I recently spent a day with a varied group of interactive television and other media types at Rentrak’s Annual Industry Insights Forum, brought together by Rentrak’s expertise in multi-screen measurement.
One of the sessions that offered some especially fresh perspectives focused on advanced advertising, which is targeting ads to specific individuals or even specific zip codes (called addressable advertising) as well as advertising that includes specific interactive features (like RFIs via television remotes). Advanced advertising is a growing component of interactive television strategy.
Panelists agreed that advanced advertising is in a transitional stage with some good work being done particularly at the local level. But it’s important to consider how long this transition will last and how much impact advanced advertising will have in the overall ad universe.
Here are some advanced advertising trends noted by the panelists, with my thoughts in italics:
-
Advertisers are definitely pushing for more targeted solutions because of, in part, our ability to target with digital media. That’s great, because it speaks to the growing demand for specialized advertising.
-
This kind of targeting is focused on getting ads in front of people segmented by attributes (young families, affluent empty nesters, etc.) rather than traditional demographics. This is a huge shift, and a good one for those of us with expertise in specialized advertising.
-
There is a growing body of set top box data that’s still difficult to translate to currently used industry vocabulary – not everyone understands STB data – but that is still proving useful to agencies and clients as they work together to devise new strategies.
-
Metrics are also key because they increase accountability, which allows you to create fact-based plans and reports related to real business outcomes.
-
Perhaps most importantly, all of the above points need to be considered in the context of very small scale efforts right now. Of course that’s true, but new advertising models of the past started small, too.
In the end, advanced advertising will grow depending on how well distributors, agencies, and brands create a common vocabulary, a common set of data, and a common mechanism to execute increasingly larger and more complicated campaigns.
Given the growing fragmentation of the media landscape (multiple screens, etc.), finding these commonalities is not going to get easier with time. Instead, people will base how much time and energy they want to invest in advanced advertising on early round successes – particularly ROI (time and money) of executed campaigns. For that reason, finding success with your first advanced advertising campaigns is key.
Anyone out there have experience with a successful advanced advertising campaign? We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Will Keller is the founder and president of WE Keller Group and specializes in interactive television marketing, especially in the programming, retail and airline sectors. You can learn more about his business here.
