiving the most accurate and up-to-date insights on all campaigns.
This transparent reporting means in-depth, detailed campaign insights inclusive of actual reach, frequency, and impressions to provide accurate results. Deeper insights help ensure advertisers are delivering on everything from reach and brand awareness to online and offline sales and are empowered to make better-informed decisions for future campaigns.
Always-on tech helps drive success at every step
Amidst evolving shifts in viewership, it is increasingly difficult to capture attention and eyeballs, across all platforms and screens. It is more important than ever that advertisers can find and reach their intended audiences, wherever they are. Always-on tech offers advertisers the ability to create precise audience segments, based on viewing habits, brand ad exposure, and more, and optimize in real time to reach consumers.
Advertisers can look to a tech partner that allows them to deliver full-funnel results with unique data and propriety tech to ensure they reach their most high-value audiences wherever and whenever, in real-time, ultimately ensuring the most success for multiscreen TV campaigns.
The article was written by Scott Collins, who is Head of U.S. Commercial Sales and Operations at AudienceXpress, a Comcast company, where he oversees all aspects of its U.S. business, including management of advertising sales and revenue, business operations, and inventory optimization. Collins joins AudienceXpress from Blockgraph, where he was Executive Vice President, Client Partnerships & Sales Strategy, responsible for long-term strategy for advanced TV advertising and managing client and agency partnerships. Prior to Blockgraph, he was at AMC Networks for more than a decade, in advertising sales and strategy leadership positions. Before joining AMC, he worked as Vice President of Cable Entertainment Ad Sales at NBCUniversal. Earlier in his career, Collins held roles at A&E, Nielsen Media Research, and CBS Television Network and is a graduate of Hofstra University.
Posted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership self-publishing platform.
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Scott Collins
