Getting to Action-Based Metrics in TV Measurement. An Interview with Calum Smeaton, CEO and Founder, TVSquared

“TV measurement has gotten a lot more sophisticated, moving from reach/frequency to performance-based metrics,” stated Calum Smeaton, CEO and Founder of TVSquared. 

His company was started in 2012, to move the measurement needle by making, “TV a performance-marketing channel – one that could be measured and optimized quickly and easily, just like digital.” To do that, TVSquared’s platform, ADvantage, “combines real-time spot, response and audience data to give advertisers the who, what, when and where of spot and campaign performance for linear and advanced TV.”

Charlene Weisler: What do you see as the state of TV measurement today?

Calum Smeaton: Brands were the first to embrace performance analytics for TV. They’re accustomed to the real-time measurement and optimization of digital, so applying it to TV was natural for them. Today, most TV advertisers know exactly what aspects of campaigns are working and not (creatives, programs, networks, genres, days, times, etc.), and then use those insights to optimize for response. Agencies were the next to adopt performance-based measurement, recognizing that it’s a crucial component to establish trust and transparency with clients. And while networks were the last holdouts, they are growing fast. There’s a real shift with how they are embracing analytics for proof of performance and tying TV to business outcomes.

 

Weisler: What metrics are most important and which ones have outlived their utility and why?

Smeaton: Brands use TV for different reasons, so there will never be one-size-fits-all metrics. Performance metrics used for TV should align to the specific KPIs of a brand, whether it’s driving sales, registrations, web traffic, app activity, you name it. I don’t want to say that ratings, reach and frequency metrics have outlived their utility, because that would imply they ever told advertisers much of anything. If a brand uses TV for awareness alone, then these metrics can make sense, but for those that use TV for response, they are not as relevant. 

Weisler: What new metrics should TV be using?

Smeaton: Brand-specific, performance-based KPIs. TV drives second-screening viewers directly into the digital funnel. Measuring immediate actions like online sales, app activity, registrations, etc., is a quick-and-easy process. Even for higher consideration brands, when the end result doesn’t happen right away, these metrics are often action or intent-based because measuring middle-of-the-funnel activities is an excellent indication of TV performance.

We’re also seeing networks such as multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) and local/national broadcasters start to offer this type of tailored, brand-specific measurement to advertisers as proof of performance, which is a real game-changer in the space.

Weisler: Tell me about your recent partnership with TiVo?

Smeaton: We measure the immediate and long-term performance of linear and advanced TV by day, daypart, network, program, genre, creative and audience segment. With the addition of TiVo’s deterministic viewership data, we can analyze TV’s impact down to the household (HH) level too. Deterministic attribution is a hot topic, which makes sense, understanding TV’s effectiveness at the HH level is invaluable. As an emerging space, deterministic has value, but also limitations, including fragmentation, small datasets and privacy/security concerns. A purely deterministic attribution model can’t measure the true TV-driven uplift in response and sales. But adding a layer of HH/impression-level data with a high match rate (like TiVo’s), an advertiser can get deeper insights into the “who” behind that response.

 

Weisler: How has the TV landscape evolved in the past five years and where do you see it going in the next five?

Smeaton: The past five years have marked TV’s evolution from a channel used only for reach, to one used for reach and performance. I’d argue that the majority of advertisers now use TV for the latter. The reason TV is now a performance-marketing channel is twofold. First, viewers have second-screen devices nearby when watching TV. They actively participate with brands when interested. Second, the analytical technologies exist to measure those immediate and long-term actions.

In the next five years, we’ll see TV measurement and optimization get a lot more sophisticated. New data sources will emerge, advanced TV will become more mature and an increasing number of advertisers will leverage automation and analytics for processes that are still time- and resource-intensive things like TV planning and buying.   

Weisler: How will Connected TV impact the TV marketplace?

Smeaton: Connected TV, advanced TV, whatever you want to call it, is just TV. Our platform measures “TV” whether it’s on linear, OTT, VOD, etc. While advanced TV is still in its infancy, we’re seeing advertisers start to experiment with different platforms. By “experiment,” I mean they are doing a lot of testing and learning, and even taking insights from measuring linear and applying them to advanced TV as a starting point.

This article first appeared in Mediapost.com

Striving for Gender Equality. Screenvision Partners with Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

In a time of hesitancy among media companies to take action in support of women’s rights, Screenvision is taking a more active role, as Christine Martino, EVP Ad Sales, explained. Her company has entered into a partnership with Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to raise awareness of gender bias in Hollywood. “Screenvision Media has always been an advocate for gender equality in the work place and in society, and with our connection to Hollywood and the movie industry, the partnership seemed like an ideal extension of the work we were already doing,” she stated. 

Films will be evaluated to determine if they earn the GDIQ-Check, a metric that analyzes films based on the screen time, speaking time, diversity and whether or not there are stereotypical representations of its female characters in accordance with our 19-point scoring system. 

Charlene Weisler: Are there set goals and if so what are they?

Christine Martino: We are bringing in a studio launch partner and highlight their upcoming films that meet an extensive, proprietary set of criteria for fair, diverse gender portrayal standards set by Screenvision and the Geena Davis Institute. Once we secure this partner, we will spotlight their upcoming films that have received this GDIQ-Check by integrating them into our new fixed content pod.  In this new feature in our Front + Center preshow, Geena will discuss her Institute’s mission and encourage moviegoers to go to theaters to see the films that are in support of this cause.  

Weisler: What type of impact do you hope to achieve?

Martino: We hope to encourage millions of moviegoers to support the featured GDIQ-Check films by seeing them in the theatre.  Screenvision sits at an important juncture of the media ecosystem: we are poised to bring together brands and movie-goers with content creators and distributors and we want to use this position to support the important cause of gender equality in media. 

Weisler: What are the biggest obstacles?

 

Martino: Our greatest challenges are bringing awareness to the gender inequality that still exists in Hollywood and encouraging more studios to support the Institute’s work.  We are looking forward to overcoming them to effect real and much-needed change.

Weisler: Where do you see this effort going three years from now?

Martino: We expect that multiple studios will want to be included and featured in our awareness campaign and that they will begin to change the way they evaluate the gender balance in their films before they are even in production. We believe supportive brands will surround this content feature and, in addition to attaching their advertisements to these GDIQ-Check films, look to accurately portray women in the advertisements themselves in support of all forms of media breaking the gender bias.

This article first appeared in Cynopsis

Sizing Up Advertising’s Future

Video advertising is not only on a healthy trajectory, it will be powered by programmatic, according to   Lauren Fisher, Principal Analyst, eMarketer who presented research findings at the recent VideoNuze conference. “U.S. advertisers invest nearly 2 times the amount of dollars in digital for every $1 in television spending today,” she noted at the conference. Recent eMarketer reports indicate that digital spend is booming, growing +19.1% to $129.34 billion this year and surpassing traditional TV spend by nearly $20 billion. That means digital now accounts for 54.2% of total US ad spending.

Power of Programmatic
But the path forward, according to Fisher, “requires programmatic to bring things together.” Programmatic, which she defined as the automated method of buying, selling or fulfilling advertising, currently accounts for $106.84 billion or 34% in digital spend. “It is growing faster than predicted,” she noted. By 2021 it is projected to exceed $10 billion. One factor that is accelerating programmatic is the desire to leverage first party data and advanced targeting for both advertisers and content owners. And, as programmatic expands into connected TV, “advanced targeting will be critical,” leading to more high value premium ad formats.

Importance of Connected TV
She predicted that Connected TV will become a significant factor in programmatic as well as in the larger media landscape. Over half of the U.S. population is connected TV users today and OTT represents over 60%. Connected TV spend, “will hit its stride 2020 and 2021, taking share from mobile,” she prophesized. But she noted that, “not all connected TV advertising will be programmatic. It will be packaged with other opportunities.”

It is still very early for programmatic TV, with “just 4% of TV ad dollars going through some form of automation.” Currently though, she sees the use of automation in planning and realizing more efficiency in buying and selling, inventory and audience discovery. “Advanced targeting is the entry point in the push into TV programmatic. Seven to 10% of the estimated portion of upfront inventory is going towards advanced targeting buying in the upfront. Not all is transacted programmatically but for many, this is where the value of programmatic begins,” she stated.

How to Move Forward
Among the factors affecting TV programmatic adoption is the industry’s ability to transition from legacy tools and systems. “It is currently difficult to change the ways of doing business and changing mindsets. It is critical to change in order to move forward with programmatic,” Fisher said. In addition, there are still concerns about the commoditization of inventory as well as concerns about consumer privacy and regulations. But the drumbeat of progress in programmatic indicates that these factors will be addressed as this advertising format grows.

This article first appeared in Cynopsis

Trust in Advertising: Where Does Traditional TV Stand?

There are many challenges facing advertisers today, from attention and engagement to ad blocking and fraud. But trust in advertising trumps them all, according to MediaPost. If you don’t have trust, you don’t have viewer connection. Here’s a look at the state of trust in TV advertising today.

On-Demand vs. Linear TV
A recent Advertiser Perceptions study of 200 ad executives found that 73 percent factor in trust when deciding how to allocate their media ad budgets. For consumers, YouGov found that there is an attitudinal difference among on-demand TV viewers compared to linear TV viewers; on-demand viewers are more averse to traditional television commercials. For example:

• 56 percent of on-demand viewers tend to mute TV ads compared to 48 percent of linear viewers.
• 43 percent of on-demand viewers enjoy watching TV ads compared to 47 percent of linear TV viewers.
• 54 percent of on-demand viewers don’t trust TV ads compared to 48 percent of linear TV viewers.

All of these results are unsurprising. Linear TV viewers expect commercials, whereas on-demand viewers find commercial breaks to be intrusive.

Digital vs. Linear TV

Read the full article on the Videa blog.

eMarketer Sizes Up Video Advertising’s Future

Video advertising is not only on a healthy trajectory, it will be powered by programmatic, according to  Lauren Fisher, Principal Analyst, eMarketer who presented research findings at the recent VideoNuze conference.

“U.S. advertisers invest nearly 2 times the amount of dollars in digital for every $1 in television spending today,” she noted at the conference. Recent eMarketer reports indicate that digital spend is booming, growing +19.1% to $129.34 billion this year and surpassing traditional TV spend by nearly $20 billion. That means digital now accounts for 54.2% of total US ad spending.

Power of Programmatic

But the path forward, according to Fisher, “requires programmatic to bring things together.” Programmatic, which she defined as the automated method of buying, selling or fulfilling advertising, currently accounts for $106.84 billion or 34% in digital spend. “It is growing faster than predicted,” she noted. By 2021 it is projected to exceed $10 billion.  One factor that is accelerating programmatic is the desire to leverage first party data and advanced targeting for both advertisers and content owners. And, as programmatic expands into connected TV, “advanced targeting will be critical,” leading to more high value premium ad formats.

Importance of Connected TV

She predicted that Connected TV will become a significant factor in programmatic as well as in the larger media landscape. Over half of the U.S. population is connected TV users today and OTT represents over 60%. Connected TV spend, “will hit its stride 2020 and 2021, taking share from mobile,” she prophesized. But she noted that, “not all connected TV advertising will be programmatic. It will be packaged with other opportunities.”

It is still very early for programmatic TV, with “just 4% of TV ad dollars going through some form of automation.” Currently though, she sees the use of automation in planning and realizing more efficiency in buying and selling, inventory and audience discovery. “Advanced targeting is the entry point in the push into TV programmatic. Seven to 10% of the estimated portion of upfront inventory is going towards advanced targeting buying in the upfront. Not all is transacted programmatically but for many, this is where the value of programmatic begins,” she stated.

How to Move Forward

Among the factors affecting TV programmatic adoption is the industry’s ability to transition from legacy tools and systems. “It is currently difficult to change the ways of doing business and changing mindsets. It is critical to change in order to move forward with programmatic,” Fisher said. In addition, there are still concerns about the commoditization of inventory as well as concerns about consumer privacy and regulations. But the drumbeat of progress in programmatic indicates that these factors will be addressed as this advertising format grows.   

This article first appeared in Cynopsis.