Commentary

Moving Forward With Programmatic TV

Programmatic TV (PTV) is often discussed as the “next big thing," but despite all of the buzz and advancements, the market floodgates haven’t exactly burst open. A recent interview with Sintec Media founder CEO Lorne Brown points to one big problem: Vendors in the programmatic space must align themselves with Nielsen’s demographic data simply because that is the currency used in linear TV.

A recent survey reported that 80% of respondents want GRPs to remain an option in PTV buying. Of the same group, a majority stated that reaching granular audiences is a priority. While traditional targeting options are important, the industry must keep moving toward granularity, in a way that recognizes that “targets” are actually people with diverse lifestyles and interests. After all, successful advertising, from the brief all the way to the creative, feature vibrant depictions of these people.

For example, suppose an apparel brand is trying to target Jane Doe. First-party data covers the basics: she is 35 years old, married and shops yoga apparel. Her online behavior paints her as a person more fully: perhaps she also enjoys cooking and outdoor activities. What is stopping us from using the full palette of colors?

Well, nothing really, but the entire industry must move together to make it scale.

So how do we move forward using programmatic TV?

  1. Be creative  – Combining first-party data with traditional demos is not enough.Enriching that data with social signals or other behaviors enables brands to build on a user’s existing set of attributes and literally creates more targeting opportunities. Going back to the apparel brand, applying social signals that signal the other brands, celebrities, TV shows, etc., that Jane Doe  has interacted with will significantly build out her profile. For instance, users interested in Nike Women’s Apparel are highly likely to engage with Chrissy Teigen and Dove personal care products.
  2. Get to know ad-tech partners – Explore the many demand-side platforms that are offering solutions to target audiences and make optimizations across both OTT and linear TV buying. While some platforms offer optimizations against traditional GRPs, it's also important to understand nontraditional solutions. By targeting households based on behaviors, marketers can track and measure offline KPIs, defining success as a lift in sales instead of simple audience delivery.
  3. Strike a balance – Test new data sources that act as a complement to demo targeting. Data providers offer solutions that combine set-top-box data with demographic and psychographic data, enabling marketers to home in on niche targets. Brands should be seeking more custom solutions to reach key audiences, which starts with a better understanding of the types of audiences available. Marketers can choose audiences that better align with the psychographic data and granular descriptions of their target consumer, instead of using broad demographic tactics. Once brand marketers and media buyers are speaking a common language in audience targeting, granular solutions will become the norm.

There is an art to understanding and defining a target consumer. Let’s put reservations aside and use the tools we have in place today to move beyond age and gender, and speak to the core of that person.

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