The future of TV is here and it is data-driven, audience-focused and measurable

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Jay Kim, Amobee.

By Jay Kim, Associate Director, Platform and Analytics Solutions, Amobee

Connected TV (CTV) is continuing to gain traction in 2022. According to VOZ, CTV viewing increased 36% for the first 12 weeks of the year as compared to the same period last year. While this statistic reinforces TV’s value and potential to succeed in an increasingly digital world, how to leverage this channel is another story.

With brands leaning on broadcasters, tech providers and agencies to navigate the ever-evolving advertising landscape, shaping the future of TV is no easy feat and will require collaboration from all sides.

Digital acceleration in the last few years exposed gaps

TV has always been a pivotal channel for advertisers to reach wider audiences. However, with the lines between conventional linear and digital TV blurring even further, we’re seeing the next big wave, which is the transition into Total TV. Simply put, Total TV is anything and everything viewed on a television, regardless of whether it is from a linear broadcast channel or streamed on the Internet through a video-on-demand (SVOD, BVOD or AVOD) provider.

Linear and digital TV are already indistinguishable by viewers, driven not only by the digitalisation of TV but by market and consumer demands accelerated by COVID-19. As TV usage continues to grow – largely due to Connected TV (CTV) and Video-on-demand (VOD) services  – advertisers are now facing new challenges across fragmentation, duplication, and measurement.

With seven out of ten Australians subscribed to one or more SVOD services, the market is becoming increasingly saturated and nearing maturity growth so it’s no surprise that services like Disney+ and Netflix are also considering advertising-funded models to gain more market share. While it can be easier these days to activate on the largest screen at home, billions of ad dollars are wasted each year from poor targeting, siloed planning across channels, and a lack of true cross-channel measurement for in-depth campaign optimisation.

Moving from afterthought to foresight

A big misconception within advertisers in Australia is that traditional TV and programmatic work better separately – separate budgets, separate teams, separate campaign planning and outcomes. While TV, as a device, still dominates when it comes to attention, viewability and impact, reaching audiences without overexposing them to ads has become increasingly complex. Fortunately, we’re seeing more and more brands adopt a ‘one audience’ approach.

The way audiences consume content has evolved and to reach audiences no matter what device they’re using, brands need to leave behind traditional thinking and understand that the unification of TV and digital brings better planning, optimisation and measurement for advertisers and better viewing experiences for viewers.

The lack of a standardised measurement across linear TV and digital may be keeping these platforms separate for now, but agencies that have TV and digital teams working closer together are best positioned to succeed and achieve bigger efficiencies across the Total TV universe.

The Total TV opportunity

Linear TV is not going anywhere, but digital video’s cross-screen targeting, frequency management and attribution capabilities are enticing to TV buyers. With more brands expanding their video investments beyond traditional media like linear TV into CTV and BVOD, we’ll see advertisers demanding solutions to optimise campaigns for the highest cost efficiency, as well as follow audiences across other channels.

The industry is witnessing several key TV players emerging, including Amobee who has embraced TV without fear, having heavily invested in the TV ecosystem. Together with our partners, we’re solving the industry’s most complex challenges by giving advertisers more control over their buying decisions.

In the last six months alone, Amobee has partnered with Samsung Ads to allow advertisers to understand unique reach, co-viewer reach and audience demographics across both linear and digital TV, and TVSquared by Innovid to give marketers the ability to manage reach and frequency and gain performance insights to effectively measure TV across platforms.

Amobee has also strengthened its analytics solutions, including Total Attribution, which enables advertisers to measure user interactions and engagement from digital TV via website visits and online behaviour, and Advanced Footfall, which allows advertisers to measure offline visits from all channels, including CTV.

With the explosive growth of TV viewership in various forms of consumption, plus stronger demand from advertisers, linear and digital TV unification is happening. Regardless of where you stand in the fight between TV and digital dominance, one thing is clear – The future of TV is here and it is data-driven, audience-focused and measurable.

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