As advertisers and even viewers of TV, we’re all familiar with technological advances in TV such as black and white to colour imagery. Likewise, the introduction of services such as catch-up. Perhaps most notable of all, the switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television, which now gives viewers access to hundreds of TV channels rather than a small handful as used to be the case.
But alongside improvements experienced by viewers, TV analytics for advertisers have also developed leaps and bounds in recent years. With data advances continuing to exceed previous capabilities, there has never been more information available for advertisers to access and analyse. All of which can help ensure campaigns offer better effectiveness and ultimately better results for advertisers.
ActiveVoice is a UK TV analytics platform which provides instant access to the data behind TV campaigns.
Here are just some of the ways that advanced TV analytics are being used to create more impactful and data-driven decisions for advertisers.
Advanced TV analytics is a way of examining data to derive new insights and make informed decisions regarding the placement of TV campaigns.
Before we look at the type of analytics produced by advanced TV, let’s step back to look at the definition of advanced TV.
In a nutshell, advanced TV refers to all types of non-traditional ways of consuming television programs. Unlike linear TV, advanced TV provides advertisers with far more user-targeting options.
Examples of advanced TV include:
Video on demand (VOD) is one such example. It allows users to watch video content whenever they choose either with tools such as catch-up or other streaming services such as Netflix. VOD alone can reveal data such as viewership metrics, user demographic information, behavioural insights, geolocation data, engagement metrics and ad targeting capabilities.
Overall, advanced TV analytics is about building a holistic picture of viewer demographics to best understand their wants, needs and interests. This is so that advertisers are best able to serve the most relevant advertising content to users as a result.
Like all types of advertising, TV advertising relies on access to solid data to be successful in its aims. However, this data has previously been difficult to come by, meaning TV advertising was often a guessing game for brands and an expensive one at that.
However, advanced TV analytics have changed the landscape of TV advertising for the better. Since there are endless insights to explore, advertisers have far more information at their fingertips to be able to tap into their target demographics.
In short, advanced TV analytics can be used to create more impactful campaigns that, crucially, speak to the right people with the right message, all while reaching them in the right ways.
Based on some of the aspects that advertisers care most about, these are some of the top associated benefits of advanced TV analytics.
Automated buying (also known as simplified buying) relies on data-driven insights to purchase television advertising inventory. It can involve processes such as real-time bidding (RTB), cross-channel integration and dynamic ad insertion.
Various automation parameters can be set by advertisers based on the data available and how these align with their objectives. Overall, automated buying enables advertisers and media agencies to increase control. All while taking full advantage of the solutions which may be on offer due to access to enhanced data.
Before automated buying was possible, buying TV advertising space normally involved a time-consuming, not to mention complex process which didn’t necessarily garner the right results. However, advanced TV analytics have removed the uncertainty for advertisers by automating the buying process, and even allow for real-time optimisations to be made so that advertisers never miss a trick.
Every TV advertiser strives for better ad placement, which involves the strategic positioning of advertisements to maximise impact and effectiveness. There’s no better way to achieve such an ideal outcome than through advanced TV analytics, especially with so much data available to analyse and ultimately benefit from.
Based on the data presented, advertisers can employ techniques such as audience segmentation, daypart targeting, frequency management and cross-channel promotion. Plus anything else of interest or relevance to the campaign.
While digital marketing platforms may drive engagement and brand awareness, traditional TV advertising still reigns supreme in driving more overall sales and new accounts. That’s according to a report by AdWeek. Therefore, when wanting to reach the target audience, effective ad placement is key.
Advanced TV analytics can also be used to identify the most suitable opportunities for advertisers while excluding irrelevant options.
Precision targeting is a key fundamental of TV advertising since targeting the wrong people can be incredibly costly. Instead, every view counts in terms of reaching the target audience with impactful messaging that will lead to the objectives of the campaign being reached.
ITV have shared insights on its precision targeting process in a report named ‘Advanced TV’. ITV states its precision targeting is based on “robust registration data”, such as the age, gender, postcode and email of users. It adds that “insights into life stage, household makeup and purchase preferences” result in “a new purpose to a premium broadcast environment.”
What precision targeting boils down to is eliminating waste within TV advertising, as campaigns can be delivered to users who are deemed to be most relevant, and therefore most receptive to the campaign.
Competitor research is required in all aspects of business, and checking out the competition to bolster the success of your TV campaigns is no exception.
Some of the insights that advanced TV analytics can reveal about competitors include ad spending analysis, ad performance comparison, audience segmentation comparison, trends analysis and real-time monitoring of competitor campaigns.
By leveraging advanced TV analytics for competitor research, advertisers can gain valuable insights into not just the strategy of their competitors, but also their strengths and weaknesses.
Any information of interest can then be used to influence ad placements, content creation and audience targeting. Rather than looking to be a carbon copy of competitors, advertisers can use advanced TV analytics to identify unique opportunities to get ahead.
Geo-targeting (also known as location-based targeting) allows advertisers to get specific about the location where campaigns are shown so that irrelevant audiences can be excluded. While geo-targeting is associated with digital marketing channels such as social media marketing, the same techniques can be used within TV advertising to garner the same positive outcomes, albeit within a different format.
Where geo-targeting can be particularly useful for TV advertising is for brands that would never have considered TV advertising before, due to the lack of precision targeting available. Similar to local news being segmented to different regions in the UK, businesses may also want to focus on specific regions which offer high relevance for their products, services or events.
Even as technology continues to advance meaning we all consume TV differently, there is no denying that the overall reach of TV (especially advanced TV platforms) offers phenomenal potential reach for advertisers.
TV viewership spans linear TV and on demand, meaning advertisers need to utilise the so-called ‘whole of TV’ to achieve the highest levels of reach. One such example is BARB’s planning tool which reveals insights about both linear TV and broadcaster VOD.
Therefore, what advanced TV analytics can do is provide the most crucial information so that advertisers are always in the know about how to best reach their target audiences within all formats. In terms of real-time data especially, this prepares advertisers for the ever-changing landscape of viewer habits.
As the saying goes, ‘knowledge is power’ and that’s exactly what advanced TV analytics can bring to your next TV campaign as an advertiser.
Compared with how TV advertising used to be done, advanced TV analytics can answer endless questions for advertisers, and as noted above can even provide real-time updates to keep you continuously informed.
With the ultimate goal of any TV advert being to generate a tangible ROI, there is no better way to achieve this outcome than by shaping your campaign based on data.
Are you looking to make your TV advertising campaigns more impactful using advanced analytics?
ActiveVoice helps brands to best understand TV audience data, including what their competitors are doing to deliver successful campaigns.
Complete with real-time analytics including BARB audience data, ActiveVoice is an essential tool for any brand looking to advertise on TV.
Request a free demo of ActiveVoice to receive instant access to our full suite of products.
Or if you have any further questions please give us a call on +44 (0)333 666 7366 or email us at sales@activevoice.uk.