webdev In an era where people watch their favourite TV shows across a variety of devices, advertisers are faced with the reality they can no longer hope to reach a wider audience simply via traditional TV advertising.
Gone are the days when people gather in the sitting room to watch their favourite shows on TV. Today, viewers have the option to watch what they want, when they want, and on the device of their choice; from small screen sized devices that can fit into your pocket to large screens hanging from the wall of your sitting room. With such a wide variety of options and broad audience catchment, addressable TV advertising is the only way for advertisers to reach their target audience with the right message.
What is addressable TV advertising?
Addressable TV advertising is an offshoot of Advanced TV, which provides marketers and advertisers with the facility to show different ads to people in different locations, even though they’re watching the same programme. For instance, two households watching the same show on Netflix will be shown different ads simultaneously, based on data about their habits and preferences. This system helps advertisers go beyond traditional TV ads and focus on messages that are relevant and carry maximum impact. Addressable TV was initiated by Google when launching its poorly received Google TV.
Addressable TV helps advertisers utilise the available household data to target specific homes and individuals – a system that provides huge opportunities and is highly effective.
However, like every new concept, it’s important to determine how addressable TV can be useful for your brand and whether taking advantage of it will be in your best interests.
How can addressable TV help your brand?
Spending on TV adverts which allow advertisers to specifically target a particular group of people or households was estimated to hit £1.2 billion by the end of 2017. While this figure represents only a small portion of the total TV ad spending, the rate at which advertisers are adopting addressable TV advertising shows the format is increasingly becoming an integral part of TV ad campaigns. In fact, a 2017 study by AT&T revealed that 62% of advertisers already have addressable TV ads as part of their media strategy. But how does this novel format help brands and advertisers? Notably, there are a series of performance advantages when it comes to addressable TV. Here, we’ll consider just a few:
Specific Targeted Advertising: As a business, you’ll have access to more in-target impressions that will reach people who are likely to be interested in what you’re offering. This is possible as a result of the highly granular targeting options of addressable TV. While traditional TV advertising is usually limited to information such as age and gender, addressable TV advertising goes a lot further, targeting potential customers based on factors unique to their households or psychographics. This leads to fewer wasted impressions being delivered to consumers who are unlikely to be interested or respond, instead effectively reaching those who are more in need of the message being conveyed.
Top marks for being highly cost effective and measurable: Of course, the cost of such an advertisement will be higher than that of traditional media, but you can be sure of getting a higher return on investment when your target ads reach the very people they’re meant for. Ultimately, not only do addressable TV ads provide a higher ROI than traditional TV ads, you’ll also have the advantage of being able to measure the success of your campaign, so that you can analyse and adapt as the need arises.
Omni-channel-ness: Perhaps the greatest benefit of this advertising format is in its ‘omni-channel-ness’. Addressable TV advertising provides an omni-channel marketing mix, so that you’re covered across a variety of devices and platforms. For instance, if you’re a small business with a product or service that won’t typically appeal to the general population, you’ll likely be spending more than you can afford in casting a wide net, hoping to catch prospects by using the traditional TV ads format seen by all and sundry. This in turn will quite probably bypass your targeted customers.
However, by using a system that allows you access to TV ads that targets the type of people who know, love and can use your products, you can extend your message across multiple devices and channels, thus reaching the consumers you need to, conveying the right message. The ability to buy fewer but more targeted impressions provides many benefits to the niche brand. Even though addressable TV advertising is more ‘expensive’, it is certainly less wasteful and much more effective.
Therefore, if you’re interested in reaching the people that matter via the shows and programmes they enjoy on their devices, you might want to consider investing in addressable TV advertising.
